ExcitedAboutMusa

I was mite free for a long time... and was checking regularly. I added some ground covering plants (pothos) to the soil to surround the base of my Musa Gran Nain.

This Week: TINY WEBBING! I searched; and sure enough there's an invasion.


What is the best treatment for Banana plants?

designshark

I've read to mist with water several times a day. That should run them out. Good luck.

CTPalm

I take them into the shower and hose off both sides of leaves after a couple of times (week or two apart) they are gone for the winter.

Spraying with mild soapy water helps too!

oakshadows

formula that I got from a "pot" farmer. Works excelleny.


1/4 cup Baking Soda
1/2 cup Apple Cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
2 drops dish detergent
1/4 Teaspoon Epsom Salts

Take a cup of very hot water and desolve the epsom salts,take rest of ingredients and place in a clean 2 liter bottle and let work out. Add epsom solution. Add water to fill to 48ozs(3/4 full).Shake well.

TO USE: Cover soil/medium with plastic,with lights off mist plant all over,especialy under leaves,
Wait 20 mins,then spritz off with clean fresh water shaking as much water off plant as you can.
The fresh water spritz rinse will remove the solution along with the desolved remains of the mites and their eggs.


Note by MrFixit: Water plants 1/2 hour before spraying. This will help keep your plants from absorbing the spray.

This solution has been tested and used as directed will not burn plants,the rinse is very important though as it removes the spent solution before it can concentrate and burn the plant. It also removes most of the dead mites and eggs so you don't end up smoking them.

The formula can be diluted further,to 1 liter and it will still kill the mites but isn't as effective at dissolving and removing the mite parts.
Since removing the mite debris is desirable,I recommend the stronger solution,just remember to rinse and shake.
This formula is alkaline(about 7.8-8) so please remember to rinse.

Mite irradication is absolutely assured and guaranteed if used as directed.
I've never seen ANYTHING work this well for mite irradication!!
I used to gas my booths for mites,it worked but they came back,I haven't seen a living mite in a long time now.They haven't come back,partly because of cooler weather,partly because I hosed the Roses that were infecting everything with the formula and wiped out all the mites during testing.
The only thing I wish I'd done different is,I wish I would have done sections of the Roses and preserved
some of the mites for later tests.I've had to go searching for victims to test it on and there just aren't any left!! I did find some victims for my final tests in the park where we have meetings,the plants by the river are pretty sickly and infested(were I should say,I walked around with ONE pint bottle and cleaned up most of the area.LOL)
If news of this formula were to become widespread,mites would become an endangered species!!!So GOOD HUNTING !"

Good luck.

__________________
"What this country needs is dirtier fingernails and cleaner minds."

sunfish

Far out

sman87

I been battling them all winter inside my grow tent too. Even with 85F temp and 80 humidity they still hug underneath my leaves. I usually combat them with a spray bottle mist a few times a day and keep my tent air as oppressive as possible it keeps their numbers down quite low for the most part. Plus wiping down the attacked leaves. What is wierd is they have only attacked 2 of my larger potted bananas and not the others which are directly next to them. I guess I shouldn't be complaining too much lol just another month to go and they're outside!

Zacarias

Excited,
I really like the idea of using pothos as ground cover at the base of a container banana. I've often wondered what I could put in a pot to surround the center banana. I had considered Zantedeschia Aethiopica, Arisaema or Pinellia, or dwarf cannas. I will seriously consider pothos as a possibility as I'm going to be potting up some bananas soon. Thanks for the idea!

Z