Spider Mites - Page 4

b54red · May 25, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tracydr

I just ordered some azamax from Amazon. It's an organic IGR. Looking forward to giving it a try.
In the meantime, I'm going to gibpve everything another spray with Adams flea and tick shampoo plus seweed emulsion. Seems to have really helped.
I'll spray the roses, eggplants and tomatillos this time, as well.
I need to go buy myself a better sprayer.

Tracy, that is the brand of flea spray I used the first time that got me interested in using an IGR. I also used the dog shampoo with an IGR in it but for the amount of spraying I was going to have to do it was too expensive so I went looking for something a bit more reasonable for spraying nearly 100 plants.

walkinggin · May 25, 2012

I think the product Azatrol Insecticide is basically the same as Azamax but looks to be cheaper, at least from this site it is $59 with free shipping for a quart.

http://www.chemicaloutfitters.com/azatrol.aspx

stackhouse_kbtom · May 25, 2012

checkerkitty... its not that the green light is not a good product.. i just feel its very weak.. which only means it definitely should be used before threat of predators... if u already do have the pest problem u may still be able to use the green light with success but remember that most pests develop a tolerance for pyrethrins so its gonna hurt you ... green light will not knock spider mites out in one application... it will have to be used multiple times. green light is a great product for prevention don't get me wrong and u may have better luck if you double the frequency of spraying.. i would say one table a gallon every 3 days will at least keep the mites from webbing out and robbing you of your plants... spray when the sun goes down u won't have to worry about any kind of fungus or rot due to the neem being a fungi stat... still say u just go and order a 20 buck bottle of azamax from gh

checkerkitty · May 26, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by stackhouse_kbtom

checkerkitty... its not that the green light is not a good product.. i just feel its very weak.. which only means it definitely should be used before threat of predators... if u already do have the pest problem u may still be able to use the green light with success but remember that most pests develop a tolerance for pyrethrins so its gonna hurt you ... green light will not knock spider mites out in one application... it will have to be used multiple times. green light is a great product for prevention don't get me wrong and u may have better luck if you double the frequency of spraying.. i would say one table a gallon every 3 days will at least keep the mites from webbing out and robbing you of your plants... spray when the sun goes down u won't have to worry about any kind of fungus or rot due to the neem being a fungi stat... still say u just go and order a 20 buck bottle of azamax from gh

Thanks for the extra info. I'm taking the Green Light back to the store later today. I've found the Espoma version of Take Down. It has .5% pyrethrin which is double the amount in the Green Light product. Raybo has had so much success with Take Down, I thought I'd start there. I'm just glad to have found this locally. Two nurseries I called told me not to use pyrethrins at all because they were too dangerous. One said seaweed the other said neem oil. I am going to buy some seaweed today and start using it soon since it does act as a preventative. I'll consider neem for another time, also as a preventative. I've also been looking at the IGRs on Amazon. I'll probably order later today. This was certainly a learning experience!

Christy

Chrissykin · May 26, 2012

I have been using Dr. Bronners soap and I am seeing a lot less so I guess it is working. I think it started on my broccoli and they moved on down the line to the other boxes. I have been spraying the ground around the boxes, the sides and the tops. Yesterday my boxes had tons of spider mites. Today I have seen less than 20 so I am going to keep spraying.

b54red · June 30, 2012

Well I guess the IRG wore off or broke down because the spider mites came back with a vengence over the past week. I didn't have a chance to spray for nearly a week and they really did a number on my plants. I finally got to spray yesterday evening but the wind was so bad I don't think I got adequate coverage and it may be too late for most of the plants anyway. Oh well some of my fall seedlings are nearly ready to start setting out if we can get a break in the heat. I need to go get another bottle of IGR because I used the last of it yesterday.

desertlzbn · June 30, 2012

What kind are you using?

Cole_Robbie · July 3, 2012

Organophosphates kill spider mites.

If you took one of these: http://www.hotshot.com/Products-and-...est-Strip.aspx and hung it on the plant at dusk with a garbage bag tied over the plant to seal in the air, you would gas the little suckers and they would all be dead overnight. It would probably be easier to just buy a professional quality spray.

However, the evolutionary mechanism that keeps spider mites alive is that they lay a ton of eggs with staggered times to hatch. That's the only defense they have, and it's all they need. That's why they are so hard to fully get rid of. If you are averse to chemicals, you can buy predator mites, and they do work. But the predator mites will eat all the spider mites, starve to death, and be gone before the last spider mite eggs stop hatching.

Islandgirl54 · July 5, 2012

I've added some ladybugs to my little greenhouse for this awful problem . I hope it helps! My tomatoes were so beautiful and within a couple of weeks they've gone downhill. I think next year u am going to do preemptive strike on these pests!

Cole_Robbie · July 5, 2012

Lady bugs will eat mites, but they prefer aphids. If you kept them locked in the greenhouse and mites were their only food, that might work. I think if they had the chance, they would fly away and look for some aphids to eat.

