One of the most common pests that can affect both garden and indoor plants is the spider mite. This small arachnid attacks berry and fruit trees, it settles on grapes and mercilessly destroys ornamental shrubs and flowers. His favorite plants include roses. Moreover, it can parasitize both climbing and bush species. Spider mites appear on roses quite often and as a result, this beautiful flower begins to weaken, loses leaves and becomes much more susceptible to various diseases.
Spider mite on a rose
The insect settles on both home and garden flowers. The mite attacks various plants, but most of all it loves strong and juicy roses. The difficulty of eliminating the parasite is that it develops rapidly, and although its lifespan is short, up to 1 month, during this time the female manages to lay thousands of eggs.
How does a mite get on a flower?
The carrier of mites is the wind, which carries them from one plant to another.
Spider mites are one of the most destructive insects for roses.
The insect is carried into the apartment on shoes and items of clothing, and with the wind - through windows.
Consequences of infection
As a rule, flower owners become aware of an infestation at the stage when the mite population has reached a sufficiently large size and the damage caused is already apparent externally. Therefore, upon noticing the first signs, you must immediately take action. In the absence of the necessary actions, the color weakens, the process of photosynthesis is disrupted and plant cells are destroyed.
As the population develops, the plant succumbs to increasingly negative influences. First, the leaves turn yellow, then they completely fall off, the buds cannot receive the necessary nutrition, they develop incorrectly, and their size is significantly reduced. Most often, spider mites cause gray rot, a fungal infection that is very dangerous for flowers.
In addition, a weakened flower is exposed to other pests and infections. In the case when no means are used to combat parasites, the damage caused leads to the death of the rose. The sooner the necessary control measures are taken, the easier it is to get rid of the mite and save the roses.
Brief description of the pest
Spider mites on indoor plants - how to fight
It is difficult to notice spider mites on a rose in time until the first symptoms of plant infection appear. The parasite is microscopic in size. Brief description of the pest:
- the body shape is oval, the number of legs is 8, the limbs are located in 4 pairs on both sides;
- adult sizes: females - from 0.4 to 0.6 mm, males - up to 0.4 mm;
- the body is flat below, slightly convex at the top, covered with small, soft bristles;
- color - at the larval stage the body is transparent, the adult tick is light green or green with a brown tint, with dark spots on the sides.
Microscopic size is an advantage of the parasite
Additional Information. Females acquire a bright red or deep red color from autumn to spring.
Why is a mite called a spider mite?
The mite got its name because when it settles on a plant, it begins to weave numerous threads of a web, quite dense, which in a short period can completely cover the rose.
Habitats
The parasite lives all over the globe. The only place where it is not present is Antarctica.
Reproduction
In early spring, ticks begin to actively reproduce. The female lays about 7 eggs per day, which she attaches to the threads of the web or foliage. Egg diameter 1 mm. The rate of reproduction depends on climatic conditions. Ticks show maximum activity at a temperature of about +25 degrees. In tropical latitudes and in greenhouses, parasites reproduce all year round, reproducing offspring every month.
Additional Information. For the winter, females hide their eggs in cracks in the bark or among fallen leaves. In moderate frosts, future offspring survive until the onset of a thaw.
Signs of rose mite damage
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While the mite itself is difficult to see due to its small size, the consequences of damage to the rose are clearly visible. There are a number of signs that indicate a plant is infected with a parasite:
- The rose gradually fades and becomes painful in appearance.
- The leaves are covered with a white coating, which gradually increases in diameter and eventually forms into separate spots.
- The appearance of thin threads of cobwebs.
- Twisting of leaf plates, after which they begin to dry out.
- The foliage becomes pale and yellow.
- Inflorescences decrease in size and become weak.
You can tell that a rose has become a victim of a mite by the suddenly changed appearance of the foliage.
When the first symptoms of infection are detected, it is necessary to urgently take measures to eliminate the parasite, otherwise the rose will die in a short period of time.
White spots on leaves
White spots begin to appear due to the fact that the parasite sucks the juice from the plant cells. Gradually, the cells die, metabolic processes are disrupted, and the leaf blade dies. Sucking the juice negatively affects the entire flower, it weakens and becomes too susceptible to various diseases.
Wilting and yellowing of foliage
After white spots appear, the leaf blade, deprived of juice, begins to turn yellow and curl. At first, individual leaves fall off, but as the mite colony spreads throughout the flower, a massive leaf fall occurs.
Additional Information. You can check the bush for ticks using the following method - place a white piece of paper under the flower and shake the branches. If there are parasites, they will fall from the rose onto the paper.
Presence of a web
If the withering of foliage and its falling off is not a specific sign, since such a symptom is characteristic of many parasites, then the presence of cobwebs on a rose outdoors or indoors leaves no room for doubt.
