Spider Mites (Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider_mite) are one of the most common indoor plant pests and can very quickly kill your healthy houseplants.
We’ll cover a few important things in this article:
- How to detect infestation early
- Steps on how to rid your plant of Spider Mites
- Tips on preventative care.
Detecting Early
These tiny bugs are hard to see so detecting them early is key to saving your plant.
- Spider Mites often cause yellow or brown spots to appear on the leaves.
- You should also be able to see small white specs that sometimes look like dust – these are the eggs and they are most often encased in barely visible protective webbing.
- They tend to attack the bottoms of the leaves first so make sure to check there when trying to diagnose.
3 Easy Steps to get rid of them
Step 1: Hose down your plant.
Step 1 – Thoroughly hose down your plant. The water pressure will knock off most of the mites and eggs.
Step 2: Spray down the plant with an insecticide such as Neem Oil.
Step 2 – Use an organic insecticidal oil such as Neem Oil (you should be able to find this at your local nursery or hardware store) and spray down the entire plant, especially the underside of the leaves.
Step 3: Wipe with a sponge, and then repeat these steps once a week for a month.
Step 3 – To be even more certain you have rid your plant of Spider Mites, wipe down the leaves with sponges after spraying. Use a sponge on the front and back of the leaves. Spider Mites spread quickly so repeat these steps once per week for one month to make sure you got them all.
Prevent your plants from getting bugs
Spraying your plants with Neem Oil can be used as a preventive measure in making sure your healthy plants don’t get bugs. It’s non-toxic and can be used indoors.
Good Luck! Contact us if you have any questions, and definitely don’t forget to let us know how well this technique worked for you.
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