If you read our previous post on twospotted spider mites you probably have a good understanding of just how deadly these minute menaces can be to your crops.
We won’t leave you without a game plan. Here are two ways to help combat an infestation that threatens to destroy your fields.
Using natural predators
Twospotted spider mites have lots of natural predators you can deploy to help keep them in check, including thrips, ladybugs, minute pirate bugs, lacewing larvae, and even predatory mites.
Of all enemies of the twospotted spider mite, predatory mites of the family Phytoseiidae are the most important—according to horticulturalists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison—and are also the most commercially available and frequently-used predator for keeping spider mites under control inside of greenhouses.
One predatory mite among Phytoseiidae, Phytoseiulus persimilis, is the most popular choice among U.S. growers. And for good reason: A single Phytoseiulus persimilis can devour 20 eggs or five adult twospotted spider mites each day.
A pretty formidable opponent of these crop killers.
Using insecticides
Insecticidal soaps and oils can be very effective at controlling most spider mite problems, and whenever possible these options should be considered instead of pesticides.
Horticultural oil may also be effective, but applications should be made frequently since oils and soaps have no residual activity and only affect the mites they are sprayed directly on. So you may need to repeat treatments in order to achieve and maintain thorough coverage of the foliage.
If you’ve got a heavy twospotted spider mite population that’s restricted to the edge rows of your fields, treating only the edges can be a cost-effective option.
Products known as miticides, or acaricides, are another possibility you may consider using to help control these destructive mites and protect your crops.