The web spreads gradually. At first there are several thin threads, then their number increases, and soon the entire flower is covered with it.
Methods for controlling spider mites
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The spider mite is the most dangerous parasite for roses, which not only destroys the plant where it settles, but also quickly spreads to neighboring flowers. It is difficult to fight it, but it is possible if you take timely measures.
Isolating plants in the garden and in the house
As soon as cobwebs are noticed on domestic roses, they should be immediately isolated in a separate room. This is done in order to prevent the parasite from spreading to other plants.
Insulation is more difficult in the garden. The rose bush can be covered with a darkening mesh or agrofibre.
A stream of water will help knock off most of the parasites from roses, which will greatly facilitate further war against them.
Note! Before covering or isolating a flower, it is necessary to remove as many parasites as possible from it. You can carry out mechanical cleaning using a shower, under which you place a pot with an indoor rose. Garden flowers are doused with water from a hose under pressure.
Drastic bush pruning
Damaged parts of the rose cannot be restored. They need to be trimmed.
Cleaning leaves from cobwebs
The cobwebs are removed from the bush by hand; they can be wound around a stick. Small parts of the threads are washed off with water under pressure.
Spraying
A soap solution is highly effective in removing mites and cobwebs. They need to spray the infected bushes.
Advantages and disadvantages of using chemicals
Advantages:
- A large selection of drugs on the market, both in terms of active substance and price;
- They effectively destroy not only adult insects, but also their larvae and eggs;
- Long period of protective action;
- Many chemicals are not addictive to spider mites and do not accumulate in the soil or on plants.
Flaws:
- Some chemicals are highly toxic and can cause significant harm to human health and beneficial insects.
A cobweb appeared on the rose, what to do at home - folk methods
You can rid a plant of the parasite using folk methods and specialized purchased products. The first is preferred because they are safer. But recipes made from natural products show effectiveness only in the early stages, when the parasite colony is not yet too large.
Onion tincture
Pour 100 g of onion peel into 5 liters of hot water. Leave for 5 days, then strain. Spray the bushes generously. Repeat the procedure every 2 days until the tick is destroyed.
Dandelion decoction
Spider mites cannot tolerate the smell of dandelions, and upon contact with it they will prefer to leave the bush. To prepare the decoction, add 2 liters of water to 40 g of dandelion and leave for 5 hours.
Roses should be sprayed at close range and generously.
Garlic tincture
Garlic tincture, which will help eliminate the parasite from roses, can be prepared according to several recipes:
- Chop the garlic head and pour 10 liters of hot water into it. Use only after the liquid has cooled completely.
- Grate the garlic. Pour 50 g of the ingredient into 3 liters of water and place the container in a dark place. Infuse for 7 days. Strain. The resulting concentrate must be diluted before use - pour 60 g of the prepared solution into 10 liters of water.
- Finely chop the garlic head and pour in 10 liters of slightly warmed water. Leave for several hours, strain.
Additional Information. To enhance the effectiveness of garlic tincture, you can add crushed laundry soap to it.
Soap solution
A solution of laundry soap is one of the most popular and quite effective ways to eliminate any parasites on roses, including spider mites. Recipe:
- Grind a piece of laundry soap on a grater.
- Pour in water and shake the container well until foam forms.
- Apply the prepared solution to the bush through a spray bottle.
Recommendations for using a soap solution that will help increase its effectiveness:
- Instead of laundry soap, you can use tar soap.
- It is necessary to treat with the solution not only the green part of the bush, but also the stem, as well as the ground under the plant.
- After 4 hours, the white coating formed from the soap must be washed off with a stream of water and cover the plant with film for a day.
Note! When spraying the stem and soil, do not allow the soap solution to get on the root.
Use of predatory insects
Spider mites can be eliminated from a plant by attracting insects that are the parasite’s natural enemies. These insects include:
- ladybug;
- lacewing;
- riders;
- bedbugs;
- common earwig.
These insects will help save the flower if you attract them to the site. To lure predators, you can use the following tricks:
- Plant flowering plants, as insects need nectar for reproduction.
- If possible, leave a few weedy bushes in the area where lacewings like to breed.
- Sow chamomile, dandelion, coltsfoot, oregano and rosemary.
The easiest way is to collect ladybugs by hand and move them to the rose
In summer, pots of hay can be placed on the site. The same recommendation can be used for flowers in the house. In winter, hay can be placed in a pot with Chinese rose and other domestic flower varieties.
Additional Information. The mite most often infects plants in rooms with dry and warm air. This is an ideal environment for the parasite to reproduce. The insect is afraid of cold and high moisture.
Chemicals
Chemicals are highly effective drugs that can get rid of parasites with a high degree of infestation. It should be remembered that it is quite difficult to cope with large populations of this pest and it is simply impossible to do without the use of chemicals. Let's consider the most popular and effective means.
