Spider Mites are a form of pests that may harm your plants in many ways. They are a plant-eating mite mostly find inside soils or on the plant itself. During colder climates, spider mites are usually found resting, while in hotter or dry weather, they are active throughout.
Spider Mites in Soil- Everything Explained!
While trying to grow plants on your soil, you may have come across spider mites. If you haven’t, then you may have heard about spider mites from some sources. In either case, we will be helping you learn all you need to know about spider mites in soil. Whether you want to get rid of spider mites, or just want to learn how you can prevent spider mites then we suggest you keep on reading!
How To Identify Spider Mites?
In order to identify spider mites, you should first learn that they even look like spiders. However, they are very small compared to an actual spider. This is also why you may need a microscope in order to see one.
But female mites are bigger than male spider mites. You can spot female spider mites through your naked eye as they look like small dots moving around. One major thing that differentiates spider mites from other pests is that they leave webs that can be used to identify the infestation.
In case you notice webs, as well as small holes in the foliage of your plants then you most probably have spider mites that are feeding on your plants. Also, spider mites do not usually live inside the soil. If you notice them on your soil, then you could be mistaking them for something else.
What Sort of Damage Do Spider Mites Inflict?
For those of you who are wondering whether they can bite or harm humans and pets, they don’t. In fact, spider mites will only damage the plant and its soils. Also, the damage caused by spider mites isn’t instantaneous.
What happens is that these pests make use of their needle mouth in order to feed themselves fluid directly from the plant’s cells. However, there are certain types of plants that won’t get spider mites at all. These plants include house-grown plants as well as hydroponic plants. This is because of the way they are grown in water and not on soil. Another reason for it is because they aren’t found in low humidity.
They slowly eat away the life out of your plants. If not taken care of soon, they can cause permanent damage to your plants. On the other hand, if you are quick enough to identify spider mites, then you may be able to prevent spider mites from occurring and save both your plant and soil.
How to Cure Spider Mites?
In order to cure spider mites, you will have to make use of any reliable insecticide/Miticide spray. There are plenty of them available on market. Just ensure that the spray that you purchase is suitable for every kind of plant, even edibles.
While spraying, first make sure that you are outside the house. Use the spray mostly on both the bottom and top of your plant’s leaves. After you have, give the plant some time to dry. Keep in mind that spider mites can transfer from one contaminated site to another non-contaminated site. So, ensure that you perform the operation carefully.
Preventing Spider Mites
In case you haven’t encountered spider mites and want to keep them from entering your plants, there are a few things that you can do:
- Ensure that your plants stay healthy all the time. If they do, they will have a much better chance at resisting spider mites.
- While watering the plant is incredibly important, what you need to check is how you water your plants. Always water your plants in a moderate amount. Also, try watering plants only from the bottom.
- Try to keep your plants clean at all times.
- Make sure that your plants get sunlight for optimal growth.
But What If Spider Mites Have Already Damaged Your Plants?
If this is the case, then what you will need to do is to first determine just how much damage have they done. For plants that haven’t received much damage, they can recover quickly. All you will need to do is to take extra care of them. For instance, keeping the soil moist, feeding the plants an instant nutrient boost fertilizer, and keeping them in sunlight should all help in the plant’s recovery.
The Bottom Line
Here is everything you need to know about spider mites in soil. If you are interested in learning about spider mites, then we highly suggest giving this article a read.