Last year I had a spider mite problem on my tomatoes and squash. They are a very common pest on vegetables and indoor plants. The damage cau...
Last year I had a spider mite problem on my tomatoes and squash. They are a very common pest on vegetables and indoor plants. The damage causes yellow spotting on the leaves and stem, eventually destroying the plant.
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| When they get numerous, it is easy to observe their characteristic webbing |
Individually they are very small, but a few can turn into an infestation very quickly. There are anti-mite sprays available, but I prefer to give nature a nudge and let the predators take care of the problem.
One method is to keep the plants clean. I remember observing gardeners in Kathmandu clean the leaves of plants during the dry dusty periods with a damp cloth. Those of you who live in an area where it rains often may not be aware of this as a problem. Here in Southern California, we will not see another rain storm until November. The plants and trees get dusty. The dirty leaves will be a good starting location for the mites.
Last summer, I started hitting my plants with a hard spray of water from the hose once a week. It seemed to work. This year I am going to try a new method to keep the plants clean: Overhead spraying as opposed to drip-irrigation.
I have mounted the drip system on poles, or attached sprayers to the tops of tomato cages. The effect is a rain shower as can be seen in the video below (also a moment of calm 😎)
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