Subject: spider like insects

From: [email-masked] (William R. Sabo)
Date: 5 Apr 1995 23:31:40 GMT

Hello,

I have an ivy plant in my living room.  It has little webs on it, and what
look to be tiny little spiders.  They are way to small to count legs, but
I would like to get rid of them.  I would like to use simple household
items... perhaps vinegar?  Light sopy water?  Ideas?

E-mail Please

William R. Sabo Jr.

---

From: [email-masked] (Martin Tom Brown)
Date: Thu, 6 Apr 1995 11:28:09 +0000

>From your description it is almost certainly red spider mite.
They like dry conditions, and a higher humidity will discourage them.
However, once you have them you need to treat it or the plant will 
suffer badly - leaves will yellow, dry and fall off.

There is an organic preditor mite you can buy to control it in a
greenhouse & works well, but for a single plant you will have to spray.

Try soapy water if you must. But you will need to spray every week for
at least a month to gain control. Also try increasing the humidity.
I doubt it will be very effective. Check all your plants carefully!

I normally use a powerful insecticide like Malathion against this pest 
as I grow cacti (low humidity) and even then it takes 2-3 shots to
spread over a month to clear the pest. You have to kill each generation
of mites as they hatch and before they reproduce. Eggs are indestructible.
Spray it out of doors and take care with toxic materials!

I think there are systemic insecticidal "plant pins" (TM) from some
companies in the UK which will control red spider mite in houseplants. 
This might be worth a try if you don't want to spray. 
They work OK but are expensive.

Hope this helps.
Regards,
--  
Martin Brown  <[email-masked]>     __                CIS: 71651,470
Scientific Software Consultancy             /^,,)__/

---

From: [email-masked] (Martin Tom Brown)
Date: Thu, 6 Apr 1995 11:28:09 +0000

Hope this helps.
Regards,

---

From: [email-masked] (Martin Tom Brown)
Date: Thu, 6 Apr 1995 11:28:09 +0000

Hope this helps.
Regards,

---

From: Cindy Lewis <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 17 Apr 1995 14:13:18 -0400

Put the plant in your shower and give it a good soaking with cool 
water--spider mites hate moisture (this is definitely what you have).  
Also, IMMEDIATELY REMOVE THIS PLANT FROM THE VICINITY OF OTHER PLANTS, or 
they will get them too.  Keep washing them off every time you see 
them--and definitely strip off the leaves where you saw them and dispose 
of immediately.  To discourage them in the future, mist your plants 
regularly.  

Cindy

---

From: Cindy Lewis <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 17 Apr 1995 14:13:18 -0400

Cindy