Spider Mite Control

Use these Spider Mite control tips on your garden and keep your flowers and shrubs beautiful.

Spider Mites are very small spiders that are very difficult to see without a magnifying glass.

You can usually notice a silky web on your plants indicating that you might have a Spider Mite problem.

Another way to tell if you have a Spider Mite problem is to hold a white piece of paper under the leaves of your plant and shake the leaves. If you have Spider Mites they will fall onto the paper and look like little tiny dots. If you get a magnifying glass and look at them, you will see them crawling around.

Here is an excellent video from Mike McGroarty about using the white paper and magnifying glass method to see Spider Mites and the best way to get rid of them.

What damage can they do to your plants? They have sharp mouth-parts that they use to suck the sap juices out your plants which will turn the leaves yellow and they will die.

A heavy infestation will end up killing a plant so keep an eye on your plants.

Spider Mite Control

Getting Rid Of Spider Mites in your garden.

As it says in the video the best way is to use a strong spray of water and knock them off.
Another way of getting rid of Spider Mites is make your own Hot Pepper Spray. Combine 1 tbsp. of cayenne pepper or hot sauce with 4 cups of warm water with a couple drops of dish soap. Mix it up and spray on the underside of your plants leaves.
Encouraging Spider Mite predators to your garden can help in Spider Mite control. Here are a few:

Stethorus punctillum – a type of ladybug that will kill Spider Mites
Feltiella acarisuga– is a gall midge will feed on Spider Mites
There are also different types of Mites that feed on Spider Mites.

You can purchase all of these insects online to help control Spider Mites.

Remember Spider Mites like it hot and dry so if you can keep the area around your plants cooler and wet you can help keep these common garden pests away.

If you have found other ways that work or have tried the methods above, share your knowledge here.