Spider mites on houseplants can be troublesome. They will ruin the appearance and health of your favorite leafy companions! And so, here, we are going to teach you how to get rid of spider mites on houseplants.
This type of insect is actually a common pest that often attacks houseplants. They are fortunately easy to control. However, you should always stay alert if you do not want an uncontrollable infestation. Even common houseplant pests can cause damage and problems if left untreated.
A houseplant’s environment is usually warmer than its surroundings. Unfortunately, this condition can attract some microorganisms that can become bothersome pests, and spider mites are one of them.
If you see that your plant’s leaves look pale, that might be a sign of spider mites’ presence. The leaves infested with spider mites will not look pleasing to the eyes.
It can become problematic. You should take action to save your houseplants from any further damage caused by spider mites infestation.
If you are having a problem with how to get rid of spider mites on houseplants, these tips will be useful for you!
Read Also : How to Get Rid of Armyworms Naturally! Top 5 Methods to Destroy Pests in Your Garden
Early Signs of Spider Mites
Spider mites’ size is so tiny that we can barely see them if we don’t take a close look. You may need a magnifying glass to see them more clearly.
Read Also : How to Prevent Squash Vine Borers from Ruining Garden in 4 Simple Steps
However, we can see the signs of spider mites’ presence by looking at the appearance of the leaves. Spider mites that feed on plant foliage cause damage, resulting in yellowish spots and stipples on plant leaves.
Stipples are small dots caused by spider mites that infiltrate plant cells and leave that part empty as they drink nutrition. The leaf tissue will get damaged, resulting in dark-colored dots.
When you water your houseplant, pay attention to your plant’s appearance regularly, especially the leaves.
Spider mite has eight legs, just like any other Arachnids. So, they are technically not insects because insects usually have six legs. If an adult spider mites’ nest in your houseplants, you may also find some webs among the leaves.
Where do Spider Mites Come?
You may find spider mites infesting your houseplants without you realizing it. After all, it can be hard to detect where they came from because they spread fast. So, where do spider mites come from?
The speed of the infestation is very fast because their essential source is the plants themselves. Spider mites multiply rapidly in plants that provide them nutrition.
There are a lot of possibilities. Spider mites’ infestation can happen through the newly acquired plants, your neighbor’s plants, or weeds growing in the yard.
We can’t be sure where exactly spider mites come from. They are sneaky organisms that can move from one place to another by sticking to objects such as clothes, shoes, and animal fur.
They usually spread from other infected plants. So, we can take preventive steps by ensuring our shoes and clothes are clean.
Read Also : An Easy Guide on How to Take Care of Prickly Pear Cactus!
What do Spider Mites do to Plants?
Spider mites are a pest that nests on plants. They grow quickly and then lay eggs. The offspring will ferociously feed on plant foliage. They are living organism which needs nutrition to keep growing, and they steal that from your houseplants.
That can be dangerous. Not only because of the spider mites damaging the plant leaves, but if they keep growing, they might also spread onto another plant and to objects around your house. They will lay eggs everywhere. You do not want to imagine that!
What spider mites do to plants can also depend on the type of the mites themselves. There are over 100 species of spider mites. Most of them thrive in warm temperatures and infest most plant types. Several spider mites type only feed on certain plant types.
The most common spider mite type is the two-spotted spider mite that is specified to feed on 150 plant types. The most plant often affected by these spider mites is houseplants and agricultural plants.
Read Also : How to Protect Zucchini from Pests
How to Get Rid of Spider Mites on Houseplants Quickly?
For those of you who find spider mites on your houseplants, you don’t have to worry. You can get rid of them by moving the infected plants away from other healthy ones to a room with a cool temperature.
By moving them to a place with lower temperatures, spider mites’ growth will be inhibited. That’s because spider mites prefer a warm and dry environment. When placing infested plants in a cooler room, please keep the soil moisture stable because the temperature changes may cause soil dryness.
Removing the mites from plants can be done by washing foliage with a warm water spray or rubbing plants using a soft cloth. Spraying the plants with pesticides also will do.
Just be careful with the pesticides that may contain poisonous materials. Pesticides will poison the pest but can also harm us if we’re reckless. Read how you use the tool first before using it!
If the spider mites infest the plants severely, it is possible to remove the infested part only. However, this method can be very risky since spider mites are so tiny and sneaky.
The last resort is just discarding the plants if the infestation has gone too badly. Cover the infested plants with a plastic bag when you remove them. That is for the sake of saving other plants from the possibility of getting infected by spider mites.
Read Also : How to Get Rid of Gophers with Gas – The Best and Safest Way!
How to Prevent Spider Mites on Indoor Plants?
After getting rid of spider mites from the houseplants, you should take preventive action to make sure they won’t come back.
After the spider mites are completely gone from the infected plants, you should separate them from other plants for extra few weeks to ensure that they are clean.
Also, keep new plants in an isolated area away from other plants. Do this for a few weeks to ensure there are no sneaky spider mites left on plants that may start to grow.
Remember that spider mites like dry and warm conditions. Keep the humidity level stable to prevent the plants from dryness.
Besides the dryness and warmth, spider mites also tend to lay off eggs on dusty surfaces. This condition allows them to hide the eggs by blending their eggs with dust. Also, if your houseplants are left untreated, they usually become dry, and the spider mites’ population will be uncontrollable. So, be sure always water and take care of your houseplants. Clean them from dust too!
Now that you have learned how to get rid of spider mites on houseplants, you might also be interested in trying growing tomatoes! Find out how to do it only in Beagreens!