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What is this Orange Tree bug?

Emma.rogersEmma.rogers Posts: 6
in Fruit & veg
Hi
I have an orange tree which has been living exclusively indoors with it's best friend, a lemon tree.

The lemon tree is in good health and I saw today that it has buds on it. However, both trees have what looks like a 'mite'. There are tiny cobwebs between the leaves, and what looks like sawdust on the leaves. The orange tree keep shedding it's leaves even though the lemon tree doesn't, but I keep the soil moist and feed them both every week in the summer and every-so-often in the winter.

I can't find out if this is a fungus/mite/disease etc so can anyone shed some light? And how do I solve it!

Thanks


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Posts

  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 37,245
    Hello @Emma.rogers and welcome to the forum. I think that your orange is plagued with a common greenhouse pest called red spider mite. Here is a link that will give you a lot of information but if you Google 'red spider mite' there are many pages with more useful information.

    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • Emma.rogersEmma.rogers Posts: 6
    ah thanks so much! It looks like I can still get rid of them!
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 14,609
    They don't tend to do very well, if kept exclusively indoors. it is too dry for them. It should at least go outside during the summer.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • Emma.rogersEmma.rogers Posts: 6
    I have a south facing patio courtyard that regularly got to 40C plus in the last summer. Are there any risks of leaving lemon/orange trees in the garden over summer? Are they susceptible to any other bugs when left outside during the summer?
  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 37,245
    Good luck Emma.rogers. They can be controlled but punkdoc has given some sound advice and where possible during the nicer weather - in the summer if we are lucky - put your citrus outside.
    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 86,946
    I think they’re safer outside than indoors in the summer. @Nanny Beach grows a lot of citrus … I’ve given her a nudge … hopefully she’ll pop in and see this …

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,434
    Outdoors in summer when they can get rained on. Indoors before the frosts start, away from draughts or a radiator.
  • Emma.rogersEmma.rogers Posts: 6
    fidgetbones said:
    Outdoors in summer when they can get rained on. Indoors before the frosts start, away from draughts or a radiator.
    Thanks Figitbones. Should that be in direct light or away from direct light?
  • Dinnerplatedahlias🌸Dinnerplatedahlias🌸 Posts: 99
    I’ve kept mine indoors for a few years now by south facing patio doors.

    The problem I’ve noticed is pests get out of control very quickly. To successfully keep them indoors you have to spray them with pretty strong bug killers. I don’t use anything like this in the garden as kills everything but for citrus tree kept inside it’s a must.

    Taking the trees outside in the summer and letting them get rained on is good practice but the only thing that controls the pests is spraying with super strong bug killer every few months. 
  • Emma.rogersEmma.rogers Posts: 6
    The oil arrived today so I've coated every single leaf of both the lemon and orange tree. Hopefully it will start improving soon. Any idea how frequently I need to coat them?

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