Spider mites on cactus, echeveria and aloe

harpreetb2303

I check my plants everyday and up until 3 days ago I started seeing fine spider webs between the leaves. I didn’t suspect anything until today when I saw tiny bite marks on some of the leaves. How do I get rid of them for good before the infestation gets really bad and ends up killing my plants?

Pete.8

They can be tricky to shift as they like a dry warm atmosphere - as do cacti.

An extract from the RHS website - 

• The systemic neonicotinoid pesticide acetamiprid (e.g. Bug Clear Ultra) is available for use on ornamental plants and some listed edible plants. Check the label for details and ensure that instructions are followed regarding maximum number of applications and harvest interval

If you choose to spray with the above, best to do it late in the evening when bees etc have gone to bed

The full article is here

wild edges

Acetamiprid is pretty nasty stuff, not as bad as some neonics but all pesicides should be a last resort for gardeners.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetamiprid

"A recent study has implicated acetamiprid as a cause of erectile dysfunction in human males" 

harpreetb2303

wild edges said:

Acetamiprid is pretty nasty stuff, not as bad as some neonics but all pesicides should be a last resort for gardeners.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetamiprid

"A recent study has implicated acetamiprid as a cause of erectile dysfunction in human males" 

Thanks for the article, although the toxicity of this pesticide is low and is not carcinogenic so I’m willing to at least try it out.

harpreetb2303

Pete8 said:

They can be tricky to shift as they like a dry warm atmosphere - as do cacti.

An extract from the RHS website - 

• The systemic neonicotinoid pesticide acetamiprid (e.g. Bug Clear Ultra) is available for use on ornamental plants and some listed edible plants. Check the label for details and ensure that instructions are followed regarding maximum number of applications and harvest interval

If you choose to spray with the above, best to do it late in the evening when bees etc have gone to bed

The full article is here

Thanks for this. I don’t want to take any chances this time as I lost 6 cacti a couple of years ago due to an infestation of both mealy bugs and white spider mites that I couldn’t shift.