How to get rid of spider mites on indoor plants: 16 drugs and folk remedies

Plants are weakening, withering away, but you can’t understand what’s wrong? There are probably spider mites in your area, and you have a serious fight ahead of you. How to identify an uninvited guest and get rid of him in the garden, greenhouse, garden and indoor plants?

To begin with, spider mites need to be detected, and without knowledge about them this is not so easy. Adult representatives of this species reach only 1 mm in length, which means that not everyone can see them. And yet, to be fully armed, you need to know what a spider mite looks like and what traces it leaves on different crops.

The spider mite is not an insect, but an arachnid, i.e. animal. Therefore, insect repellents are not suitable for controlling spider mites and are a waste of time and money.

How to detect?

They often hide in leaves or soil.
If there are too many pests, they will be quite noticeable. You should not look for individuals or their thin, barely noticeable webs, but for the skins that they leave behind after molting. They can be found on the back side of the foliage, which is a favorite place for these arthropods. Externally, the skins resemble small flakes of dandruff and are grayish or white in color.

There are several obvious signs by which you can determine that your green pet has been attacked by a spider mite (control and prevention measures are described in the article):

the appearance of light or pale yellow spots on the leaves;
the presence of small scales on the underside of the sheet;
thin web on leaf blades.

If the flower is completely covered by cobwebs, then it can no longer be saved and will soon dry up.

The best insecticides for pests

How to fight the pest. Spider mites on indoor plants are destroyed by acaricides or insectoacaricides.

"Actellik" is a non-systemic insectoacaricide. Works at any stage of growth. It is classified in the second class of harmfulness, therefore it is recommended for use not in an apartment, but on the street.
"Karate" is an insectoacaricide. Suitable for use at any stage of insect life. Class 3 harm.
"Apollo" is a hormonal drug. Not dangerous. Sterilizes adult insects, they stop reproducing and therefore the colony dies out.
"Bitoxibacillin" is a biological preparation. Not harmful, has an intestinal effect, but kills only adult ticks.
"Demitan" is a slightly toxic acaricide. May be addictive, so its use is not recommended often.

Interesting! Insecticides for spider mites are harmless. They will not help get rid of them, and will not have any effect. Only insectoacaricides and acaricides can solve the problem with spider mites on flowers.

Bitoxibacillin - a biological preparation for spider mites on indoor plants

Nissoran is a hormonal drug. It makes adult individuals infertile and destroys young ones, as a result, the number sharply decreases and the colony dies out.
"Sunmite" is a contact acaricide of moderate danger. Effective on individuals of all ages. The main disadvantage of the product is that pests quickly adapt to it.
"Flumite" is a hormonal acaricide. It is used only once, because it is addictive. Effective on spider mites of any age.

Also, among the high-quality drugs that can destroy ticks, it is worth mentioning: “Omite”, “Talstar”, “Skelta”, “Envidor”.

Start of treatment

Regardless of what means are used in the fight against arthropods, treatment always begins the same way. If the number of parasites is small, these three steps will completely solve the problem. Otherwise, they will help get rid of cobwebs, significantly reduce the number of arthropods and simplify further therapy.

Remove affected leaves and shoots. They will never recover, but part of the parasite population will be destroyed.
Wash with soap. Make a strong solution of laundry soap or other detergent. To increase efficiency, you can add baking soda per 5-liter spoon. Beat the foam and apply to the leaves. After three to four hours, rinse off the composition with clean water, thoroughly wiping each sheet. If the solution gets to the roots, the flower may die.
Increase humidity. Until the drops of water on the flower dry, cover the pot with a plastic bag and let it tap. High humidity is harmful to most types of ticks. If you find varieties for which such conditions are favorable, you should not plant them on the plant in a “steam room”.

you only need to clean the outer side of the leaves with a soapy mixture - “breathing” pores remain on the back side, the blockage of which can lead to the death of the leaves. If your plant's leaves are too small to clean individually, you can spray them with soapy water using a fine spray bottle.

Prevention of spider mites

Spider mites can enter your home in two main ways: on a new plant or through a window. To significantly reduce the risk of ticks entering the house, any new plant purchased in a store (even a trusted one) must be kept separately for the first time until the absence of diseases and pests is confirmed.

Plants in a flower shop are often susceptible to attacks by various pests, so immediately after purchase it is important to treat your new favorite before placing it next to the others.

The pest can enter the window along with the wind, especially in hot and dry weather. Of course, we cannot keep the windows closed all the time (stale air is no less destructive for plants than spider mites), so we need to create the most uncomfortable conditions for the mites in the house itself:

Spider mites do not tolerate high humidity. Use a humidifier and do wet cleaning regularly. If your plants are not fans of desert and dry conditions, mist them regularly

The mite, as a rule, lives on the underside of the leaf, so this is where you need to pay attention when spraying. Once a week, wash the leaves of the plants with soapy water. This allows the mite to suck the juice out of them, and therefore the pest will quickly die of starvation. Moisture-loving plants can be washed 1-2 times a week under a warm shower.

Ficus and ivy tolerate this procedure especially well. Ticks that may end up on their leaves will die from the flow of warm water.

