Spider Mite Control: How to Get Rid of Spider Mites

This article is a general spider mite control guide. Using the recommended products and methods will help you completely control spider mite populations. Follow this DIY guide and use the recommended products, and we guarantee 100% control of spider mites.

Compared to most pests, spider mites are serious ornamental, crop, and tree pests that quickly reproduce and mature while also becoming resistant to most chemicals. In each stage of their development, from the larvae to the nymph to the adult stage, they damage plants significantly by feeding on their chlorophyll.

As a result, dead plant cells reduce photosynthesis, leading to decreased plant growth. As spider mites continue feeding on the plant, its leaves become yellow, eventually causing the foliage to die. If these damages are not apparent, then the unaesthetic webbing they make on ornamental plants like roses will make itself known as it covers leaves, flowers, and sometimes entire foliage.

Many species of spider mites are so small to the human eye that their populations go uncontrolled until damage is already present on foliage. Typically, when homeowners inspect the damaged parts of the plant, they can unknowingly transport these hitchhiking pests to other uninfected plants. Spider mites are best controlled by taking action with the recommended products and steps as the weather just begins to warm up in your region.

Identification

Before proceeding with a treatment program, you must be certain that the pest infesting your plant is a spider mite species. Careless identification can lead you to use the wrong or ineffective insecticides, wasting your time and finances. While each spider mite species will vary in features, some will share some distinguishing traits. To see spider mites, you must examine them under a microscope or magnifying glass.

• Depending on the season and species of spider mites, their colors will range between white, red, brown, orange, yellow, or green. Most species of spider mite females have large dark spots on each side of their body with a clear green or yellow coloration, except for female carmine mites, which are red. In cooler areas, overwintering female spider mites have a red or orange color.
• Spider mites are not insects at all, but a type of arachnid. Like most spiders or ticks, they have 8 legs with the exception of no antennae, one round oval body, and two red eyespots at the front of their bodies. Newly hatched spider mites have 6 legs, but when further developed, they attain 8.
• Have sucking mouth-parts to extract chlorophyll from plant leaves.
• Spider mites are about 1/50 to 1/25 inches long and are often seen as small, moving dots hardly visible to the human eye. Adult females are often larger than males.

Use the image and description above to help you know what spider mites look like when present in your yard. If unsure, contact us by phone, email, or in person at one of our store locations with an image or sample of the pest in a sealable plastic container. This way, the pest can be properly identified and have the appropriate product recommendation.

Inspection

After you confirm the presence of spider mites in your yard, you must inspect the area to see where the infestation is most active and the conditions allowing it to thrive. Monitor your plants closely throughout the season since spider mites are rarely seen until foliage damage occurs.

Where to Inspect

Spider mites are most active in warm or hot, dry weather. They can survive over the winter by feeding on various host plants. In the United States, the most common spider mite species encountered during these warmer weather conditions is the two-spotted spider mite. Spider mites can feed on plant cells from fruit trees, vines, berries, vegetables, shrubs, and ornamentals.

Most female spider mite species overwinter in the soil or on the underside of leaves or bark of host plants until the weather becomes warm again.

What to Look For

The most common sign of spider mite infestation on your plants is webbing. Spider mites are arachnids; hence, they produce webbing on their host plants to create shelter. In prolonged infestations, webs are usually found underneath the plant's leaves, between branches and stems, and over the entire foliage.

Other signs of spider mites are small white or yellow dots, called stipples, on the lower part of the foliage leaves, giving it a bronze or flecked appearance. Large amounts of spider mites will cause yellowing and then browning, eventually leading to the death of plants and their leaves.

Treatment

When you are ready to proceed with any control methods or pesticide applications, you must wear personal protective equipment (PPE).

Spider mites multiply quickly in hot weather, so pesticide applications would be best at the first sign of infestation and before warmer weather. With most broad-spectrum pesticides, these applications are shown to be ineffective because they eliminate insects such as thrips, ladybugs, lacewings, pirate bugs, and predator mites that feed upon spider mites but not the pest itself. 

Not to mention, some carbaryl, organophosphate, and pyrethroid-based products help to increase the infestation since they can increase the plants' nitrogen levels, helping the pest thrive with an increased food supply and no natural predators. Active ingredients such as malathion, bifenthrin, cyfluthrin, and kelthane have been shown to kill spider mites.

Alternating between insecticides and miticides each year would be best to avoid spider mites becoming resistant to repeatedly used products. Miticides containing abamectin, isoxazole, spiromesifen, or hexythiazox will help reduce spider mite resistance and populations if they return after residual insecticide application.

