Spider Mites

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ars2210
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Spider Mites

Post by ars2210 » May 27th, 2016, 11:59 pm

What do you guys do for them? I had two dwarf Alberta Spruce that I lost to them before I realized what was the problem. I now have 3 5-6 foot Smaragd Arborvitae that I want to prevent from having the same fate. I've been spraying them down every few months with semi high pressure water which I've read should keep the problem from happening. Has this worked for you guys, or is more effort of some kind required?

Thanks!

bpgreen
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Re: Spider Mites

Post by bpgreen » May 28th, 2016, 11:22 am

Water spray worked for me on hops.

TheOscarGuy
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Re: Spider Mites

Post by TheOscarGuy » May 29th, 2016, 6:17 am

We have this problem. I find it hard to believe spraying with water helps but I will give it a try. How did they get on the leaves in the first place if they can't get on the tree once they all fall down, I wonder.

Do you use "jet" setting of sprayer to do that? Do you try and target all the leaves that way?

bpgreen
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Joined: January 3rd, 2009, 2:28 am
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Lawn Size: 3000-5000
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Re: Spider Mites

Post by bpgreen » May 29th, 2016, 10:19 am

I did it several years ago and don't really remember that much about it. I think I just used my thumb to create a strong stream of water and spayed the leaves. I also trimmed the leaves near the ground because I read that's supposed to help.

Green_Disease
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Re: Spider Mites

Post by Green_Disease » June 1st, 2016, 8:32 pm

I spray my dwarf alberta spruce trees a few times a year and it seems to help. I use the jet setting and spray all branches full blast from no more than a few inches away. I seperate the branches with one hand and spray with the other. I havent had any issues with spider mites but noticed some of my neighbors have so i'll stick with it.

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ars2210
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Re: Spider Mites

Post by ars2210 » June 4th, 2016, 11:12 pm

bpgreen wrote:I did it several years ago and don't really remember that much about it. I think I just used my thumb to create a strong stream of water and spayed the leaves. I also trimmed the leaves near the ground because I read that's supposed to help.
This is basically what I've been doing. And right now probably once every three months or less.

As for them not being able to climb back up, I don't think that's the case...more of a continuous maintenance task to knock them back down again before they can do too much damage in one area. My guess is that if this is done the tree can recover, and its unlikely the mites will relocate to the same area again. I think the key is that it just raises your odds of success without much effort.

Phoebe

Re: Spider Mites

Post by Phoebe » June 6th, 2016, 11:05 pm

It's hard to believe, but I tried it for the first time this spring too. I hit it with a jet spray a couple of times in April, and it looks really good. I have a neighbor down the street who has one that's browning. I also went around to all of my Emerald Green Arborvitae with gloves, and cleaned out most of the brown dead leaves that accumulate inside that fall to the base. I pulled handfuls out. I also jet sprayed them too because I saw a few webs on them. About a week later, I noticed new growth. They are really green too.

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