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If you follow our plant care articles, you will have heard of the most frustrating 😤 pests found on houseplants. One of these common pests is spider mites.
A spider mite issue can escalate quickly, disrupting not only one plant but many other plants simultaneously.
So, it would be best to get rid of spider mites fast. But as quickly as you need to rid them of the infested plant leaves, they are also easy to control.
Thus, you can easily do this to control a spider mite invasion to prevent these bugs by following the natural treatment methods available here to eradicate them for good.
Spider Mites: What are they?
The spider mite is tiny but thrives on most plants in the home or garden. Sometimes they look like little white spiders as they have eight legs but can also be black, red, or tan. Hence, they can look like tiny white dots.
Infestations can easily be seen with the spider webs left behind on houseplants. These insects use the webs as protection to crawl around on the plants. But they are tiny and not easily seen with the naked eye until you have an explosion of spider mites on houseplants.
Early signs will be shown by the fine webbing left on the plant leaves. Then you will see the mites looking closely. The insect thrives in dry conditions and is a significant problem in winter as your home becomes its breeding ground.
Still, if you see bugs crawling around in the soil, not the leaves, it is fungus gnats, not spider mites. Another great way to know you have spider mite infestations is to place a white sheet of paper underneath the leaves and give the plant foliage a good shake.
The bugs will dislodge and fall onto the paper. For this reason, placing the new plant you bring home under quarantine first is essential to ensure it has no bugs present. So, please keep it away from your healthy plants first.
The Lifecycle of Spider Mite Infestation
Spider mites develop from eggs, and the population explodes tremendously. The bug can mature a week after hatching, and one adult female lays hundreds of eggs in a few weeks. Unfortunately, the eggs are invisible, and the adults are tiny pests only discovered after the explosion.
Where Do These Bugs Come From?
Spider mites can travel from anywhere, and you will not even know they are there. But some familiar places are as follows:
Newly bought plants from the local garden center or a nursery
Transplanting your plant into an unsterilized pot or potting soil
Leaving your plants outdoors for the summer and bringing them back inside
Bringing in flowers or veg grown in the yard
Spider mites can travel through open doors and windows carried by the wind
What Can You Expect From a Spider Mite Problem?
On indoor plants, spider mites are destructive pests. Spider mites can damage or even kill your poor houseplant in a short time. One of the main reasons to get rid of spider mites fast is that they suck out all the plant’s nutrients.
It leaves your houseplants discolored, curled, speckled, shriveled, or dried up. Infested plants’ leaves will start to fade, and they die, falling off from the plant. These critters can kill your indoor plants quickly, and you must take action quickly to prevent further spider mite damage.
How to Get Rid of Spider Mites on Indoor Plants
How to get rid of spider mites on indoor plants is not difficult once you discover them. Nonetheless, starting with a treatment fast would be best before it spreads to your other plants.
Once you find spider mites, you must quarantine that plant and inspect the surroundings for other mites. The critical thing is to contain the spider mite annoyance.
You can find chemical pesticides for spider mites to treat the infested plants. Still, these critters can build up resistance in a short time.
For this reason, we do not recommend using chemical pesticides as they are toxic to humans and pets. Other safer pest control methods to products are available that are safe for your indoor plant.
Treating Spider Mites on Indoor and Outdoor Plants Regularly
As you know by now, houseplants spider mites are a problem. When treating outdoor plants, it is easier to bring in natural predators like:
Big-eyed Bugs
Brown Lacewings
Dusty wings
Green Lacewings
Minute Pirate Bugs
Ladybug and others, to name a few
But for indoor plants, predatory mites or other beneficial insects might not be the best solution. For your outdoor plants, you can easily dislodge them using a garden hose.
But if you found spider mites on indoor plants, there are other ways to treat them. The important thing when you discover spider mites is to treat the problem fast.
The first thing to do when noticing a spider web on the plant stems or a leaf is to take your plant to the bathtub or sink. These pests are barely visible and live underneath leaves. It would be best if you washed them off.
You can do this using homemade insecticidal soap in a spray bottle and rinsing off the leaves to wash the dead bugs away.
Then you can use different home remedies as all of them are adequate to control the two-spotted spider mite.
The important thing is that even if you choose organic soaps, they can still damage your sensitive plants, and best to test it on a leaf before treating the entire plant.
Note: The main focus of using a spray is to focus on the undersides of the leaf, as this is where spider mites prosper, laying eggs.
Now, we will look at some of the spider mite remedies you can use on indoor plants.
Insecticidal Soaps
To kill mites causing damage to your houseplants, you can mix light liquid dish soap with a lukewarm water solution to mist on the spider mites.
INGREDIENTS
One teaspoon of mild liquid soap
One liter of tepid water
Take a bottle with a mister to mix the two ingredients to spray on the foliage of your houseplant. The organic solutions are great for helping remove spider mites.
Neem Oil Spider Mite Treatment
Instead of using insecticidal soap, you can use a horticultural oil like Neem oil for the infestation on your houseplants.
It is also a helpful way to prevent future infestations. You can invest in a concentrated one or make your own. While horticultural oil can remove the bugs, it can take longer.
After you wash the leaves with soapy water, you can use the oil afterward. Another effective oil is hot pepper wax spray to help control spider mites.
INGREDIENTS
One and a half teaspoons of Neem oil concentrate
One teaspoon of mild liquid detergent
One liter of room-temperature water
While the above methods are great for your houseplants, you can use rubbing alcohol with a soft cloth to remove the pests.
Keep The Humidity High
As spider mites prosper in dry arid conditions, it helps to keep the humidity around your houseplants high. Ensure that you water your houseplants well to keep them hydrated.
Depending on the plant you have, many people recommend you mist them. But we recommend not doing this as it can lead to other diseases if the foliage does not dry out.
Instead, it helps to place a humidifier or a pebble tray with water close to your plant. Or you can group your plant with other houseplants.
Also, remove the infested leaves and place them in a plastic bag to throw in the garbage. But do not prune all the foliage leaving some for the plant to recover.
How to Prevent Spider Mites on Houseplants
The important thing is to keep your plant healthy, keeping the soil moist and providing enough air circulation. So, invest in a soil moisture gauge or use the finger test to ensure your plant remains moist.
Some other tips are to provide humidity around your plant and use a damp cloth to keep the leaves clean. As a preventative spray, it helps to use Neem oil, and when you leave your plant outside for the summer, do a debug before bringing them inside.
Final Thoughts
The key to keeping spider mites off your houseplants is to provide excellent care habits to keep them healthy. Healthy houseplants are the best protective measure you can take to keep any bugs out of your plants. Also, check your plants regularly for any problems.
Whether you want to buy, sell, or simply reach out to other plant enthusiasts, Plantly is the right place to be!