What to do with succulents? These indoor pets cannot tolerate spraying, moisture on the leaves, or high humidity in general—how can you protect them from spider mites? Fortunately, this pest does not threaten succulents. The fact is that succulents have fleshy leaves with a dense shell that ticks simply cannot bite through.

Succulents are beautiful and unpretentious indoor plants that, in addition, are not threatened by spider mites

Most popular questions

Many people who notice the presence of spider mites on plants immediately have many questions. Answers to the most frequently asked questions are presented below.

Where does the pest come from?

The parasite enters the apartment in several ways:

when purchasing an infected flower. Before purchasing a plant, you need to pay close attention to its appearance. Dark and yellow spots on leaves and shoots are the first sign of infection.
With soil. Purchased soil may contain larvae of female spider mites. Pest eggs can survive for 5 years even under unfavorable conditions. The larvae hatch from the eggs when the temperature rises or humidity conditions are suitable.
Through an open window or from a vent. Insects enter the house with the wind. The parasite, in search of food, colonizes new territories of human habitation.

Advice! To prevent infection of indoor flowers, it is necessary to calcine purchased soil in the oven.

What do spider mites eat?

The pest feeds primarily on plant cell sap. The salivary glands of the mite produce special enzymes that destroy the chloroplasts of flower cells. Most often, harmful animals settle in grasses, deciduous and coniferous trees.

The same type of spider mite can feed on different representatives of the flora. Among the parasites there are also monophages - insects that drink the juice of only one plant. Not only domestic crops, but also agricultural crops suffer from massive mite infestation: melons, cotton, etc.

Where do spider mites live in nature?

The habitats of spider mites are limited by the annual temperature of 4.5 degrees. The only place where the insect species in question has not been recorded is Antarctica. More than 100 species of spider mites have been discovered in Russia

When food is scarce, insects migrate from one place to another in search of fresh food. The parasites first attack the edges of the leaves, and when there is a large accumulation, they resemble moving balls. The wind helps pests spread to other areas.

Parasites actively reproduce in dry climates. Arthropods enter suspended animation when humidity levels increase and temperature decreases. Due to water regularly entering the kidney, mites experience physiological starvation and stop reproducing intensively.

(video). Spider mite

Are spider mites dangerous for humans?

Common spider mites cause only indirect harm to humans. They do not carry bacteria and viruses that threaten human health. However, pests can completely destroy indoor plants or reduce crop yields. When mites actively spread to crops, crop failures can reach colossal proportions.

The spider mite is an insect that lives everywhere and spreads to various types of plants (indoor, ornamental, seed).

The most effective way to combat the problem is to use various chemicals that affect adults and their larvae. If it is impossible to use poisons, they resort to biological methods: planting crops that repel parasites; the use of drugs obtained from fungal spores.

An important role is also played in the prevention of infection of indoor plants. To do this, gardeners are advised to calcine purchased soil upon purchase, regularly wet-clean window sills, and isolate the new plant from the rest for 2 weeks.

Prevention of occurrence

The tick loves dry air and high air temperatures. In order not to give him pleasure, the flowers need to be sprayed often, and the apartment must be ventilated so that it is not too hot.

A good preventive measure can be a hot shower every 3 weeks. Many plants can easily tolerate temperatures up to 45 degrees.

Everything related to plants and brought into the house from the outside must undergo strict control and, if necessary, treatment. The new flower is washed in the shower and placed on an empty windowsill, where it must undergo a two-week quarantine. Soil for plants needs to be steamed, like all other components used to prepare planting mixtures, including drainage.

Spider mites are a very dangerous and insidious enemy. It can quickly destroy an entire collection of indoor flowers. Therefore, you need to fight him mercilessly, only then can he be defeated.

Folk remedies for fighting

First of all, these are various decoctions and infusions.

Boil 100 dried alder leaves or 100 g of fresh leaves in 1 liter of water for half an hour. The infusion steeped for 12 hours is filtered and used for spraying. Pour 50 g of dandelion leaves or 30 g of dandelion roots with hot (40 degrees) water and leave for about 3 hours, strain. 100 g of crushed horseradish roots are poured with a liter of water. Let it brew for an hour and strain. 20 g of garlic cloves are passed through a garlic press and mixed with 1 liter of water. Strain without insisting and process immediately. Finely chop a large onion, pour 0.5 liters of warm, soft water, and let it brew for 5 to 7 hours under the lid. Use a strained solution. Gently wipe the leaves with medical alcohol with 965 concentration

Particular attention should be paid to treating the leaf axils, where the mite may be hiding. If you turn on a household UV lamp with medium-length rays for just 2-3 minutes, the tick will be destroyed. You can do this 3-4 times a week. It is possible to use a mixture of acetone and 96% alcohol in a ratio of 1:2

It is better to simply completely dip the plants in this solution. Combine the processing process with replanting, thoroughly cleaning the roots from the old substrate.