Aktellik
The advantage of this drug is its destructive effect on pests, regardless of the stage of development. In other words, the active substance can kill adults, larvae and egg laying. The action is carried out by contact-intestinal method.
Due to the fact that the drug is toxic, treatment should be carried out outdoors; if this is not possible, the room should be very well ventilated. For processing, it is necessary to prepare a working solution.
When preparing, adhere to the following proportions: add 2 ml per 1 liter of water. drug. When processing, much attention is paid to the underside of the leaves. For maximum effect, repeat the procedure every other week.
Apollo
The main active substance is clofentesine, thanks to which the destruction of adults, larvae and eggs is carried out. In addition, the active component sterilizes sexually mature individuals, which further eliminates the possibility of reproduction.
The drug provides plant protection from pests for 2-3 months after treatment. When preparing the working solution, use the following proportion: add 1 ampoule to 5 liters of water. It also requires 2 procedures.
Floromite
The composition contains biphenazate, an active substance that allows you to kill pests as quickly and effectively as possible. The first results are noticeable within 2 hours after the procedure, complete cleansing of the plant occurs after 3 days.
The drug provides protection for 3 weeks. When preparing a working solution, 2 ml of concentrated liquid is diluted in 5 liters of water. The procedure must be repeated after a week.
Fitoverm
This drug is biological and can be used in residential areas, even indoors. It affects parasites by contact-intestinal method. The solution for spraying is prepared as follows: add 2.5 ml of the drug to 1.25 liters of water. Treatment is carried out in 3-4 stages, depending on the degree of infection, every 7 days.
It is not recommended to use chemicals frequently, as this can harm the flowers. Remember that with frequent treatments, a high concentration of nitrogen appears on the leaves, and this is favorable conditions for pests.
Preparations for spraying
If you find a cobweb on a garden rose, what should you do? If the flower is extensively damaged, recipes based on natural products will not help, which is why you have to resort to store-bought drugs. Best chemicals to treat roses:
- Actellik is a potent drug that is used only in extreme cases when other methods do not produce results. When used on house flowers, treatment is carried out only on the balcony, where there should be no animals or children. When working with Actellik, the gardener must wear gloves and protect the organs of vision and breathing.
- "Fitoferm" - shows high efficiency in relation to larvae and adults. Use once a week until the parasite disappears completely.
- "Neoron" - destroys eggs, larvae and adult ticks. The drug is used 2 times with an interval of 1 month.
On a note! "Fitoverm" is a preparation that can be used to treat plants indoors. Despite its low toxicity, it shows high results in exterminating ticks. The parasite dies 5-6 days after spraying the rose.
Other drugs recommended for killing ticks:
- "Fufanon";
- "Demitan";
- "Karate";
- "Sunmite";
- "Apollo".
Homemade recipes for ticks can be used a few days after purchasing chemicals to achieve the fastest results.
Prevention
So that you don’t have to think about how to fight spider mites on roses at home, you need to follow preventive measures and properly care for your flowers. Simple measures will help prevent the appearance of a parasite, from which roses begin to dry out and then die:
- Periodically wash the plant with a stream of water.
- Isolate the purchased rose from other plants for several weeks.
- Maintain an average level of humidity; the air in the room should not be too dry.
- Remove withered leaves from the area and burn them.
- Inspect roses weekly for parasites.
Note! Having noticed a web on a rose bush, you must first make sure that it was left by a mite, and only then take any measures, since the flower may become covered with white threads due to the fact that a spider has settled in it.
Spider mites are a parasite that is destructive to roses. Plants indoors are extremely difficult to cure and recover from insect damage. Roses that grow on the site have a higher chance of survival. Knowing what a flower affected by a mite may look like, it is necessary to immediately begin fighting it before the parasite colony increases. It is important not to forget about regular preventive measures.
Preventive measures
It is better to prevent the appearance of spider mites than not to know how to get rid of them later. The pest does not reproduce in a humid environment, so you need to constantly create it. Daily spraying of the “queen of flowers” will help soften the dry air in the room and will be the best protection against aggressive arachnids.
Roses - indoor and garden - require regular watering, especially during the growing season. But it is also impossible to over-moisten the soil and flowers, so as not to provoke fungal infections. In the garden, you need to limit the use of insecticides - broad-spectrum preparations, together with pests, kill many beneficial insects. It is after such treatment that a massive invasion of spider mites is observed. Excessive fertilization with nitrogen-containing fertilizers also benefits this predator. It is important to maintain a balance and not forget about potassium, which creates an environment that is “unfriendly” to the pest.
Dry leaves and faded buds must be removed immediately. In the rose garden, before sheltering for the winter, all plant debris is removed so that parasites do not overwinter in them. The earth around them is being dug up deeply.
