All About Spider Mites

The spider mite is a common problem both indoors and outdoors. It affects houseplants, as well as flowers, vegetable plants, shrubs and shade trees. It is a kind of arachnid and has similarities to the daddy long leg, ticks and scorpions. Its body has a single part and eight legs and does not have wings, compound eyes or antennae. They are small and usually not visible to the naked eye, although if you shake an infected plant over a white suface, you might see black dots fall off that are actually spider mites. They might be yellow, brown or red and usually change color throughout the seasons.

There are several different varieties of this type of bug, though most of them create similar problems. There are the southern red, the two-spotted, the boxwood, the spruce, the elm, the clover, the linden, the maple, the willow, the oak red and the honeylocust. Obviously, many of these are named after the plant or tree which they infect. Like other bugs similar to them, they do create webs, which is one of the easiest ways to determine if you have a problem or infestation.

Most species spend their winters inside of the tree bark, but there are some that grow in the soil. They are born from tiny round eggs and hatch in the early spring. The bugs are initially born with six legs and as they molt, they gain their two additional legs. All of the stages look fairly similar. The bug develops into an adult within three weeks, but the process might be slowed or hastened depending on the wather. Each season brings several generations, especially when the weather is favorable to their life. The warm summer months are when they are at their most populous and they are able to grow from hatchlings to adults in about five days during the warm period.

The bugs cause a variety of danger, including yellow or brownish spots on leaves. This is because they have a sharp appendage that ruptures the cells of the leaves. It tears the leaf open and feeds off of the sap inside. Small patches first appear that grow over time as more of the leaf is eaten. The leaves grow yellow, gray or white and if left untreated, the entire plant can die.

It is possible to control and eliminate the bugs. Sometimes washing the plant with water is enough to flush away the adult bugs. Insecticides rarely work because they only manage to destore the good bugs that target the problem. Horticultural oils are the best bet, as well as soap. Sometimes incecticidal soap can be paired with the water bath and followed up by the oils to eliminate the eggs and the adult bugs. When using the water, make sure the spray is strong enough to remove the bugs. This means the plant itself must be strong enough to endure a harsh spray stream, so only do this on larger, sturdier plants that can stand up to a good soaking.

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Stewart Wrighter is interested in finding a spider mite treatment that is available for commercial locations. For more information on spider mites go to

http://www.spidermites411.com/ .

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