Spider mites are tiny and damaging insects that can infect outdoor and indoor plants. Unfortunately, a spider mite problem can cause leaf damage, issues with various landscaping elements in your yard, and much more.
Understanding how to eliminate spider mites can ensure that you keep your yard healthy. Thankfully, you can get rid of spider mites with pesticides and also kill spider mites naturally.
Spider Mites Identification
Fully grown adult spider mites are no more than one-fiftieth of an inch long and have eight legs. They typically have a yellow-orange color with two dark spots on their bodies.
Identifying spider mite populations and getting rid of spider mites requires you to purchase a magnifying glass to check for spider mites on your indoor and outdoor plants.
Look over each of your indoor and outdoor plants in this way, looking for yellowish dots. After you identify spider mites on your plants, you can kill spider mites using a variety of different steps, including neem oil delivered through a spray bottle.
Before thinking that you know how to get rid of spider mites, it is vital to understand how to spot their damage problems.
Spider Mites Damage
Now that you know how to identify spider mites, you can move on to control spider mites in your yard. First, look for various signs of damage with your naked eye throughout your grass and outdoor plants.
A spider mite infestation will attack plants like grass, multiple types of vegetables, annuals, perennials, most trees, shrubs, and even fruits. They use their mouth to cut apart leaves and feed on sap throughout leaves.
As they feed, the injured spots on your indoor plants will expand and typically cause leaf death. Unfortunately, a spider mite infestation can spread rapidly throughout all of your plants in a matter of days.
As a result, you need to know how to repel spider mites and skill spider mites quickly and efficiently. Doing so will get rid of spider mites on your plants once and for all.
How To Control Spider Mites
If you want to keep plants healthy in your home or yard, you must prevent spider mites and treat them properly to manage their population. When learning how to get rid of spider mites, you’ll have to consider both toxic and non-toxic options.
These choices will damage spider mites on affected plants and get rid of these tiny pests for good. Your household plants will thank you for this step.
Start by applying liquid dish soap to your plant leaves across heavily infested areas. This step helps to repel spider mites on ornamental flowers and plant leaves. However, it also disrupts their life cycle by making it harder for them to lay eggs.
The type of dish soap you choose doesn’t matter much, but try to find one as chemical-free as possible to avoid damaging the host plants. A few drops are enough.
You may also find that a damp cloth soaked with rosemary oil, rubbing alcohol, or neem oil may be a good alternative. These items naturally repel spider mite invasions and keep your plants safe.
Rubbing alcohol, in particular, will annoy most spider mite species, particularly the two-spotted spider mite. Look for telltale signs of their invasion and focus on affected leaves and other areas of the plant.
These organic methods help to manage many types of mites and other pests. But what if rosemary oil is not enough and your fruit trees are still affected?
In this situation, non-toxic remedies may not be enough to protect your annual plants. Instead, you might have to use chemical pesticides or insecticidal soap.
One good option for soaps is Garden Safe Brand Insecticidal Soap Insect Killer. This product is suitable for organic gardening and will kill bugs directly on impact.
It will kill spider mites with ease and can be adapted to other pests. Try this option first, spraying it directly on your fruit trees and other plants and leaves.
If this option doesn’t work, try Growers Trust Spider Mite Killer. This powerful non-toxic option will destroy mites on impact but won’t damage your plants or trees. Attach the five-gallon mix to a garden hose and spray it gently on your plants.
Spider Mites FAQs
What is the Best Way to Get Rid of Spider Mites?
While soaps and other sprays can help with a spider mite infestation, the best way to get rid of spider mites is with a miticide designed specifically for spider bites and different types of predatory mites.
These products kill these predatory mites without affecting beneficial insects or outdoor plants. Spray them directly on the entire plant and the spider mites to control spider mites with relative ease.
What Do You Spray for Spider Mites?
When you’re mastering how to get rid of spider mites without killing beneficial insects or outdoor plants, use a miticide that utilizes neem oil.
This option will kill spider mites on infected plants quickly and efficiently. You can also get rid of spider mites naturally, but this option ensures that you can control spider mites on outdoor plants and indoor plants with ease.
