Using plants in the interior of a house is a long-time habitual and beloved activity by many. They are the decoration of rooms, purify the air and delight the eyes of the owners. Florists are making great efforts so that their pets are not exposed to diseases and pests. However, this does not always succeed, and one of the most dangerous insects for plants is the spider mite (photo is presented in the article). This small arthropod from the arachnid class forms vast colonies with its own kind. Pests use the juice of the plant on which they settled as food. From their bites, tiny dots remain on the leaves, which, over time, turn into spots. From a lack of nutrients, the representative of the flora begins to wither, and if you do not take appropriate measures, then it eventually dries up. What does a spider mite look like on indoor plants and how to deal with it? Consider these issues later in the article.
Pest Development Cycle
The arthropod development process is called metamorphosis. It includes such phases:
- eggs
- prelarvae;
- larvae;
- protonymph;
- nymphs in the breeding stage.
These stages may be partially absent in certain species of ticks. During each phase, the molting process occurs.
What does a spider mite look like on indoor plants and how to detect the presence of a pest?
It is almost impossible to make out insects because of their very small size. The maximum length of an adult is not more than 5 millimeters, and usually their size does not exceed a millimeter at all. Most often, spider mites (photo of pests attached to the article) have a green color, but sometimes red, brown and orange individuals are found.
They often hide in leaves or soil. If there are too many pests, then they will be quite noticeable. You should not look for individuals or their thin, barely noticeable cobwebs, but the skins that they leave after molting. You can find them on the back of the foliage, which is a favorite place for these arthropods.
Outwardly, the skins resemble small scales of dandruff and have a grayish or white color.
Pest Signs
There are several obvious signs by which it can be determined that the green pet was attacked by a spider mite (control and prevention measures are described in the article):
- the appearance on the leaves of light or pale yellow spots;
- the presence of small scales on the wrong side of the leaf;
- thin web on leaf blades.
If the flower is completely covered with a cobweb, then it can no longer be saved and it will soon dry out.
Pest species
Spider mites on flowers come in several varieties:
- Ordinary. The most common and dangerous species. Ticks hide from prying eyes on the back of the leaves. When their number increases rapidly, the victims are plants that are near the affected. What does a spider mite look like on indoor plants? Insects have a light color, and spots and cobwebs appear on the leaves of the infected specimen.
- Red. A very dangerous, but less common tick. It differs in small sizes, and in its preferences - orchids, roses and lemon plants.
- False. Due to its miniature size, it goes unnoticed until the moment when the flower is already covered with cobwebs and begins to die.
- Atlantic. He loves high humidity and prefers exotic plants.
- Cyclamen. It hides in tubers and leaves, is difficult to infer, and can also form large colonies. As a rule, the florist detects a defeat by this mite when you can no longer help the plant.
Where do pests come from?
Sadly, most amateur gardeners are familiar with these arachnids. Where do they come from? The most common method of infection is the infection brought from a store with a purchased flower. Therefore, when a new instance appears, it must be quarantined, that is, put on a completely empty window sill. There the plant should spend at least two weeks, and if nothing suspicious has happened, then you can transfer it to the "team."
Another way to defeat this disgusting home representative of the flora is to get from the street. If there are trees under the window or balconies where the flowers are located, then the parasites can go straight down from them with the help of their web to our green favorites. In addition, females living in the soil may wake up after their long hibernation at any time, sensing favorable living conditions. And in the eggs of this adversity, the sleep phase can reach up to 5 years.
Facts to Know About Pest Life
There is such an expression: forewarned - means armed. It is the best suited to this issue. After all, knowing some facts of the life of arachnids, you can simply avoid their appearance and spread:
- for suitable living conditions, ticks need a warm environment with low humidity;
- the female’s life cycle does not exceed 1.5 months, but during this period she manages to lay a couple of hundred eggs;
- it is more effective to carry out poison treatment at the time of the release of new individuals, since a very small amount of funds is able to cope with eggs.
So, we examined what a spider mite on plants is. How to deal with a pest by chemical and folk remedies? This will be discussed later.
Pest Control
Defeating the insect is worth a lot of work and time, and the methods of struggle are both with the help of chemical means, and folk. Of course, it is more likely that special drugs will help to cope with this scourge. Although some gardeners are afraid of them to cause more harm to the plant and run to folk methods. Having not received a sufficient effect, they still resort to chemicals, but sometimes it is too late.
