Print

[GrowerAndaShower]

Hey all, I was sent a Syrian Rue root from the giveaway a few months back, and all has been going well except my ongoing struggle with spider mites. I've lost a few plants to them over the winter, and thought I had eliminated them with neem oil(killing one of my Mimosas in the process...), but about a week ago I noticed my Rue had begun losing lower leaves, they were turning yellow and falling off. Over the last week i've noticed the telltale webs around most of the leaves of my rue. I have been wiping and cleaning it as much as I can, but they're still around. Is Neem safe for use on Rue? Any other tips on getting rid of them?

For ID: They're tiny little mites with small dark spots on their backs. It doesn't look like a two-spotted mite, as in the pictures online their spots are solid,mine have patches of tiny dots on their backs. red eyes, light brown/tan bodies, and dark patches of spots on ~65% of the mites I observed under my microscope. the others look identical, but are missing the spots.

I had considered purchasing some beneficial nematodes, predatory mites, or mite-eating spiders off amazon, but without IDing the mite species I don't know which to buy... Wish I had a μm ruler on my slides, I could give a bit more info. I'll attempt to take pics with my cell through the microscope, but I'm not sure how it'll do.

[FewTrueSeed]

Noooooooooo. I have had good luck with hydrogen peroxide at a 10% dilution. And feed your plant. Be very careful with fertilizer if you are not acustom to it. Use the propper amount!

[audiohi]

Azamax is a safe and OMRI certified neem product which also works quite well. Just make sure you use it three times as suggested in the time interval recommended. Fully cover all surfaces top and bottom with a spray or dip.

You may not see an immediate decrease in mites, but don't worry. It's most important to break the reproduction cycle when it comes to pest management.

[FewTrueSeed]

Give it a cold shower. Put it outside if its colder. Hardy to zone 7. If all else fails cut all of the foliage off. They have a large root system that stores most of their energy, they will come right back. I tried to keep mine dormant overwinter, they didn't like that. 

[GrowerAndaShower]

I put it outside in the sun, along the fence. Mites are gone(well,I no longer see any or their webs) after a couple rains and nice days in the sun. Hopefully it wasn't too late, and she'll bounce back from the roots. I have high hopes, it threw out growth pretty freaking quickly when I first got it, there's plenty of life left in it I'm sure of it!