Predator mites work much better if you don't want to spray. They are $15 at worm's way: http://www.wormsway.com/detail.aspx?sku=PM700
It is a lot of fun to release them and watch them with a magnifying glass as they eat your spider mites. They remind me of the velociraptors from the movie Jurassic Park.

Islandgirl54 · July 5, 2012

Thanks ! That's good info!

Islandgirl54 · July 5, 2012

How much do you use?

Cole_Robbie · July 5, 2012

It says one container of 100 mites treats 25 square feet. It's more important to keep re-introducing them than it is to buy a bunch at once. Plus, you never know how well they will work. On a hot day, my greenhouse doors are open and the sides are up. I would think that a strong wind might blow away the predator mites.

Just watch the spider mite population as it goes up and down. Some of their eggs will stay viable for months, much longer than a predator mite can live. It would be great if the predator mites could stay alive all summer, but they always seem to run out of spider mites to eat and then starve.

Islandgirl54 · July 5, 2012

Do you dilute the Dr. Bronner's

Cole_Robbie · July 5, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chrissykin

I have been using Dr. Bronners soap and I am seeing a lot less so I guess it is working. I think it started on my broccoli and they moved on down the line to the other boxes. I have been spraying the ground around the boxes, the sides and the tops. Yesterday my boxes had tons of spider mites. Today I have seen less than 20 so I am going to keep spraying.

I would love to spray my plants with soap all of the time, but I read that after a while you start to degrade the natural oils on the plant and that adversely affects its health. It's been over a month since that post; an update would be great.

Also remember that if you buy predator mites, you can't spray anything at all. Neem oil and soap will kill all the adult mites they hit, predator or spider, and the spider mites have the egg-laying advantage. That's another disadvantage of using the predator mites.

May 26, 2012	#50
Chrissykin Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: IL Posts: 87	I have been using Dr. Bronners soap and I am seeing a lot less so I guess it is working. I think it started on my broccoli and they moved on down the line to the other boxes. I have been spraying the ground around the boxes, the sides and the tops. Yesterday my boxes had tons of spider mites. Today I have seen less than 20 so I am going to keep spraying. Last edited by Chrissykin; May 26, 2012 at 10:33 AM.

May 25, 2012	#47
walkinggin Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Burbank, CA Posts: 196	I think the product Azatrol Insecticide is basically the same as Azamax but looks to be cheaper, at least from this site it is $59 with free shipping for a quart. http://www.chemicaloutfitters.com/azatrol.aspx

May 25, 2012	#48
stackhouse_kbtom Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2012 Location: south carolina Posts: 28	checkerkitty... its not that the green light is not a good product.. i just feel its very weak.. which only means it definitely should be used before threat of predators... if u already do have the pest problem u may still be able to use the green light with success but remember that most pests develop a tolerance for pyrethrins so its gonna hurt you ... green light will not knock spider mites out in one application... it will have to be used multiple times. green light is a great product for prevention don't get me wrong and u may have better luck if you double the frequency of spraying.. i would say one table a gallon every 3 days will at least keep the mites from webbing out and robbing you of your plants... spray when the sun goes down u won't have to worry about any kind of fungus or rot due to the neem being a fungi stat... still say u just go and order a 20 buck bottle of azamax from gh

June 30, 2012	#51
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Well I guess the IRG wore off or broke down because the spider mites came back with a vengence over the past week. I didn't have a chance to spray for nearly a week and they really did a number on my plants. I finally got to spray yesterday evening but the wind was so bad I don't think I got adequate coverage and it may be too late for most of the plants anyway. Oh well some of my fall seedlings are nearly ready to start setting out if we can get a break in the heat. I need to go get another bottle of IGR because I used the last of it yesterday.

June 30, 2012	#52
desertlzbn Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Tucson Posts: 659	What kind are you using?

July 3, 2012	#53
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	Organophosphates kill spider mites. If you took one of these: http://www.hotshot.com/Products-and-...est-Strip.aspx and hung it on the plant at dusk with a garbage bag tied over the plant to seal in the air, you would gas the little suckers and they would all be dead overnight. It would probably be easier to just buy a professional quality spray. However, the evolutionary mechanism that keeps spider mites alive is that they lay a ton of eggs with staggered times to hatch. That's the only defense they have, and it's all they need. That's why they are so hard to fully get rid of. If you are averse to chemicals, you can buy predator mites, and they do work. But the predator mites will eat all the spider mites, starve to death, and be gone before the last spider mite eggs stop hatching.

July 5, 2012	#54
Islandgirl54 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Edmond OK Posts: 4	I've added some ladybugs to my little greenhouse for this awful problem . I hope it helps! My tomatoes were so beautiful and within a couple of weeks they've gone downhill. I think next year u am going to do preemptive strike on these pests!