thing is i see lots of eggs but few if any adult mites. with all the natural predators like spiders and ladybugs..., should i really worry about spraying for spider-mites? will they become more of problem when budding starts?
Go to your nursary and buy a bag of lady bugs. Let them go a little at a time in your garden. If you spray the bag of ladybugs with soda they will not be able to fly away for two days. All along munching on your mites. Store them in the fridge and they will sleep. Take them out after a few minutes they wake up.
If you are not to far into flower I would spray them with an organic insecticide and then repeat 3 days later then follow 5150's advice with the lady bugs. Or you can take 5150's advice alone but I haven't done it that way myself. Also keeping a plant healthy increases its natural immunity. Spider mights can be terrible. They get worst in hotter dry weather and definantly I noticed during flowering because of how bushy the plants get.
Yes....Yes they do, they will decimate your whole crop within days, there your worst fear when it comes to bugs
Not as much to worry about when it comes to outdoor. I would definetly still adress the issue, but Indoor they will ruin you very quickly. Take the blades advice that have already posted to you. If you are not too far into flower then use an organic insecticide. If this were me, I would completely douse them, paying very close attention to the undersides of the leaves. this is where they love to hide. Use a pump sprayer and dont miss a spot. Several hours later, use clear water and rinse the whole thing off again to remove any of the insecticide. If you're outdoor, the ladybugs might not do you too much good - they will probably just fly away along with the money you just spent to but them. If you are in flower heavily already, then the real issues begin, because you really dont want to spray anything on your flowers, due to mold issues. At that point, if the mites dont get you then the mold will. Spider mites just suck. They will literally suck the life out of your plant. take them very seriously, especially if you are indoors. Watch for small webs, especially on the lower regions of your ladies. Keep us posted, and good luck! jerry.
ladybugs work awesome. i had aphids in april and bought 1500 ladybugs for $10 and all the aphids were gone in a few days. then about two weeks ago i had some spider mites, bought another batch of ladybugs and two days later no more mites.
and its really cool to watch the whole process of them being released and immediately going to the underside of the leaves, finding the pests and getting rid of them.
I actually found that the ladybugs stayed in my garden for a few days. But less then a week no sign of them. I am guessing I killed most their food source with insecticide which is fine. I plan on reinnoculating with the ladybugs and making sure they have a nice home and a reason to say. Read up on the best way to release them and you should see them in your garden for a bit. I have heard something about spraying a mixture of 1 part soda 3 parts water to keep them from flying away as easy. Anyone here of such a thing? I haven't tried it myself but think I heard something similar also about spraying them with light molasses. And the comment about spider mites not being a big problem outdoors may be true for some but not for my region. I have seen first hand and stories and am taking major precautions this year to prevent an outbreak. Prevention is the key. Once you are into flower and you get them there isn't much you can do.