Types of spider mites

Each type of mite prefers to feed on the sap of certain plants. Therefore, it is advisable to know on which plants which mites settle. For example:

Red tick. Prefers flowers such as balsam, lemon, rose, orchid.
The broad mite is found on ficus, oleander, some types of cactus, and euonymus.
Atlantic tick. It prefers to live on palm trees and citrus fruits, as well as on other plants. Lover of high humidity.
Cactus mite or bryobia. As a rule, this parasite chooses exotic plants.
Clover mite. Prefers bulbous plants, euonymus, orchids, ficus, peneromia.
Cyclamen mite. Chooses flowers such as pelargonium, balsam, violet, chrysanthemum, gloxinia.
Common tick. It can be seen on rose, dracaena, balsam, fuchsia.
False tick. A very small parasite that is difficult to recognize with the naked eye. In addition, he does not spin webs. As a rule, most of the flowers on which this dangerous parasite has settled die.

Where do they come from?

Ticks enter homes and infect healthy crops in several ways:

After a new mite-infested plant appears at home. It is difficult to detect small pests; a newly acquired flower often hides eggs or adults in the crown. All newly arrived plants must be quarantined for 2-4 weeks.
Contaminated soil. When transplanting and rejuvenating home flowers, you can infect them with mites from the soil. Even purchased land can contain pests.
Displaying home flowers in gardens, balconies and loggias. A lot of ticks live in vegetable gardens and summer cottages.
A light, small pest can be carried in by a tailwind from the street, from open transoms and vents. Most flowers are on windowsills or just near windows.

Home remedies

Things you will need:

magnifying glass (preferably 30x), water, plant spray, 4-5 tablespoons of dishwashing liquid, 1 cup of salicylic alcohol.

Using a magnifying glass, carefully examine your indoor plants to see if they have been attacked by spider mites. Hold the glass over the plant and check for brown or black spots no larger than poppy seeds. Look for any nibbled shoots, leaves, stems or other signs of pests around the area.
Spray the plants as often as possible and water regularly. Spider mites usually move downwards if the plant is well sprayed with water. Water washes away the remnants of the spider web and all the debris and tick activity. It will be good if you remove the plants to a room that is not too lit by the sun during the period of fighting the mite.

Water and dishwashing liquid

If the number of mites on a plant is small, then washing the infected plant leaves with warm water and a few drops of dishwashing liquid will be quite effective against them.

Mix 1 tablespoon of liquid dish soap and one liter of water. Pour the solution into a spray bottle. Spray the plant under the leaves to kill mites. The product kills pests as soon as it hits them. To stop further mite infestation, use the product after 7 days.

Dishwashing liquid can be sprayed on infected plants.

A solution of laundry soap and water

Treating with a solution of soap and water helps fight the mite, and you can also sprinkle the leaves with the remaining ash from a burnt cigarette.

In case of a pest attack on bush hydrangea or aromatic violet, cypress, a shower with strong water pressure for several days helps.

Vegetable oil

The underside of the leaf blade can be greased with vegetable oil. The oil coats the spider mite's body, creating a barrier and restricting air flow, which will ultimately suffocate the pest.

Soap and denatured alcohol solution

Another effective way to combat spider mites is to treat the back side of the plant leaf with a solution of laundry soap and denatured alcohol. To prepare the solution, you need to dilute 20 g of laundry soap and 10 ml of denatured alcohol in 1 liter of water. Mix the mixture thoroughly and spray using a hand sprayer.

It is very important to cover all parts of the plant with liquid. It's good if after spraying you can wrap the plant in a transparent film and let it stand for several days

The dark remains of spider mites will be visible on the transparent film. This will be a sign that the treatment was successful.

Denatured alcohol is the strongest poison for spider mites

Extract from garlic and onion peels

A good effect of killing spider mites is achieved using an extract from a clove of garlic and onion peel. Not only is it fatal to them, but it also prevents them from invading the plant again. The smell of garlic and onions acts as a deterrent for the spider to settle and spread on plants.

To prepare the extract, you need to finely chop the garlic cloves (about 25 g), pour 1 liter of cold water over them and leave for 12-14 hours. After this time, the solution should be decanted, diluted with cold water in a 1:1 ratio and sprayed on the plant. The extract is consumed during the day because it quickly loses its healing and deadly properties. The plant treatment should be repeated after 21 days to ensure that the pests have left your plants and are not returning.

Salicylic alcohol and water

Mix 1 cup alcohol with 1 cup water and pour the mixture into a spray bottle. Alcohol kills ticks on first contact. Water dilutes the alcohol enough to not harm the plant. Spray especially carefully the undersides of plant leaves where spider mites like to live.

Good to know!

In order to prevent the appearance of spider mites at home, which is especially important in winter, take care of additional humidity in the house - spray the plants with warm water more often

The back of the plant needs to be treated with salicylic alcohol.

How can you remove insects at home?

After discovering spider mites on home flowers, it is necessary to urgently isolate the affected plants and begin treating them. Preventive measures should be applied to healthy plants. You can fight the pest using several methods: from special chemicals to the use of improvised means.

Chemical methods

Specialized preparations are used in cases of significant pest damage to flowers. The following are popular:

Sunmite;
Flumite;
Apollo;
Oberon;
Floromite.

Important! When processing with chemicals, it is necessary to follow the safety measures specified by the manufacturer.

