Wolcott Garden Treasures
Your Subtitle text
Mite Control
There are several species of mites that cause plant damage. Some of the common names you might recognize are spider mites, red spiders, red mites or spinning mites. Minimal mite infestations often go unnoticed and cause very little damage. However, more serious infestations cause a number of symptoms that culminate in the general decline of appearance of the infected plant.
Mites feed from the sap or liquid from the leaves and needles of plants. Over time and with enough mites, the leaves will begin to yellow and become speckled, eventually falling off. In evergreens, the needles will lose their rich, green color and will begin to yellow. Most often, damage will appear low on the tree or shrub, spreading to the inside, then up as the season continues.
There's a pretty simple test if you suspect mites: take a plain, white sheet of paper and hold it underneath a damaged area. Take the branch with damaged leaves and tap it forcefully against the paper a couple times. This should dislodge the tiny mites and make them visible against the white of the paper. If you have trouble keeping the paper steady, try flicking the branch forcefully with your fingers, taking care to hold the paper closely underneath but without touching the branch.
Mites are very tiny - only about 1/50 of an inch long. As their common names suggest, they have eight legs like a spider.
If you find mites in your plant, we have a number of products that will eliminate them:
Mites feed from the sap or liquid from the leaves and needles of plants. Over time and with enough mites, the leaves will begin to yellow and become speckled, eventually falling off. In evergreens, the needles will lose their rich, green color and will begin to yellow. Most often, damage will appear low on the tree or shrub, spreading to the inside, then up as the season continues.
There's a pretty simple test if you suspect mites: take a plain, white sheet of paper and hold it underneath a damaged area. Take the branch with damaged leaves and tap it forcefully against the paper a couple times. This should dislodge the tiny mites and make them visible against the white of the paper. If you have trouble keeping the paper steady, try flicking the branch forcefully with your fingers, taking care to hold the paper closely underneath but without touching the branch.
Mites are very tiny - only about 1/50 of an inch long. As their common names suggest, they have eight legs like a spider.
If you find mites in your plant, we have a number of products that will eliminate them:
- Bonide's Rose Rx 3-in-1 spray is an all-purpose fungicide, insecticide and miticide. This product is a neem oil based spray that treats a number of problems for truly multi-purpose applications. However, because it contains an insecticide, care should be taken not to spray flowers, especially during times of bee activity.
- Bonide also has a dedicated insecticide called Bon-Neem (also neem oil based) that kills and controls a number of insect pests and mites on all types of plants including fruits and vegetables. Care around flowers and bees should be taken with this product.
- We also carry a Citrus, Fruit & Nut Orchard spray from Bonide. This controls a wide range of fungal diseases and insects on food bearing plants, as well as ornamentals. However, because this is a sulfur-based product, it should not be used on or near grapes, raspberries, goosberries, blackberries or blueberries. Although apples are generally regarded as sulfur-sensitive, this product is labeled for safe use on apple trees. It is also fantastic on powdery mildew, especially for phlox. Perhaps best of all, it will not cause harm to beneficial bees.
Sign our GuestbookSpecial thanks to Stefan Hermans for the butterfly photo used in our header.
Copyright 2008-2010 Wolcott Garden Treasures and A Public Flower & Garden Center. All rights reserved.
