Most Spider Mites, especially the Two Spotted Spider mite love hot weather and dry conditions, so the race is on! Batten down the hatches and Katie bar the door, it’s Spider Mite season!
Spider mites attack a variety of plants in your landscape including Burning Bush, Dwarf Alberta Spruce, Boxwood, almost all spruce varieties and other plants.
But they are tiny! Tiny, destructive creatures that easily move around in your plants undetected because they are so small you don’t notice them. They are only 1/50 of an inch long in their adult stage. That’s small!
Then they often hang out on the underside of the foliage feeding away like thieves in the night.
So how can you tell if you have them? Look for tiny yellow spots on the leaves and needles of your plants. Spider mites have tiny mouths that are designed to suck the juice out of individual plant cells. So they attack your plants one cell at at time and the damage really doesn’t start to show up until they have destroyed the majority of cells on a leaf or an area of the plant.
If you hold a piece of white paper under a branch that you are concerned about, then sharply wrap the branch with a pencil you might knock some off onto to the paper where you can see them. But you really have to look closely because they look like walking dust particles.
Since they like it hot and dry you can actually blast them off your plants with a sharp stream of water from the garden hose. Or you can spray your plants with an insecticidal soap that will get rid of the mites but not harm your plants.
Source-GeorgeWeigel.net
Spider mites can completely defoliate a large Burning Bush, but fortunately the plant is usually not permanently damaged. They also do a lot of damage to Dwarf Alberta Spruce, and the damage there is more permanent.
Keep an eye out for them and give them a good hosing.
I have replaced 3 Alberts Spruce trees. I was wondering if the whole tree isn’t gone is it possible to save it?
Jackie,
Once an evergreen starts showing signs of distress that usually means it’s in big trouble and bring it back is usually not possible.
Why do my clematis grow really good, then all of a sudden the foliage leaves turn dark brown and brittle?
Too dry, too much sun hitting the root zone?
Mike I have a Chinese Fan Palm Tree in a container everything has been going very well for 14 years now all of a sudden I have No See Ums. (or aka sand flies?)There are just like a fungus gnat except these bite. None of the insecticides have fazed them. I have also tried plant soap and 50/50 water and hydrogen peroxide. I’m losing the tree. Do you have any ideas?
Tanna,
I don’t know for sure, but look into neem oil.
My wife has a transplanted kidney and I am very reluctant to use strong pesticides to kill the spider mites that are eating my hedges. The hedges are on all 4 sides of my house. They are most abundant on the south side of the house. Can I make a safe spray using baby shampoo to coat the leafs? Can I spray in temperatures in the 90’s?
Bob,
You probably can, spider mites hate water, love it where it’s hot and dry. You can keep them at bay to a degree with spraying soap and water.
Hello,
Is there a way I can KEEP Ladybugs in my garden? I once purchased them and set them free in my yard, and saw very few after 2 days. I even had a ladybug “house”.
I appreciate your advice.
Pam,
Just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean that they are not there, but this might help you http://www.naturescontrol.com/ladybugs.html
have a good day!
Once again, Mike, Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I had a couple Alberta spruce in pots on my porch. We are more “cityish” and they looked nice to have some greenery.
Had them about 2 – 3 years and they were doing fine and all of a sudden BOOM! They were getting all brown and drying up. Really had me scratching my head…….not from the mites but from puzzlement. Now your video shed some light on the subject. It seems to be making sense as to what happened now.
Any other tips on keeping the dwarf Alberta spruce in containers would be appreciated.
Joe,
All I can suggest is keep those spider mites at bay. Regular blasting the plants with hard streams of water will help. Spider mites like it hot and dry, the water will rock their world a tad. Do some research on spider mites, they can be quite persistant and can quickly become resistant to certain pesticides.
ladybugs love spidermites, you can buy them and praying mantis in the spring from most garden centers. I had them in my 60 ft tall maple tree row and they took care of the problem