Although the human eye cannot see the spider mites, they may cause havoc on your plants by draining the sap from their leaf tissue. The bugs are not helpful to your houseplants; they are very harmful and unsuitable. These bugs are harmful to your houseplant and should be avoided.
Plant cultivation can be both enjoyable and frustrating. One disheartening disadvantage is when your flora appears to be deteriorating, and you require assistance determining the problem. Mites may have infested your plants’ leaves if they seem stippled or deformed. Spider mites are a bothersome (and predictable) pest of indoor and outdoor plants. The arachnids can’t be seen with the human eye, multiply quickly, and create a tangled web in their aftermath. They are only sometimes the easiest to detect, as the human eye cannot see them.
While there are numerous mite species, spider mites are the most frequent. Because the pest lives in nature and nursery settings, you should inspect your plants for mites before bringing them home from the gardening center and before bringing garden plants indoors in winter. Mites are so small that they can travel on human clothing, shoes, or store-bought plants outside or inside your home. Because spider mites are so common, protecting your plants is critical.
Why Are Spider Mites So Common?
Spider mites are often a problem for houseplants because the conditions inside your home are perfect for the bug. Spider mites flourish in warm, low-humidity environments, like most homes. Spider mites often attack strained trousers, typical of tropical plants grown inside. Look for them in corners, small areas, and because they are so small, look for any traces that they may leave to find them.
Other Mite Species vs. Spider Mites
Spider mites are the most common mites on plants. Spider mites are the most prevalent, but cyclamen and broad mites, which are tiny and do not produce webs like spider mites, are an occasional nuisance to houseplants. Despite this, there are several arachnids. Spider mites are frequently found due to the webs they spin in their hiding places.
Spider mites, on the other hand, are only visible when viewed through a magnifying glass. It’s also possible that your plant has predatory mites that eat spider mites.
Spider Mite Symptoms in Your Plant
Understanding the symptoms of a spider mite infestation might help you stay ahead of the game. Spider mites’ mouthparts are needle-like. They use them to puncture the leaf’s surface and suck plant juices. This action often results in stippling on the leaves and tiny white dots with sap taken from the leaf tissue. It usually starts around the plants’ prominent veins on the delicate leaves. In severe infestations, the leaves curl inward and in a tangled web.
How to Detect an Infestation
If you suspect a mite infestation, remove a magnifying lens and place a piece of white paper under a leaf. Shake the leaf again and watch the dots move across the page. The grit of droppings and their cast exoskeletons struck me. Mites, like insects, shed their outer skeleton as they grow—their structure instead of bones like ours.
How to Avoid Spider Mites
When introducing a new plant to your collection, it’s important to be cautious about mites, as they can easily transfer from one plant to another.
Separate Your Plant
That may appear extreme, but you want to eliminate any possibility that a potentially mite-infested plant will harm the rest of your foliage. Isolate new purchases from the rest of your houseplants for several weeks and look for symptoms of spider mites and other pests before reintroducing them.
Remove the Leaves
Cleaning the leaves removes dust, allowing your plant to receive more sunshine, and removes any existing mites. Wipe down smooth-leaved plants with a moist cloth and fuzzy-leaved plants using a cosmetics brush.
Because spider mites are more likely to attack stressed plants if
the environment is healthy and comfortable. To decrease stress, make sure plants get enough water and sunlight.
Raise the Humidity
Because spider mites like low humidity, increasing the moistness of your plant area is one approach to keeping them at bay, accomplished by grouping plants together (after the isolation period is complete), and the others benefit as one plant transpires, losing moisture through pores in the leaves, on water-filled saucers, with the plants elevated above the water. As the water evaporates, the humidity around the plants rises.
How to Remove Spider Mites
When you find a spider mite infestation, don’t give up hope—there are a few ways to get rid of the arachnids once they’ve made a home on your plant.
Water and soap
Wiping down the leaves with soapy water is one method for removing mites from your plant. To do so:
Combine a tiny bit of dish soap with around 1 cup of water.
Dip a towel into the solution and clean the leaves, cleaning the stems and undersides.
Rinse the plants and soil well to remove any soap residue.
Oils for Horticulture
Employ organic horticultural oils, which destroy all stages of mites on contact. Mites, like insects, breathe through holes in their exoskeleton; the oil coats their bodies and suffocates them, causing them to die. Spray the oil over the upper and lower leaf surfaces, as well as the stems, of the affected plant. Because they kill insects by touching them, they often need to be used more than once.
Using a Water Sprayer
A strong water jet will remove many mites, but it will only be effective once. Showering with water alone is inefficient at eliminating mites. It can repel and wash some of them away, but most mites hide in crevices or on the undersides of leaves and are unaffected by watering the plant. Continue the method weekly to prevent the mites from taking over your plant.
Predators are Invited
Move your plant outside if you have the space and the weather permits. Mites have numerous natural predators, such as ladybugs, and can aid in plant cleaning.