Description:
Spider mites are more closely related to spiders. They are not insects. They belong to a class called Arachnida. Spider mites affect many crops worldwide. There are well over 1200 species of spider mite, of which more than a hundred can be considered as a pest, and about ten of those as a major pest. The most well-known and problematic spider mite is Tetranychus urticae (common names include red spider mite and two-spotted spider mite). Their ability to reproduce extremely rapidly enables them to cause enormous damage in a short period of time. Spider mites have needle-like sucking mouthparts. They feed by penetrating the plant tissue with their mouthparts. Large populations can even cover entire plants with their web. These webs are used to move around. Because spider mites are so small they can easily move through ventilators.
Visual Observation
Spider mites usually spin a silk webbing. When spider mites infest plant leaves, they damage the plant tissue leaving yellowing and dead spots that coalesce until eventually the entire leaf is affected. The leaf will turn yellow, wilt and finally be shed. There are some varieties of mites that do not spin webs and live in the plants bud terminals, where the damage cannot be seen until the tip expands.
Treatment & Prevention
Use GrowSafe as per label instructions. Spider mites also have several natural enemies that can be used to control the population. They can be used in conjunction with GrowSafe™.
