Declaring war on spider mites

[Phisherman]

Anyone tell me how to effectively eliminate spider mites on house plants (dracaena, aspidistra, etc)? I have tried spraying all leaf surfaces with soapy water, tried a summer oil spray, and Raid--none of these worked. Releasing predator bugs is not an option. Do I need to use a systemic? It is the two-spotted spider mite.

[Alice B]

I have found that the best way of getting rid of them is with the hose. Summer your houseplants outside and everyday pick them up and spray the foliage with the hose. EVERYDAY..it won't be long until they are gone. This is the way to get rid of them outside too..

alice

[Gaby Chaudry]

Hi,

I use to a) put the plants into the bath tube and shower them and then b) cover them with a transparent plastic bag or foil for at least a week or so (this ensures that all mite generations are killed).

HTH

Best wishes Gaby

[Keith Nuttle]

[Gaby Chaudry]

Keith,

I'm not quite sure whether everybody likes to have lizards and frogs in his/her livingroom.... ;-)

Bye, Gaby

[John Watson]

I don't so I keep them in my bedroom along with the snakes! ;-)

John

[Tyler Hopper]

Try enclosing them in a clear plastic bag and hanging something like a Shell No Pest strip in there.

Tyler

[dr-solo]

what plant is this?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List

the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the endorsements or recommendations I make.

[Phisherman]

I have several plants infected with the two-spotted spider mite. Three kinds of Dracaena and two kinds of Aspidistra. I've been checking other plants with 10X magnification. The infected plants are in large heavy pots making it impractical to be moved in and out of the house for frequent hose sprayings.

I enclosed each plant >what plant is this?

[Gaby Chaudry]

Hi,

Yes, I tried, but with no success. 2 days is much too short. I leave the bag for at least 5 days up to a week. If 2 days is the life cycle of the mite, you should consider that the next generation is already present in the eggs.

Bye, Gaby

[dr-solo]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List

the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the endorsements or recommendations I make.