natej740

All of my bananas are looking like @#$% now because of the spider mites. I have been misting every leaf and the stems 2 times a day. I also bought a miticide(fungicide-3) and it isnt working either. I love my plants but if i have to deal with this every year i might just stick with hardy ones i can just leave in the ground for the winter...Any tips for killing spider mites?

tbaleno

If you don't mind non-organics, try azamax. azamax - Google Search.

That stuff will kill anything.

__________________
My website: http://www.mysimplehomegarden.com

The Hollyberry Lady

natej740

HBL Ive been misting with water 2 or 3 times a day for at least 3 weeks and its not getting any better its getting worse. 1 SDC is almost dead and just noticed my 7 foot tall Thai black has them ALL over it. Siam Ruby was hit hard as well but my velutina is still coming along nicely it is a small seed grown plant and is easier to keep tabs on...

CookieCows

I bought a cheap thermastat that tells me what the humidity level is in the room and as long as I keep it in the mid 40% range with a humidifier I don't have a problem. I had a problem my first winter and I was using the misting method with a squirt bottle and barely made it alive by spring. Even had a problem outside in the beginning getting those buggers to die. The following year I bought a humidifier that also has a thermastat so it shuts on and off on it's own for around $60 at Walmart. I've never had a problem since. But I live in a humid state also.

__________________

The Hollyberry Lady

Caloosamusa

What Sherry, the Hollyberry Lady says about insecticidal soaps is correct, they however are not an instant kill. It does take a little longer and multiple applications should be undertaken. This technique is most effective on leaf eating insects, and can be used for leaf/sap sucking insects like aphids/spider mites. Make sure they do not migrate to other plants to hide for a while then come back to the plants in question to feed.

Also make sure there are no water retention areas at the bottom of the planting container.

I hope this helps.

tony palmer

I always use to dread thought of over wintering bananas and colocasia’s in the house because of those little buggers.
I’ve tried various methods over the years to combat them but non have been completely successful and most are time consuming and you must remain vigilant.
People say those predatory mites are a very effective method but the thought of introducing more mites into the house to combat mites doesn’t really appeal to me.
A friend recommended using PLANT VITALITY PLUS he said it doesn’t harm the new rollers emerging on bananas (so that’s good) and he only had to use it once last winter to keep mite free.
I tried it 2 months ago and so far so good! it is harmful to bees and aquatic life though so I wouldn’t use it in the garden.

PLANT VITALITY PLUS 50ml SPIDERMITE KILLER /HYDROPONICS on eBay (end time 08-Dec-10 13:35:58 GMT)

Cheers,
Tony

Nicolas Naranja

Safer soap or agricultural sulfur will kill mites. I'm a commercial grower and I use a product called m-pede which is basically soap.

__________________
Some people go bananas, I went plantains.

eric27

They just showed up on mine too about 2 weeks ago. The problem is they THRIVE in dry air. And once they show up misting isn't enough to get rid of them. The first plant I noticed them on was also a Black Thai. And they do love colocasia the most! I tried all kinds of soap combinations in the past to varying degrees. But sometimes the sprays did more damage than the mites. I have only had one thing work but it isn't always practical. I take each individual plant and spray the leaves with a blast or water, such as in the basment sink etc This knocks off the spider mites and the eggs. I get most of them so I only have to do it every few weeks or so. It doesn't work for very large plants but I'm lucky most of mine I can move easily. For smaller leaves I sometimes will soak them for about 10 seconds as I have always heard mites will drown in 7 seconds under water. Anyway just thought I would throw that out there. Mites hate water!

raygrogan

My experience was like cookiecow's. A new humidifier got things under control. For years I would spray and spritz and barely survive the winter (with taro, yes they love it). Then we put a new humidifier into the heating system. (The air is much better for people, too.) The spider mites all but dissappeared. They really don't seem to like air with a reasonable amount of moisture. In the short / el cheapo run you might try things like rice cookers, coffee pots, crockpots, whatever you have around that boils water slowly. Maybe hanging up wet towels. Good luck.

natej740

See thats the thing i have a humidifier and have been using it for a while and still no results...Its so bad that the new cigar leaf has spots on it before its unrolled all the way. I may try to wipe the leaves but theyre so brittle im afraid ill tear them. I effed up my siam ruby last year trying to wipe the leaf...

