emporium hydroponucs

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Mites (tetranychidae)

Brockney C • Mar 07, 2019

How to prevent or cure them

A description of mites

There are lots of different types of mite and they all have eight legs that point either to the front or the back. They are typically brown, red or yellow/green and have bodies that are pear shaped.

Being very difficult to see with the naked eye, tetranychidae mites are often first spotted by the damage they cause to the plants. Being less than half a millimeter in length a magnifying glass is needed to inspect them.

They prefer an environment that is relatively warm and dry and are more likely to feed from plants that have lacked a good supply of moisture.

What damage is caused?

If silvery white spots appear on the leaves then it is a strong possibility that these mites are the culprits. They tend to hide underneath the leaves that are suffering the damage and these leaves can initially be spotted by the tiny white flecks that are left.

As things progress a white web will begin to cover the edges of the leaves. Both the adult mites and the larvae will feed on the underside of the leaves and as well as the web there will also be yellow spots on the leaves.

The leaf will eventually die and ultimately this will cause the death of the entire plant.

With a large infestation of mites the plant can become totally covered in the white webs.

Preventing this damage

This is a really simple one - just keep a clove of garlic nearby! The plant will absorb some of the scent and because the mites do not appreciate it this will keep them away.

Keeping a high level of humidity will also help to eradicate them as they do not appreciate high levels of moisture.

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