Biological drugs

Biological products are not as toxic as chemicals. But pets may be harmed by them, so the flowers being treated should not be within their reach.

The following biological preparations are used to control the pest:

Vertimek;
Aktofit;
Agravertine;
Akarin.

Attention! After treating flowers with biological products, mite eggs survive. Therefore, after a while, the processing procedure is repeated.

How to fight with folk remedies?

To combat ticks, improvised means are suitable. The following infusions and decoctions have proven themselves well:

Onion infusion. Finely chop a medium-sized onion, then pour 1 liter of boiling water and leave for 4 hours. After time, the infusion is filtered and applied to the infected plant using a spray bottle.
Infusion of celandine. 2 tablespoons of green parts of the plant are poured with boiling water and left for 4 hours. You need to treat the flower with the prepared infusion.
Yarrow decoction. 100 grams of green mass of yarrow should be poured into 1 liter of boiling water and boiled over low heat for 3-4 minutes, then left to brew for 3-4 hours, strain and process the plant.

How to recognize plant infection

It is difficult to see spider mites on indoor or garden plants, since they are very small in size - from 0.2 to 1 mm. The only thing that can be noticed is cobwebs in some places, as well as spot damage to the leaves.

The web is almost transparent. You can notice it by the remains of the vital activity of parasites, as well as settled dust, since it contains a sticky substance. It helps ticks stay in place during windy weather.

Insects, depending on the species, may have a transparent body, so it is almost impossible to see them. Some look like dust, which is why gardeners notice the infestation in the later stages, when all the plants - ornamental or agricultural - are entangled in cobwebs.

Insect excrement is scattered on it with black dots. You can also find eggs there, although you will have to use a magnifying glass to see the transparent small clutches of 3–5 pieces.

Spider mites settle on adult plants and young seedlings

When inspecting indoor crops, special attention should be paid to the underside of the leaves; this is where the pest likes to hide, as it avoids direct sunlight. It is also more convenient to eat from the inside - there the skin is softer and easier to bite through.

Damage caused by parasites

The green color of the leaves is due to the presence of chlorophyll, which is eaten by spider mites. To do this, they bite through the leaf with their proboscis and damage the chloroplasts, which contain chlorophyll. As a result, the sheet is covered with dots - these are puncture sites. In this place, tissue dies and the area becomes discolored, then darkens.

The more pests, the stronger the damage to the leaf plate. Subsequently, the points merge with each other, the sheet gradually dries and then falls off. The result is that loss of foliage leads to the death of the plant due to the inability to feed and produce chlorophyll.

Spider mites are indiscriminate in their food, so they can feed on any plants, even poisonous ones - henbane, wormwood and others. Small crops die in one season - berries, vegetables, flowers. Trees also suffer from animal invasions, but they can damage a tree in 2–3 seasons.

In addition to eating foliage, pests carry fungal spores and the process of crop destruction proceeds faster, since punctures in tissues are a gateway to infection. Next season, in addition to insects, you will need to fight mold and bacteriosis.

Fighting spider mites on indoor plants is a little easier, since there are fewer potential habitats than in the garden, but the process still requires time and attention.

Common types

The genus of spider mites includes many species. Their difference lies in the preferences of the plants on which they parasitize.

Ordinary

The most common species, characterized by omnivory. It parasitizes almost all types of agricultural crops and indoor flowers, excluding conifers. Females produce 3-5 clutches of eggs per year.

Red

A distinctive feature is that the females of this species have a bright red color. Damages indoor plants, preferring lemons, callas and orchids. The red tick is heat-loving and actively reproduces at temperatures above 25 degrees.

False

The pest parasitizes palm trees, orchids and citrus fruits. The body color is green, merging with the foliage, and may also have a red tint. This species is not capable of producing cobwebs, which, combined with its microscopic size (0.2-0.3 mm), greatly complicates its detection.

Wide

The broad spider mite prefers to inhabit plants indoors, so it poses a threat to indoor flowers. Cacti, ficus and citrus fruits suffer from its invasion. The eggs of this pest are visible on plants, which makes it easier to combat.

Clover

The main food of the clover spider mite is cereals. When this pest gets on indoor flowers, it damages them too. Longer legs (compared to other species) allow it to move quickly, capturing new plants. Peperomia and ficus trees are attacked.

Important! If you suspect that indoor flowers are infested with spider mites, you should inspect the plants using a magnifying glass. It is almost impossible to notice the pest with the naked eye, especially under artificial lighting.

Preventive measures

Of course, preventing disaster is much cheaper than dealing with the consequences. Preventive measures against spider mites include:

daily inspection of indoor flowers
quarantine for new shoots, seedlings with complete isolation from domestic plants
regular ventilation of rooms and artificial air humidification
systematic spraying of flowers
periodic illumination of greenery with an ultraviolet lamp (once a week for 1 minute).

Remember! Ticks are resistant to aggressive external influences, but are not immortal. Victory in the fight will still be yours!

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Recommendations for tick treatment

Some gardeners are interested in how to deal with spider mites, because most acaricides and folk remedies are powerless against them. However, systematic work to destroy the pest always gives good results if you follow certain rules when treating bushes.