We recommend using Supreme IT when the weather begins to warm and when there is the first sign of a spider mite infestation. Supreme IT is a pyrethroid residual insecticide formulated with the active ingredient bifenthrin 7.9% to kill spider mites and some predatory insects like thrips and ladybugs. Once dried, it will continue to kill spider mites and 70 other types of insects for up to 90 days after application.

Step 1: Irrigate All Plants

Before starting chemical control, rinse all plants and foliage.

Spider mites are persistent pests that feed on the chlorophyll in plants, resulting in weakened and discolored foliage. These pests tend to favor hot, dry climates and plenty of foliage to feed upon.

The first thing you may want to consider is moving all plants outside and gently spraying them with an inch of irrigation no more than once a week. Be sure to water the top and bottom of leaves, stems, and limbs to push off any adult spider mites, eggs, and webs.

Smaller plants may be watered with a small spray bottle, and plants with large leaves can be wiped off with a moist cloth to help prevent overwatering.

Step 2: Spray Residual Insecticide

Once watered plants have dried, you can apply a residual insecticide like Supreme IT. Determine how much Supreme IT to use by measuring the square footage of the treatment area. To find this, measure the length and width of the treatment area in feet, then multiply (length X width = square footage).

To kill spider mites on ornamentals, apply 0.25 to 0.5 fl. oz. of Supreme IT per gallon of water per 1,000 sq. ft. Use 0.5 fl. oz. in severe infestations.

Mix this product with water in a handheld pump sprayer to make mixing and application easier to control. Pour half the amount of water into the spray tank, add a measured amount of product, and then pour in the remaining half of the water. Close the spray tank lid and shake until the solution is evenly mixed.

Spray the top and bottom of ornamental leaves until wet, but not to the point of run-off. For the most effective control of spider mite species, such as the two-spotted spider mites, apply during spring and mid-summer. During mid- to late-summer, making more frequent treatments, possibly at higher rates, suitable control may be necessary.

Control may be enhanced by adding a surfactant or horticultural oil or by combining Supreme IT with other products registered to control mites. Applications of Supreme IT may be alternated with chemicals offering other modes of action to delay or prevent two-spotted spider mites' control resistance.

Prevention

After eliminating spider mites from your plants, you will need to quickly take on preventative procedures to ensure they do not return. Here are some preventative measures to help control future spider mites from returning to your plants, yard, and home:

• Prune any leaves and stems that show discoloration, have a speckled appearance, or are completely dead. Any part of the plant that is removed should be immediately disposed of in an outdoor trash can to avoid spider mites returning or spreading to other nearby foliage. Check your plants every 3 to 5 days and prune as necessary. In more severe infestations, the entire plant may have to be removed to prevent the spreading of spider mites to other nearby foliage.
• Check plants before bringing them inside greenhouses and homes and planting them in your yard.
• Use slow-release nitrogen granule fertilizer during each fertilizer season, as high nitrogen levels in plants can increase spider mite breeding and growth.
• Spider mites dislike moist, wet environments. Because of this, water indoor and outdoor plants with an inch of irrigation no more than once a week to help discourage spider mites and provide plants with energy for regrowth. Treat the leaves, stems, branches, and soil to wash away any potential spider mites and their eggs.
• Apply Supreme IT as a preventative treatment on outside surfaces and the perimeter of your home to repel any spider mites from traveling to indoor plants. Spray 3 feet up and 3 feet out from your home's foundation while also spraying around your window and door frames, cracks and crevices, patios, garages, eaves, lawns such as grassy areas adjacent to or along your home, and ornamentals every quarter. If infestations or signs of activity are still present, rotate applications with a miticide labeled to control spider mites, such as Abamectin 0.15 EC Miticide, which contains the active ingredient abamectin 1.9%.

Key Takeaways

What are Spider Mites?

• Spider mites are not insects but a type of arachnid that feeds on chlorophyll in plant cells. These pests cause a severe impact on plants in a short amount of time and often go unnoticed due to their small size until webbing and discoloration of plants appear.

How to Get Rid of Spider Mites

• Spider mites are best controlled with residual insecticides such as Supreme IT and ongoing watering of foliage. Since these pests do not like moist environments, water the top and bottom of foliage leaves, stems, and limbs with an inch of irrigation once per week. Rotate between residual insecticides and miticides each year to prevent spider mites from becoming resistant to pesticides.

Preventing Spider Mite Reinfestation

• Prevent spider mites from appearing on your plants with ongoing pruning, watering, and applications of Supreme IT at the beginning of the spring and summer season.