spider mite cure

[clusty]

Hey,

I am fairly certain I have a spider mite infestation. More and more plants seem to develop small bulges on leaves and discoloration.

What is the "approved" way to deal with those buggers?
Anything better than alcohol/soap/water mixture ?

Does pyrethrin based insecticide kill them?

[WhiteRabbit]

[orchidsarefun]

I have also started adding about 1-2 teaspoons of canola oil to the rubbing alcohol mix, 1/2 to 1 tsp of cinnamon powder and using about a tbsp of Dr Bronners Peppermint Castile Soap - all diluted in water. It works wonders. Keep plants out of sun until dry.
Today for example a single spray killed a group of earwigs that crawled out the bottom of a pot.....instantly.

I am using it as a preventive spray too.
I have heard foggers work. I am going to try those this week, but will stick to a monthly spray.

[Bill U.]

Originally Posted by orchidsarefun

I have also started adding about 1-2 teaspoons of canola oil to the rubbing alcohol mix, 1/2 to 1 tsp of cinnamon powder and using about a tbsp of Dr Bronners Peppermint Castile Soap - all diluted in water. It works wonders. Keep plants out of sun until dry.
Today for example a single spray killed a group of earwigs that crawled out the bottom of a pot.....instantly.

I am using it as a preventive spray too.
I have heard foggers work. I am going to try those this week, but will stick to a monthly spray.

How much water do you add to dilute this? Would it also work without the Dr. Bronners (don't have any right now)? I currently have a few strawberry plants that are fighting a spider mite infestation and I have been looking for an effective, organic solution (I don't want to eat a bunch of chemicals! That's why I'm growing my own in the first place!)

[orchidsarefun]

water is about 1/4 to 1/2 of a 32oz bottle.
It's a bit like cooking - I never measure ingredients precisely, just came up with the right formulation.

[james mickelso]

A mitecide is all you need.

[orchidsarefun]

Originally Posted by james mickelso

A mitecide is all you need.

it boils down to preference but at least with my concoction I know its 100% safe for indoor use because it uses everyday ( organic ) household ingredients.
Also if you research the problem you will find that mites can develop resistance to chemicals and you can actually exacerbate the problem with a chemical miticide. Its proven that they cannot build a resistance to any formulation of rubbing alcohol, oils and Dr Bronner's for example.

I used Safer's EndAll with some success. Treatment has to be repeated several times.

[Leafmite]

I like your recipe and will have to get the ingredients I don't have. A have a few plants that are known to be sensitive to chemicals. I have just always treated everything around them and hoped for the best.

[orchidsarefun]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

I like your recipe and will have to get the ingredients I don't have. A have a few plants that are known to be sensitive to chemicals. I have just always treated everything around them and hoped for the best.

its cheap too. We have a lot of houseplants and I am convinced that the lifecyle of the mites is perpetuated through them as well. You have to have a regime of preventive spraying and I believe that the cinnamon helps with fungal infections.