Spider Mites
 

Brought my dwarf Cavendish in for the winter a couple weeks ago. I hosed it off well, and sprayed it with neem oil the day it came in. Only a week later, they were back with a vengeance. So I repeated. Same thing again. This time, I hosed it down and wiped the leaves with a damp sponge. Seems to be better. How often can I spray this guy with neem oil without hurting it? I have another banana in a container, but I've never seen mites like this before.

Re: Spider Mites
 

Quite playing..

I was trying to be nice to them.....but they were winning.
I had to use the option........Malathion
Spray the pots and surrounding area numerous times.
Or better yet put he plants aside from your other stock for a week and spray for the critters.

Many gardeners fail to treat the surrounding area and containers for pests and they soon repopulate plant .

.
https://www.google.com/search?q=mala...w=1280&bih=634

Fern collection

by Hostafarian,
on Flickr

Re: Spider Mites
 

i have bought phytoseiulus persimilis and also neoseiulus californicus
there is also amblyseius swirskii, fallacis neoseiulus, neoseiulus cucumeris, feltiella acarisuga

and i am sure there are many others
some of these can be pricey

2000 phytoseiulus persimilis is $30 plus $10 shipping CAD here

Re: Spider Mites
 

I’m a little reluctant to release more mites into my living room. I’m not a greenhouse grower. My bananas (and lemons) grow in pot on my patio and come into my home for winter. Maybe I’ll give it a try though

Re: Spider Mites
 

i used to use a sponge and soapy water
also i had a phase of spraying soapy water and possibly because i was using tap water
the plants became unhappy essentially because they were getting a foliar feed of the wrong proportion
if you wipe or spray with soapy water repeatedly you should use distilled water
also the mites dont like high humidity (another hard one to accomplish in the living room)
someone from the forum gave me that distilled water tip... thanks again!
oh yeah spider mites like citrus as well
one product i almost got this year was cryptolaemus montrouzieri for scale/mealybug
but the price tag scared me off
i will continue to scrub them off with a toothbrush, sponge etc
i may end up getting them still because you can spend MANY hours scrubbing throughout the winter

Re: Spider Mites
 

guys in the white coats are looking for you.

nice layout. must be mean mowing.

Re: Spider Mites
 

Hi WindyCityzen

Red spider mites are dreaded nightmare for us container hobbyists, who bring their banana plants indoors in the winter months.

It only takes about roughly a week from seeing a few spider mites on your leaves, to a full army, deteriorating all the leaves if left untreated.

Pesticides I used 10 years ago on them do not work, they became immune to them.

Neem oil is the best solution using on spider mites as moist leaves keeps them in check, make sure any new roller is quickly sprayed with Neem oil, when unfurled, spray once a week until taken outside in spring, also make sure not too much Neem oil is put into the spray bottle, as you will kill the banana plant by blocking the stoma on the leaves, for the plant to breathe, as happened to me in the past.

Humidifiers are supposed to work well, on red spider mites,but I have never tried them.

Re: Spider Mites
 

In my greenhouse, I use insecticidal smoke bombs containing permethrin...found them very effective on spider mites and also kills off adult vine weevils.
Not so effective on aphids, unfortunately.

Re: Spider Mites
 

I'll 2nd the high humidity. I used to get crazy spider mites - then hung a plastic curtain around the plants, and within the curtain made a DIY humidifier - hung a towel half in a tote of water and blew a fan on it. It gets up to about 55 - 60% and zero mites. That high humidity can cause bad mold problems but so far none of that.

Re: Spider Mites
 

Has anyone tried Bayer 3 in 1 Insect, disease, mite control?

Re: Spider Mites
 

It works ...I use Bayer tree and shrub too.
It is a bit slower if you need immediate results.
The products are a great preventative measure before issues start.
Should not be used on edible food plants though

These products are also deeply discounted at many big box stores in fall to make way for other seasonal items. Walmart seems to have the best price at about 5 bucks a bottle.

Re: Spider Mites
 

Re: Spider Mites
 

I found some on a few aroids this week.......
I moved them outside and sprayed them.....

Arg....i will have issues in a few months with the other plants...

Re: Spider Mites
 

I spray all of my potted plants once a month, whether they need it or not, with

Avid 2 ml/gal
Bifen XTS 1 ml/gal
Triton X-100 2 ml/gal

If the plant is a food crop, I substitute Dragnet SFR for Bifen XTS.

If I see mites on a plant, I spray it every 2 weeks.

Re: Spider Mites
 

Great idea.

I must have missed a a few of the buggers.