8 replies to this topic

[Foogoo]

Anyone know how to get rid of them without systemic poisons? I've got them everywhere and Safers and Neem doesn't seem to help much.

[Vendayn]

Spider mites are super tough. Don't bother with lemon, vinegar or any of that homemade stuff. I think they've become immune to most things people do to them. Probably evolved to be resistant to a lot of things.

 

I never got rid of spider mites in my termite farm. I tried drying the termite farm...nope...I tried making the termite farm too wet...nope...

 

I tried freezing (its a really cold freezer too) spider mites for over 30 minutes...nope. They still came back alive.

 

The spider mites we get around here are SUPER tough.

 

The only solution I can think of, is buying predator mites and letting them deal with it. Or find another natural predator that eats them. I "think" springtails may eat them, but maybe it depends on the species of springtails.

 

One thing springtails would do is starve the spider mites out of whatever they are eating. They may even eat the spider mite eggs, not sure.

Edited by Vendayn, April 3 2015 - 9:52 AM.

[dspdrew]

What are you trying to get them out of?

[Myrmicinae]

I have heard anecdotal evidence that isopods will consume mites.

[Crystals]

If it is a plant they are infesting, I have found them super hard to get rid of.  Usually soap water bath every second day for about a month.  Put all infected plants as far as possible from un-infected ones.

There are predatory mites that will eat them, but I never managed to get them.

[BugFinder]

I treat mites at work.  They are pretty easy to kill, but hard to keep gone if you don't identify the source.  If you just brought in an infected plant that's easy enough, but if you face continual re-introductions that's where it can get tough to deal with it.  I've run into spider mites most often in homes where Marijuana is present.  If that's the case with you, find a better source for your weed.  Then use a pest control professional to eradicate them.

 

If you're looking for non toxic solutions, I've heard predators work well.  In most household pests, predators either don't work well or are not practical, but i think with mites they work well.

 

Let us know what you do and how that works for you.

[antmaniac]

Remove the weed sounds like a good idea. I find that without food source they usually move on and go elsewhere. Unfortunately, ant nest provide perfect condition for them. In the wild, there are other insects around to eat them.

[Crystals]

I treat mites at work.  They are pretty easy to kill, but hard to keep gone if you don't identify the source.

What do you usually use?  I have a hard time with spider mites.

 

Mine come in through the windows in fall and go after many of my house plants, especially vines and a couple of uncommon native clematis.

[Foogoo]

These are on my plants. I think I got rid of them from my money trees using nearly a bottle of Safers last year. However, they're all over a small eggplant plant and I just noticed webs in the peat substrate of my carnivorous plants. I'll give the predatory mites a try. They're available on Amazon, though not cheap ($40).