Before processing, it is worth cutting off and burning all the most affected leaves. This will reduce the number of insects on the flower several times!
Spider mites on indoor plants will not survive if acaricides or insectoacaricides are diluted according to the instructions. But they are sprayed not only on affected domestic crops, but also on those that grow close to them. If this is not done, the pest will move to a safe flower, survive and reproduce with the same effort, destroying indoor crops.
First, the crops are sprayed with chemicals, and then the soil is moistened.
Treatment with folk remedies is carried out more often than with acaricides. Do 3-4 sprays of the product 1-2 times a week. In this case, not only adult individuals are destroyed, but also young ones.

Flumite is a hormonal acaricide against spider mites on indoor plants

Important! Spider mites do not tolerate high humidity. So, as a preventive measure, you can arrange frequent spraying, watering

But such prevention is only suitable for those indoor crops for which an abundance of water is not dangerous.

After treating crops with folk or specialized preparations, you need to thoroughly wipe the surfaces where the pot stands with vodka. It is also advisable to wash the curtains if the plant is on the windowsill. If insects are frequent guests on indoor crops, it is necessary to carry out prevention at least once every half month. For prevention, you can give the plants a shower, and wipe the leaves with soapy water and rinse

If a shower is not recommended for the flowers, make a steam bath - close the windows and doors in the bathroom, turn on boiling water and leave the plant for a quarter of an hour. It is important to disinfect trays once a week. To do this, you can at least simply wash them with dishwashing liquid or wash them with boiling water.

Pots are disinfected only when replanting plants.

By following these simple recommendations, you can quickly destroy spider mites on indoor plants.

Spider mites are a dangerous pest that can multiply quickly. It depletes plants and leads to their death. But if you detect it in time and begin to destroy it, the cultures can be saved and they will quickly recover.

Reviews

One day he brought me ivy he had bought, poisoned by Aktelik. Ivy could not be saved; the others ran away with slight fear. In spring and autumn I do prophylaxis with Fitoverm (I did it for everyone). And I'm quarantining all new arrivals with daily medical checks.
MirLana, https://homeflowers.ru/yabbse/index.php?showtopic=20008

Somehow the ficus elastica became infected with a mite (I cut it off, because I have a small one and several leaves). I didn't really want to add chemicals. And washed it off thoroughly with soap (there was no soap or foam left). Soap 3 times with an interval of 7-10 days. The ticks are gone. Besides, actually, what to wash with, I washed with the soap that was in the shower.
Dina Ley, https://www.flowersweb.info/forum/forum47/topic65277/messages/?PAGEN_1=2

No matter how much poison I sprayed—long and tediously—it didn’t help. There have been no ticks on the roses for about 10 months. Finally, I tried a laundry soap solution. True, they don’t remove ticks right away - they need patience and time, but the roses are worth it. Indeed, why do I feed the cats for 3 rubles a day, but can’t I spray the rose at least once a day, every day for a month?
But my aunt did not enter into these words and gave me her pink roses - mint hung in the bouquets. She patiently pestered him for 3 months with chemicals, even washed the roots, then said: “either take them, or I’ll throw them in the trash.” I understand. Every day (the first 2 times a day) I sprayed all the leaves with a solution of laundry soap. So - less. The roses are now healthy and fluffy - I put them on the rest - I'm always looking for mints, but not for long.
Litka, https://forum.bestflowers.ru/t/pautinnyj-klesch-na-roze.627/

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Spider mites on indoor plants

This is the worst pest of indoor plants. If your favorite flower begins to dry out for no reason, then it is worth examining the back side of the leaves. If you find small dark dots on the lower surface of the leaf blade, poke one of them with a toothpick. If a speck of dust begins to move, then it is a spider mite, and it’s time to wonder how to deal with it.

Where does it live?

More often, the pest settles on plants with tender and succulent leaves: indoor roses, chrysanthemums, crotons, violets, ficus Benjamin. Plants with rough leaves covered with a cuticle - zamioculcas, ficus, cacti - are too tough for the pest, since it cannot pierce the thick shell and get to the juice.

After a mite infection, the indoor flower turns yellow and dries. The pest can settle not only on the leaves, but also on the petals, disfiguring them. The inflorescences become wrinkled, spotted, and fall off ahead of schedule.

Pests multiply rapidly. Even a single specimen that enters the room with a current of air from a window in the dry room air that is favorable for it will begin to multiply quickly. It takes only a week from laying eggs to hatching into adults.

Spider mites on indoor plants quickly move from pot to pot, infecting home plantings. Take a closer look at the areas of the stem from which the leaf petioles extend. If you notice a white cobweb, it means that mites have settled on indoor plants and it’s time to get down to business.

Ready-made products

The most effective anti-tick medications are classified as acaricides. In room conditions, the most harmless biological products are suitable. Acaricides destroy only adult insects and do not harm the eggs, so treatments have to be repeated several times every three to four days.

Fitoverm

An enteric-contact drug against harmful insects and ticks, produced in Russia. Contains soil fungal spores that settle inside the body of pests and cause their death. Safe for people and animals. To treat indoor plants, dilute 2 ml of Fitoverm in a liter of water and spray the leaves every 7 days. Treatments are repeated 2 to 4 times.

