Spider Mites On Bonsai Tree – How To Get Rid Of Them?
Spider Mites – these creatures are tiny, wingless, and crawl. Many may tend to call them insects.
The correct group they fall under is arachnids. These creatures have 6 or 8 legs. The age of each Spider Mite infestation determines the number of legs.
Young Spider Mite has six legs, while an adult has eight legs. Forget about spotting Spider mites with your bare eyes. You will only be able to realize the mites through a magnifying glass.
What Makes the Spider Mites Frequent Visitors on Bonsai trees?
You may be wondering why the Spider mites attack the Bonsai trees.
One of the possible reasons most Bonsai trees are likely to get infested by Spider Mites is that the soil is always kept a bit dry.
Whenever the soil in the pots where Bonsai trees are planted is not moist, Spider Mites are more likely to strike.
The dry soil provides warmth, an ideal and super friendly environment for Spider Mites. The life cycle of these Spider Mites will be at peak speed. However, if the soil is moist, the life cycle is slow.
If the temperature is warm, the Spider Mites will only take three days to mature and procreate, while if it’s cold, the period will be up to one month.
How to Get Rid Of Spider Mites in Bonsai Tree?
Don’t let Spider Mites snatch away the beauty of your house by killing your Bonsai trees. Treat this issue seriously and move with high speed to do away with the presence of Spider Mites in your Bonsai trees.
The nature of Spider Mites makes them very hard to deal with. You may opt to try several methods that may not get the problem solved. For instance, you may try spraying insecticides on these pests. Be assured that you will be losing the battle.
Spraying insecticides will only escalate the breeding of Spider Mites because you will only be killing their predators.
Within a short time, the number will highly increase. This will worsen the status of your Bonsai tree. You need to know that Spider Mites are not insects and spraying insecticides will do no harm to them.
Here are some practical ways to get rid of Spider Mites from your Bonsai Trees:
Keep Away Insects From Your House
You may be thinking about how these destructive Spider Mites reached your beautiful Bonsai trees.
The primary way they must have reached your Bonsai trees is through insects. Insects are carriers of pests. A straightforward illustration is through the bees. Bees fly from one plant to another as they suck nectars.
If earlier on the bee landed on an infected plant with Spider Mites, some would be spread to your Bonsai trees if the same bee enters your house.
Initiate methods to prevent insects from reaching your house, such as not leaving your doors open and other safe measures to keep your Bonsai trees.
Scrutinize Bonsai Trees Before Buying Using Magnifying Glass
You need to be more vigilant while out shopping for Bonsai tree. You may buy a Bonsai tree that Spider Mites infect, which will put other Bonsai trees in your house at risk.
While buying a Bonsai tree, remove your magnifying glass and inspect the whole plant thoroughly.
Check on any eggs or mites moving up and down. This will save you from a significant loss later on.
Let the Bonsai Trees Have Some Distance Apart
It’s not advisable to fill your house with many Bonsai trees.
When the space between the plants is too small, the mites find it easy to spread from one tree to another. Make your Bonsai trees have some distance apart because this will make it easier to control the mites.
Check on your house’s space and think about the number of Bonsai trees you need.
Use Soapy Water and A Strong Water Sprayer
Try washing the mites off the plant with a strong water sprayer. You may weaken the mites by using soapy water.
This will make them fall off easily. You need to be keener while doing this.
Remove all near other plants because the mites may drop on them. You even cover the area to contain the mites in one area.
Squash the Mites
If you usually have the behaviour of inspecting your Bonsai trees every day or regularly, you may find the mites at an early stage.
You will be lucky. You can decide and squash the few mites and the eggs present between your finger and thumb. This technique may, however, damage the leaves.
Essential Oils
A research conducted in 2017 found out that some essential oils like asparagus, chamomile, rosemary and corrainder are greatly effective in getting rid of spiders and their mites.
For using essential oils method, you can take a spray bottle filled with water and add some drops of essential oils of your choice from the list. Apply this mixture to the bonsai leaf affected by spider mites and nets.
You can also use neem oil on spider mites in addition to the above DIY essential oil method.
Isolate Or Get Rid of Infested Bonsai Tree
Once you have noticed the presence of Spider Mites in One Bonsai tree, isolate the infected tree immediately.
At some point, you may destroy it by burning it. It’s more economical to kill one infested Bonsai tree than to lose some more.
Keep Your House Cool and Water Bonsai Trees
Whenever you water the Bonsai trees, the mites are more likely to be hit by the moist soil.
The mites don’t like the cold temperatures, and they may take a very long time to breed. This will only control them for some time but will not kill them.
Switch To Biological Control
This is one of the best methods to use if you notice the mites early.
Never use insecticides after releasing the predatory mites, as this will kill them. The predatory mites are a bit expensive but are worth it.
The mites will hunt and feed on the Spider mites. This will make the problem solved within a short time.
Later, the mites will be cannibals and eat each other, ending the story.
Buy Polysect
Many of those who have been in this problem claim several chemicals do not affect the mites. Well, this is true.
The mites are hardcore and will survive many chemicals. The only chemical that will get rid of the mites is Polysect. In the process of spraying it, you will notice the effect.
Read the label carefully as there are ratios of mixing the chemical regarding each situation.
Conclusion
Dealing with the Spider Mites is not that easy. Prevention is better than cure.
Always carry your magnifying glass and carefully examine the Bonsai trees before buying. This will make you safer.