Nevertheless, any struggle must begin with getting rid of the yellowed leaves, because they will not be restored, and most of the parasites are on them. By removing damaged plates, you can free the plant from 25% of the parasites at once.
After that it will be nice to arrange a warm shower for the flower, having washed off another part of the ticks into the sewer. Now you can choose the processing method.
If a spider mite has settled on indoor plants, how to deal with chemical means? Consider this later in the article.
Chemical pesticides
There is an extensive selection of special anti-spider mite products on the market. They were combined into one group called acaricides. They will help to cope with these pests that have settled on indoor flowers.
It is important that the result is visible, that all the rules and recommendations specified in the instructions are observed, experiments with more frequent use cannot be performed, or, conversely, ignored the repeated procedure. Also, safety rules should not be neglected, since the agents are extremely toxic.
Actellik
A toxic chemical that has a contact effect on an insect. The essence of its action is that it disrupts the process of feeding the tick and makes it impossible. Spider mite treatment is needed once every two weeks. Before using the drug, the grower should wear a protective suit and carry out processing on the street.
Neoron
The drug is one of the most effective. When spraying, not only adults are destroyed, but also larvae with eggs.
Fitoverm
It has a detrimental effect on spiders. The active component that is part is aversectin.
Flumight
A toxic agent that kills both adult insects and their eggs. Spraying is carried out once a month.
Skelt
It has high efficiency. Only one spray is enough.
Terms of use
For greater results, in addition to processing plants with acaricides, the following rules must be observed:
- Alternating chemical treatments and hot showers.
- If ticks hit a large area of the plant, then the alternate use of different drugs is recommended.
- It makes sense to process all the flowers in the house.
- During arthropod harassment, it is imperative to clean the window or shelf where the plant lives. Use a soapy solution first and then an alcohol solution.
- To carry out soil disinfection during transplantation.
Folk remedies against pests
If, for a number of reasons, the florist does not want to use products with a chemical composition, then alternative methods can come to the rescue. They are easy to prepare and use.
Before you fight with spider mites, you need to prepare a flower. The first thing you need to clean it well, washing in the shower. Next, you need to do a thorough cleaning of the windowsill and pot. This will help to remove those ticks that can hide there. After all these manipulations, you can proceed directly to the processing of the flower itself. To do this, you need to choose one of the folk remedies presented below.
Onion infusion
It is necessary to take about 5 liters of water and husk from about a kilogram of onions. Then combine the ingredients and let it brew for 5 days. When the specified time passes, the infusion should be thoroughly filtered - and you can begin to process the affected flower.
Garlic infusion
This is a very effective and quick way to combat spider mites, reviews of which are only positive. Take a few heads of large garlic and chop. The resulting garlic mass must be mixed with a liter of boiled water. Then cover the dishes tightly with a lid and hide in a cool place for 5 days. When the right amount of time has passed, the mixture can be used as poison for ticks. But just before use, dilute the infusion with water in a ratio of 1: 1.
Soap solution
You need to take any cute and process the flower with the pot. The foam must be left for 3 hours, after which it can be washed off. Next, a plastic bag is put on the plant for a day to maintain the necessary moisture.
Alcohol
This is the most effective of all folk methods, but it is suitable only for plants with a dense leaf texture. A cotton pad is simply taken and wetted in ammonia. Next, wipe all the sheet plates. However, if ticks are wound in places to which access is restricted, then the product will not produce the proper action. Also, a couple drops of acetone can be mixed with an alcohol solution for greater effectiveness.
Let us further consider what preventive measures exist.
Pest Prevention
There are some measures that can save a flower from defeat:
- constant inspection of indoor flowers;
- compliance with the humidity level, since the spider mite prefers dry air;
- conduct a warm shower for the plant at least once a month;
- newly acquired flowers should be quarantined for at least two weeks;
- steaming the soil, because insects can be there in hibernation;
- spray the leaves with clean water every day.
So, we examined what a spider mite looks like on indoor plants and what are the main methods of dealing with it. It is quite possible to get rid of the pest, but you will have to approach the process thoroughly and wisely. The rules of repeated persecution, processing of neighboring plants and careful cleaning of the place where the affected specimen should not be neglected. Compliance with preventive measures and a thorough inspection of the plant will help to notice and avoid the mass spread of the pest in time.