Vermitek

Manufactured by Syngenta, Switzerland. Biological preparation for the protection of ornamental plants in open and protected ground. At the beginning of the appearance of mites, one treatment is sufficient. If the driver has managed to multiply greatly, the treatment is repeated after a week.

To kill insects, 3 ml of the drug is diluted in 10 liters of water. After spraying, a plastic bag is put on the plant, which can be removed after a day.

Aktofit

Ukrainian analogue of Fitoverma, a 4th generation biological preparation that destroys ticks and insects. Indoor plants are treated twice with an interval of at least 14 days. A liter of water requires 4 ml of product.

Folk remedies

If the number of pests is small, then you can get by with one of the proven home methods.

Treatment with medical alcohol

The hardest part is finding real rubbing alcohol that is 96% ABV. Soak a cotton swab in alcohol and wipe the leaves of the flower - all mites and eggs will be instantly destroyed. This measure of spider mite control is suitable for plants with dense leaves: ficus, Chinese roses, Dieffenbachia, palm trees, and is not suitable for thin, delicate and pubescent leaves of fuchsias and violets.

Laundry soap

It does not destroy mites itself, but creates a film on the surface of the leaves through which the pests cannot breathe and die. The soap is whipped into foam and all the leaves are smeared with a brush. After three to four hours, the plants are washed in a warm shower and covered with a plastic bag overnight. High humidity will “finish off” the miraculously surviving but already weakened pests. If a plant with small leaves is infected, you can use a sprayer instead of wiping.

Cat flea drops

Cat flea drops quickly and reliably destroy spider mites on house plants. Add 3-4 drops of the product per liter of water and carry out 2 treatments with an interval of 10 days.

Fighting spider mites

The peculiarity of this pest lies, unfortunately, in its survivability. It reproduces quickly and lays a huge number of eggs in a short period. Because of this, unfortunately, it will not be possible to get rid of spider mites in one or two procedures. It is necessary to apply comprehensive measures to destroy both adults, larvae, and laid eggs.

Spider mites at different stages of their life cycle die from different conditions and drugs

Chemicals

Chemical pest control products are most effective, but can be toxic. When using them, it is important to strictly follow safety precautions:

isolate treated plants from animals and children;
use medications wearing a protective mask and gloves;
Carry out thorough ventilation or use the product outdoors.

Please note that ticks are not insects. Spider mites are arachnids, so insecticides (chemicals used to kill insect pests) will not work on them. It is necessary to choose from acaricides:

"Aktellik" is an insecto-acaricide. This drug is effective against both insects and ticks. Actellik is extremely toxic, so its use indoors is not recommended. If you need to apply it to a houseplant, it is better to take the pot outside or to a well-ventilated balcony while it is being treated. “Actellik” is a very powerful and effective remedy, so it is excellent for mass plant infestations. Unfortunately, it does not kill eggs, so additional treatment with another acaricide is necessary after it. Unlike other means, it can cope not only with the most common ticks (red and common), but also with more exotic species that are rarely found in Russia (date, Atlantic, hawthorn).

Actellik is a highly effective but very toxic drug
"Fitoverm" is an acaricidal agent. It is less toxic than Actellik, so its use is also permissible in enclosed spaces. However, it still poses quite a risk for children and animals, so treated plants must be placed in a place inaccessible to small household members. This product can be used without protective gloves and a mask, but after finishing work, be sure to thoroughly rinse your face, mouth, and hands. “Fitoverm” also does not destroy spider mite eggs, only adults and larvae.

"Fitoverm" is an effective and low-toxic acaricide
"Neoron" is an effective acaricide that destroys not only adult ticks, but also tick eggs. It is toxic, so you need to remember safety precautions and ventilate the room well after using it. Despite the fact that it quite quickly destroys the pest population, one application of the product is not enough - it is necessary to carry out at least three treatments of the plant. It is best to conduct them at intervals of 3-5 days - this is not enough time for the larvae to hatch from the eggs and produce a new generation.

"Neoron" is a powerful acaricide that can remove the entire population from a plant
"Sunmite" - like "Neoron", is an effective means for destroying both adult ticks and larvae with eggs. This drug can only be used once every six months, otherwise the pests may develop immunity. “Sunmite” is used by dissolving at the rate of 1 g of acaricide per 1 liter of water. The plant is carefully sprayed, it is especially important to treat the underside of the leaf - the drug is effective only in direct contact with the larva or adult.

"Sunmite" is an acaricide with an ovicidal effect

Biological method

This method was developed by Candidate of Biological Sciences G. A. Beglyarov. Its essence is simple - feed the spider mite to a predator that feeds on them in the natural environment (acariphage). Today, gardening stores offer sachets (small bags) containing natural enemies of the mite - phytoseiulus or amblyseius. The method of control in this case is as follows: the bag is hung from one of the branches of the affected plant and opened. Predators immediately go looking for food. In one day, each of the acarifages eats several adult ticks and several dozen eggs. Within a week, the colony of spider mites is emptied, and the predator itself dies a few days later from starvation.

