Insecticide application

[blueant]

I've noticed a small infestation of what look like red spider mites (just tiny little moving red specs) on one of my plants, so yesterday applied some provado ultimate bug killer. Now I've noticed that provado doesn't really deal with mites and I can still see them happily crawling about. I got some bugclear ultra which specifically states red spider mites etc on the label, but I was wondering whether it is safe to apply this today or should I wait the standard 7-10 days for another application? Would too much insecticide be worse than a weeks worth of mite life?

[iann]

Apply now, it won't harm the plant. I assume you are going to spray? Avoid doing that in strong sun or very high temperatures. A few days of shade is a good precaution after spraying anything other than water, although Bugclear Ultra is very unlikely to cause problems. You'll need to spray several times anyway, so you might as well start now.

[blueant]

Thank you! Yes it's the spray one. I might leave it another day then just to avoid this booming heat. I haven't seen any more bugs since yesterday either, so maybe the provado has had some effect.

[iann]

I suppose it is a bit late now, but I forgot what should always be my first response: identify the pest.

Spider mites aren't (usually) red, and you don't usually notice them crawling about. Usually you notice the damage first, maybe some webbing, then the mites if there are a lot of them. You can see adult mites with the naked eye, but they are not exactly obvious.

Flat mites aren't really red either, but they do a pretty good orange. You won't see them crawling about for sure, much too small and they rarely move anyway. If you know exactly where to look you can spot a big one, but you'll never just notice them.

So I suspect you may have one of the non-pest mites that are common at this time of year. They are often bright red, large enough to be seen easily, and almost always moving. Don't spray these.

[blueant]

Hmm, there hasn't been any webbing. What I saw were very small, maybe 0.1mm? I only noticed them by chance when looking very close and I could only tell they were moving by watching for a while. Mostly they weren't moving, they'd move faster after being touched though. I couldn't see any legs etc even under a light magnifying glass... Hope I didn't get some of the good guys.

[greenknight]

Predatory mites move around constantly, and have longer legs than pest mites, so I don't know - maybe you need a stronger magnifier

[Pushrestart]

BlueAnt, great description. I've recently found red spider mites on some of my softest plants, ignoring all cacti thus far -amazing- and yes as you described- you can see the mites moving very very slowly. Its creepy.
With predatory mites they never seem to sit still, always moving, saw two varieties earlier this summer. These guys are quite hard to capture



Good luck with your treatment, I hope you get them!

[iann]

0.1mm? You've got good eyes! Spider mites grow to about 0.5mm long, but there can also be smaller immature ones. Although they are often called red spider mites, they generally look like this. "Red" spider mites may be a different species from the "two-spotted" spider mite, but most likely the colour is due to feeding habits, with overwintering mites being more orange.

False spider mites (flat mites, Brevipalpus) are about half as long. Here is a typical appearance. In my experience, these are far more common than spider mites on cacti, especially smaller globular species.

[blueant]

Thanks everybody. I will have to keep checking and yeah, get a better magnifying glass, as for better or worse they seem to have gone. Next time I will try to identify first but there is something very off putting about the thought of tiny bugs crawling around.

0.1mm? You've got good eyes!

Alas, no. Without my glasses, the magnifier and getting right up close I would have had no chance. I might be getting carried away by the zoom capabilities of my computer though From your descriptions I'm leaning towards them being false spider mites.

[Pushrestart]

0.1mm? You've got good eyes! Spider mites grow to about 0.5mm long, but there can also be smaller immature ones. Although they are often called red spider mites, they generally look like this. "Red" spider mites may be a different species from the "two-spotted" spider mite, but most likely the colour is due to feeding habits, with overwintering mites being more orange.

False spider mites (flat mites, Brevipalpus) are about half as long. Here is a typical appearance. In my experience, these are far more common than spider mites on cacti, especially smaller globular species.

Thank you for the additional info Ian !
Laser eyes lol *i wish* Im nearsighted. They can only be seen when I pick up the pot and keep it a few cm away from my eyes, focus, and then I see very slow movement, they are red/orangeish and really seem to like the soft squishy mesembs. Fantastic. I'll be ordering some tetrasan and get to work soon.
Best of luck blueant, uphill battle for sure!

[iann]

Certain mesembs are very prone to spider mite, but for some reason I never see the false spider mites on them. In descending order of tastiness: Stomatiums, Mossia, Khadia, Nananthus, Aloinopsis, Neohenricia, Faucaria, and occasionally some Delospermas.

[Pushrestart]

Certain mesembs are very prone to spider mite, but for some reason I never see the false spider mites on them. In descending order of tastiness: Stomatiums, Mossia, Khadia, Nananthus, Aloinopsis, Neohenricia, Faucaria, and occasionally some Delospermas.

Flat Spider mites are even smaller than the classic red spider mite, right?...
I was not aware that spider mites were so attracted to mesembs, thought their focus was on certain types of cacti like lobivia and sulcorebutia.
They are happily eating at my glottiphyllums, titanopsis, some conos, l. optica rubra and oddly enough a few haworthias. I've been using a paintbrush dipped in a mild Isopropyl alcohol, dish soap, and water mix till my miticide gets here.

Recently I havent paid attention to any of the light webbing around my plants as I have a few jumping spiders and other larger arachnids residing in my collection. They seem to be keeping any mealies/aphids in check, hope my miticide- Tetrasan (Etoxazole) wont kill any of the beneficial predators.