# Spider Mites Attack! (journal on treatment)



## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

I recently received some very cool plants, only to have one of my new favorites some down with the ever evil spider mites. So I figured, since this pest comes up often enough, to showcase not only what they look like, but how I took care of them, and why I probably got them in the first place.









A heavy infestation on an _Anoectochilus roxburgii_ jewel orchid leaf. In this photo you can clearly see the adult spider mites (red-orange as this is their overwintering phase) and some of the protective webbing at the base of the leaf that gives them their name. The silver specs are leaf damage.









Underside of the leaf, showing a little bit better the "webbing" that gives this parasite its name of "spider mite".

After reading this article on treating orchids infested with mites, I decided to try the mentioned mixture of rubbing alcohol with a mild dish washing liquid... in my case Palmolive. The resulting mixture smelled like apple vodka, since I used green apple Palmolive, lol. There are plenty of ways to apply it, and I used a Qtip...









... and this was the resulting damage to the mites. Yes, all those specs are mites, off the above heavily infested leaf. The death of the mites turned the Qtip orange. Bwhahahahahaha....

The end result...








After rubbing all the surfaces and dripping/spraying the surfaces I couldn't affectively get to with a Qtip, I rinsed the plant.

You can clearly tell where the initial spider mite infestation started... the heavily infested leaf is on the bottom, with a leaf top right that had no mites on it as far as I could tell (tho I still washed the leaf). It clearly shows the level of damage the leaf took... all those silver specs are leaf damage. Likely the leaf with the most damage will die (or I will remove it) but there is still new growth and other leaves on that stem for it to survive. I'll just have to live with the damage done to the other leaves.

This treatment effectively killed the adults and various other stages, but does not kill the eggs. I'll repeat this treatment, whether I see bugs or not, once a week for at least 3 more weeks, going by the life cycle information in the before mentioned article.

Another important step, often left out, is why the infestation boomed to such a degree... this plant literally did not show signs of infestation when I got it. Knowing what caused this boom will help keep it from happening again, and if not totally eliminated, will help keep the pest to a minimum in the future. 

If this case, the plant moved from a nice humid greenhouse in florida to my frog room/office and was not put in a plant vivarium like I typically do. This means it was put into significantly drier air than previously, and while the plant had no problem, the dry conditions were perfect for the mites. In addition to the treatments, the plant has also be isolated into its own clear grow container that I use for cuttings, so it gets the humidity it needs without allowing the mites to spread to other plants like if I just put it in one of my plant vivariums. The plant will also be getting heavily washed with treatments, and after treatments stop will still be heavily misted/sprayed to "wash" the leaves, this further discourages the mites.


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

Cool stuff....

I have not had mites like that, but the smaller white to yellow ones. They seem to like the sphagnum in the tanks and can be a pain to get rid of.


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## Joshchan (Apr 30, 2006)

Spider mites really suck. For me, oil spray seems to be the best way to kill the little bastards. The alcohol and qtip method definitely will work also. The key is the repeat applications. Another thing to consider is that they set up "mother bugs" in the soil/media. It is really a good idea to drench the media with something. My home-made oil spray recipe is:
2-3 Tablespoons of oil (vegetable, olive, mineral)
1 Gallon of water
2-3 Drops dishwashing detergent
Mix all this up in a gallon jug and fill up a mister. Spray all surfaces of the plant to run off. Then use some of the mixture to water through the media. This way you get the ones living down there. Repeat 3 times 7-10 days apart. This is usually enough to kick their butts. You are definitely doing the right things though. You will win this war!


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

That's another good home recipe... I was definitely looking for more "home recipes" than having to go to the store and such. I will have to keep a spray bottle of your stuff around. While I've yet to see signs, I will probably use it on the other plants that came in the order as well.

I was originally planning to actually replant the orchid, but would prefer to use your recipe instead... poor plant has had enough stress already.


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

I just use good ol' water. Works great. :lol:


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## Joshchan (Apr 30, 2006)

You are absolutely right. Sometimes the best way to get rid of a pest is good hard hosing off. Personally, I like to spray the little buggers and watch their little feelers twitch. I have just had very good success with this recipe and hope it can help others get rid of "The Borg". You will be assimilated  .
Josh


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

Originally the hosing off was what I tried... didn't work as well as I hoped. Enough adults were hidden away at the base of the leaves and in the new curled up leaf I guess that I just couldn't get them. After the recent treatment, I made sure to get alcohol into those crevices... they might still be there, but they are dead now lol.


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