Phytoseiulus is an acarifage that feeds on spider mites

This method is recognized by scientists and gardeners as extremely effective, but it is not suitable for use on plants with heavily pubescent leaves (for example, violets).

Folk remedies

If the plant has just been attacked by pests, and their population is not yet large enough, you can use gentle folk remedies:

Medical alcohol. A cotton pad or small sponge should be moistened with an alcohol solution (1:10) and thoroughly wipe all the leaves of the plant. Unfortunately, this method does not destroy tick eggs, but it works well against adult ticks. If the spider mite has not yet had time to leave its future offspring on the leaves of the plant, then such treatment will be enough to get rid of the pest. Look at the underside of the leaf - if you do not find small whitish fixed dots, then the pest has not yet laid eggs. Please note that this method is not suitable for plants with thin and sensitive leaves (rose, fuchsia, petunia), but is well tolerated by denser ones (ficus, dieffenbachia, phalaenopsis). Rubbing alcohol is a universal remedy that will help not only disinfect wounds, but also get rid of pests of indoor plants.
Tobacco smoke. This method is certainly not the safest for humans, but if you or anyone in your household smokes, you can use this bad habit to eliminate spider mites. The smoker must release smoke onto the plant. Tobacco smoke is extremely harmful to adult spider mites, but it will not get rid of eggs and larvae.

Tobacco smoke contains many toxins and combustion products that are harmful to spider mites
Laundry soap. This method is ideal for plants with large leaves: violets, dieffenbachias, orchids, and some types of ficus. Laundry soap must be whipped into foam and lubricated with it on the leaves of the affected plant. This product does not kill the tick directly, but creates a dense film through which the pest cannot breathe and feed. After treatment, the plant is left with foam on the leaves for 3–5 hours, then the product is washed off with a warm shower with low pressure. Without allowing the plant to dry out, you need to cover it with a plastic bag or any other “cap” that will prevent the moisture from quickly evaporating. The combination of a foam film and high humidity is detrimental to an adult spider mite, but eggs can survive this impact - additional treatment with an acaricide chemical will be required.

Laundry soap is one of the most affordable ways to combat spider mites
Garlic. One large head of garlic must be finely chopped and poured with three liters of water. The mixture is infused for five days, after which it is filtered and sprayed on the leaves of the affected plant. This method can show its effectiveness only at the early stage of the lesion, when the spider mite colony is still very small.

Garlic is very useful not only for humans, but also for plants affected by spider mites

Spread of the pest to other plants

Spider mites, unfortunately, very quickly spread to neighboring plants, since they not only have the ability to reproduce quickly, but also the ability to overcome relatively large distances (for a tiny pest). To prevent massive tick infestation of your green pets, you should take the following precautions:

the plant on which you found a tick must be urgently isolated from other potted plants;
all plants that were in the same room with the affected one must be checked for signs: cobwebs, eggs, mites themselves;
if several plants are affected, they also need to be kept isolated from each other until complete recovery.

Spider mites in the garden

Ticks appear in the garden in June and already go to winter in August, hiding under plant debris and in the surface layer of soil. During this time, they manage to destroy a huge number of garden plants. PCs can live in greenhouses all year round without retiring.

Where does it live?

More often, spider mites appear on seedlings in a greenhouse. Open ground flower and decorative foliage crops are severely affected: garden roses, chrysanthemums, boxwood, juniper, black locust, chestnuts, mock orange. Starts quickly on lemon.

The insect eagerly settles on greenhouse cucumbers, eggplants and tomatoes. It does not ignore grapes, apple trees, strawberries, melons, beans, beets, rhubarb, soybeans, spinach, peppers.

The pest settles on the lower plane of the leaf and sucks out the juice. It can be detected by the cobwebs that have accumulated at the base of the petioles, but it becomes visible when the infection becomes widespread.

The first signs of damage are a general lightening of the leaf blade and the formation of whitish small spots on it, located in no particular order, chaotically. At the next stage, the reverse side of the leaf is covered with a thin layer of cobwebs, under the canopy of which the tick can move unhindered.

Ready-made products

It is not easy to detect a PC in the garden due to its small size. The gardener sounds the alarm when the plants turn yellow and the leaves fly off. In a short time, only one skeleton may remain of a lush bush.

Neoron

An effective remedy against any herbivorous mites, available in 25 ml ampoules. It acts by contact - a tick that touches a leaf begins to hurt and eventually dies. Plants are sprayed in calm weather. Dissolve 10 to 20 ml of Neoron per bucket of water (depending on the pest infestation).

Omite

An acaricide based on propargite, with a bonus it destroys thrips. Penetrates the tick's body only by contact. The pests die after a few minutes. Omite is available in powder and emulsion, diluted according to the instructions on the package.

Fufanon (Anti-mite)

Active ingredient: malathion. 10 ml of Fufanon is dissolved in 10 liters of cool water - this volume is enough to treat one hundred square meters. The product is toxic to ticks and insects, including bees. Moderately dangerous for people and animals.

Folk remedies

Traditional methods of struggle help little. In order not to lose the harvest or home flowers, it is better to combine home recipes with chemical or biological treatments.

