Spider mites again. Anyone using predators?

EtchedFicus

EtchedFicus

Well-known member
I currently have several groups of fig trees in my garage. One group consists of larger cuttings, some reaching 3' tall. Back in January, I introduced a few new trees I ordered and believe one brought in spider mites. Being primarily focused on fungus gnats, I didn't catch the infestation until it was quite advanced. I’ve been treating them with Neem oil for a few weeks; they are recovering, though I find the smell of Neem pretty noxious!

I have a second group of 18 rooted cuttings (1-1.5' tall) about 15' away. They were thriving until a few days ago when I spotted the dreaded red dots and webbing. I immediately treated them with Neem as well.

Since these will all move outside next month, I’m considering biological controls. Is anyone using predatory insects, like predatory mites or lacewings, to battle spider mites? I'd love to hear about your success rates or any tips.
 
Figologist did a couple of videos on treating pests with predatory insects. Seemed it did a really good job controlling those. Haven't been able to find these around my area tho.
Just finished spraying them off my Angelito in the shower and treated with some insecticidal soap.

 
sykofan said:
Figologist did a couple of videos on treating pests with predatory insects. Seemed it did a really good job controlling those. Haven't been able to find these around my area tho.
Just finished spraying them off my Angelito in the shower and treated with some insecticidal soap.

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Excellent. That is exactly what I hope happens with my pests.
 
Mist spraying diluted hydrogen peroxide (12 Tbsp/gallon) over and under leaves worked best for me. About three applications spaced out between 2-3 days. I do a maintenance spray weekly thereafter....and all of a sudden I was pushing new growth. I did hit them with insecticial soap once in between....
 
I had considered getting predatory insects, but when you read the fine print, they say it requires at least three different applications of them (so it’s 3x the cost), and then if problem comes back, you have to rebuy them, since a colony is not getting established when you release them. It’s a one-off.
 
I have not used predatory pests especially since I’m growing indoor at the moment. But I use this and it works really great, never had an issue with spider mites or any sort of fungicide either :) natural ingredients and it’s a 3in1 product so that’s what sold me haha 😆
 

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DELFIG said:
Mist spraying diluted hydrogen peroxide (12 Tbsp/gallon) over and under leaves worked best for me. About three applications spaced out between 2-3 days. I do a maintenance spray weekly thereafter....and all of a sudden I was pushing new growth. I did hit them with insecticial soap once in between....
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Does that also work on fig mites?
 
BNaula1 said:
I have not used predatory pests especially since I’m growing indoor at the moment. But I use this and it works really great, never had an issue with spider mites or any sort of fungicide either :) natural ingredients and it’s a 3in1 product so that’s what sold me haha 😆
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Does it also work on fig mites?
 
From my understanding, Ladybugs and Lacewings will eat spider mites. I have released a bunch of them recently outdoors and they do scatter pretty quickly, especially when the neighbor's yard has more wildly growing vegetation.
I'm currently preparing a small pollinator garden that should be favorable for these to stay in long term and also a small ladybug house. Hoping that moving forward they will stick around
 
I find that diluted dish soap (like a half drop of soap in a 16-oz spray bottle) eradicates spider mites pretty quickly. Hydrogen peroxide would probably work well too, per the comment by @DELFIG above.
 
I just use the insecticidal soap, it mostly gets used on aphids, but I use it if I end up with spider mites too.
 
BucksCountyFigs said:
Just a heads up that regular dish soap is harsh at removing the protective layer off leaves, and a horticultural oil is gentler.
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Yes, after some research, I think I will go with insecticidal soap from now on. So far the leaves I sprayed with dish soap several months ago have shown no problems, but there is definitely a mechanism for possible injury with regular dish soap.
 
I decided to give the predatory mites a go. I still have a month or more inside and can't really get under and over all the leaves on 50+ plants. I have the 2-spot spider mites, so I ordered the Phytoseiulus Persimilis mites in a bottle and satchels. They have officially been placed with my plants and I guess it's a wait and see for now.
 
EtchedFicus said:
I decided to give the predatory mites a go. I still have a month or more inside and can't really get under and over all the leaves on 50+ plants. I have the 2-spot spider mites, so I ordered the Phytoseiulus Persimilis mites in a bottle and satchels. They have officially been placed with my plants and I guess it's a wait and see for now.
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Nice. Keep us updated!
 
BucksCountyFigs said:
I had considered getting predatory insects, but when you read the fine print, they say it requires at least three different applications of them (so it’s 3x the cost), and then if problem comes back, you have to rebuy them, since a colony is not getting established when you release them. It’s a one-off.
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Well it’s not like one application of neem oil gets rid of spidermites for the season either. Predator insects aren’t 100% but they will keep insects at bay as long as there’s a food source.
 
Almost free horticultural oil / insecticidal soap recipe. Saved an olive tree of mine from certain death from scale..... Works great on mites.


Combine 100ml light, food safe oil (vegetable, mineral etc) with 20ml of gentle soap (Castile or clear liquid hand soap)
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Add 20ml of the above solution to 1 liter of water in a spray bottle or garden sprayer.... This is not a poison. It basically suffocates them. The oil does the heavy lifting and the soap acts as an emulsifier and reduces the surface tension allowing it to flow where it's needed. (into the pests)
 
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