varig8

Spider mites seem to hit every year about this time. There used to be a chemical spray you could get at Home Depot especially for spidermites, and it worked like a charm, but I think it has been pulled or banned now. IF you use soap, make sure it is IVORY liquid soap. Lots of people think there is no difference, but trust me, there is! Other than that, its best to remove all the leaves, dispose in a tightly sealed garbage bag, and wipe every inch, including down into the petioles next to the trunk with the IVORY soap/water mixture. If you have a new yet-to-unfurl leaf, just pour some of this soapy water down into the center of it and try to wash as much off the outside as possible. You can pour this soap/water mix into a hand sprayer also. This is a sure way to get rid of them. DO NOT keep your bananas near any other houseplants that may also be infested, otherwise they will re-infest your bananas again. You might think this is drastic, but your bananas will only produce new leaves mite free. Seeing how they have just been brought back into the house anyway, they would naturally slow down growing anyway, so it really wont affect them. Better new mite free growth than continued dessicated leaves.

CookieCows

I looked at your photo gallery and saw the picture you have with the mites on the underside of that leaf. I don't know if there are different spider mites that look different but the ones that I get are a redish color. Just wondering if maybe you have something else, especially since you even use a humidifier, plus all the rest. Frustrating!

__________________

sunfish

Jamie p

Hello,

I beat spidermites with other mites!! I bought predator mites from a place called Sterling Insectory. You can look them up on the web if you type that name in. That did the job for me. I've been spidermite free for two years now!!! If they come back and so do the predators they are great!!

Annie6078OH

Last year was a bad one for my bananas with unwanted critters. Had to physically wipe down each leaf and stalk by hand several times over the winter in addition to hitting a few times over the winter with organic spray. This year, I sprayed each plant 2 different times a few days apart before even bringing them in for winter and so far so good. Hate to say it, but I agree with the "drastic times call for drastic measures" approach since your case seems to be so severe -- cut off all the leaves, wipe down the stalks well, spray, and add some humidity. However, I must say that I would take a clear photo to a local garden center to be sure what I'm dealing with before I did all that. Who better to know what "local critters" are problematic and what to do to stave them off.

So sorry to hear what you're going through ... I know it must be terribly frustrating.

Best of luck,
Annie

Nicolas Naranja

The picture in your gallery is indeed mealy bugs and no amount of misting is going to get them off. Something like Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub would do a good job at gettng rid of them.

__________________
Some people go bananas, I went plantains.

snc

au contraire mon frere.....

It has taken me 2 yrs to get the mixture right but I have defeated mealy bugs by misting. My mixture is based upon the recipie below. I do however add a lot more vegi/canola oil to my mixture rather then soap and add quite a bit more alcohol also. I do this after I pour into the squirt bottle which is a little bigger than a quart.

I would do
quart squirt bottle (.99+/- cents at wally world)
fill 3/4 full w/ H2O
add vegi oil until you have 1/2" on top of water
Add 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol or enough that when you shake the bottle the smell of the alcohol is very distinct

Then just spray until all parts of the plants are soaked. May have to repeat and tweak amounts of oil and alcohol to your needs. I had a bad infestation but this finally worked this year. It has never hurt my plants, I added a lot of oil this time and I think that is what smothered them completely. Plus my plant is super shiny now. It may take a 2x+ of spraying to get rid of them all depending on your thouroughness, Hope that helps.


I used this as a basis but found it not very effective on mites and mealy bugs.....

Original directions
Ingrediants:
-Water

-Dish Detergent

-Rubbing Alcohol


Directions:
Fill a gallon jug with water and add one (1) or two (2) tablespoons of dishwashing detergent and one (1) tablespoon of vegetable oil (or Neem oil). Shake up the gallon jug to mix the ingredients.



Fill this solution from the gallon bottle into a spray bottle and just before using add 1 to 2 two caps full (from the rubbing alcohol bottle) of rubbing alcohol and spray immediately. If you do not use the full bottle of spray, I suggest the next time you are going to use the soap/alcohol solution add the same amount of rubbing alcohol again, since the alcohol will evaporate. I store this soap/oil solution in the gallon jug for months on end. It does not seem to go bad.



Spray on plants covering all leaf and stem surfaces. You may have to spray from three to four times with intervals of three days. I have eliminated almost any kind of pest that has attacked my trees, including scale.



I do not wash off the spray and have seen no adverse reaction to the trees from this mixture.

Caloosamusa

Good morning SNC,

I noticed in your mix you use isopropyl alcohol, have you tried it with ethynol?

The Canola oil tends to be more toxic to insects and also keeps the other ingredients on the leaves longer for greater effectiveness. If I ever have the problem I am going to use your modified recipe.

Thanks!