Decoctions

Decoctions and infusions of essential oil plants can help: garlic, onion, horseradish. A kilogram of finely ground raw materials is poured into a bucket of cold water. After a few hours, the liquid is filtered and sprayed.

Horsetail

A common plant found in many gardens - horsetail - contains a huge amount of silicic acid, which makes the leaves of flowers and vegetables unpalatable to mites, and at the same time increases resistance to powdery mildew and rust. A kilogram of horsetail is infused in 10 liters of cold water and simmered for half an hour over low heat under a lid, then filtered - and the decoction is ready for spraying. Before treatment, the liquid is diluted with water five times.

When using folk remedies, you need to know that pests get used to them just like insecticides, so decoctions and infusions need to be alternated. For better adhesion, you can add a little laundry soap to any prepared liquid - 2 g per 1 liter.

What does a spider mite look like on indoor plants and how to detect the presence of a pest?

Nonspecific primary manifestations of the tick complicate its detection. The following symptoms indicate pest infestation:

Brown spots form on the leaves, as if punctured by a thin needle.
The foliage dries up and the flowers fall off.
The growth and development of culture slows down.
Red or black dots on the back of the leaf that move.
A web that weaves around the flower and the back of the leaves.
Individuals accumulate on the web if the population is large.

Symptoms of infection

The main sign of the presence of mites is the formation of a thin web on the bottom of the leaf or between the leaf blade and the stem. Fragile cobwebs can be easily removed by hand. The movement of parasites on its surface is noticed immediately.

Obvious signs of the presence of a pest include traces of molting, reminiscent of dandruff. In addition, spider mites leave secretions in the form of white spots and silver streaks on the foliage.

Types of parasites and why they are dangerous

Biologists classify ticks as arachnids, a type of arthropod. This classification is possible due to the special structure of its body. That is why all insecticides against mites used against other insects are powerless. They need other means. There are more than 2,000 different species of ticks in nature. They can be found in every corner of the globe.

The following species pose the greatest danger to indoor plants:

The common spider mite is absolutely omnivorous, affecting up to 200 species of plants;
red spider mite - specializes in indoor plants and is most dangerous for them;
red-legged spider mite;
Turkestan cotton spider mite.

The community of these microscopic arthropods has not been fully studied, so the discovery of other species is possible.

The main food of any representative from the above list is plant juice. Indoor flowers deprived of it quickly weaken and die. What is the danger of spider mites?

They are difficult to detect

The size of an adult individual, regardless of the species, is no more than 1 mm, and the color – greenish-brown in different shades – allows it to easily blend into the foliage. Only wintering females are brightly colored. The mite lives on the underside of leaves, so its colony is not noticeable.

They multiply quickly

The tick's reproduction cycle, called metamorphosis, can last from a month to a week and depends on the ambient temperature. At a temperature of about 30 degrees Celsius, the larvae emerge from the eggs within 3 days, and after a few days they are ready to reproduce. Therefore, the tick colony grows very quickly, capturing new territories.

Ease of infection

The pest can be brought into the house with purchased plants or other planting material, with soil, on the soles of shoes and on clothes. Finally, a tick can enter a room through an open window, blown in by the wind, and the number of floors does not play a role here.

The presence of diapause in females

If conditions for development and nutrition become unfavorable, female ticks enter a kind of resting stage, in which they can remain for up to 5 years. But more often they simply settle down for the winter - daylight hours shorter than 17 hours do not allow them to lead an active lifestyle. Mites overwinter on the leaves or in the soil of the pot. They are able to burrow to a depth of 20 cm. Any crack is suitable for them - in a window sill, wall, ceiling, or floor. Females do the same during prolonged heat.

Such features of the life cycle make pest control difficult and lengthy.

Should there be a web?

There are two types of spider mites with different claws - ordinary (black) and red. Both of them belong to the class Arachnids. Regardless of the subspecies, the characteristic cobweb always appears. Moreover, it can often be found on the inner (bottom) side, since this is where pests lay eggs, and the web is the protection of future offspring.

Additionally, like most arachnids, insects travel along plant branches with the help of webs. And huge populations, in principle, love to “sit” on their web.

Types of ticks and danger

Such small pests settle on home plants in accordance with their taste preferences. Some people cannot tolerate aloe, others cannot tolerate plants of the Gesneriaceae family, etc.

The number of species of ticks exceeds several thousand, the most common of which are:

Common or white mites are light-colored spiders, the most dangerous and widespread, living on the back of leaves and young shoots. When they multiply strongly, they are able to crawl onto neighboring plants. The first sign of their appearance on a flower: yellow spots and a thin web that entangles green shoots and leaves.
Red mites are microscopic brightly colored insects that attack indoor orchids, roses, and lemon trees; are among the most dangerous and rare.
Flat cactus or bryobia - affect exotic plantings, leaving yellow dotted stripes on the greenery, the eggs are orange, and the clutch is located in a chain along the leaf veins.
False mites are the smallest even among their fellow mites, which is why they quietly damage plants, which become covered with cobwebs and quickly wither.
Cyclamenaceae - settle in the soil, in tubers and on plant leaves; outwardly, their colonies look like dust, which makes detection difficult.