Keep an eye out for red spider mite

Keep an eye out for red spider mite especially in greenhouses, as this is just the time of year these annoying little sap-sucking pests begin to cause serious damage.

Keep an eye out for Red Spider Mite

Signs to look out for are mottled and yellowish leaves, often with little clusters of greenish specks on the undersides. A cobweb-like webbing and early leaf drop are also telltale signs. Red spider mite don’t actually turn red till autumn, by which time they’re usually settling down to overwinter in a handy nook and the damage is already done.

They feed voraciously on sap and can seriously weaken your plants. As well as cucumbers, they also attack tomatoes, aubergines and peppers as well as a wide range of ornamental plants including most houseplants, fuchsias, geraniums, poinsettias and orchids.

Spray Plant Regularly

Infestations are worse in dry conditions, so spraying plants regularly with the hose set to fine mist helps send them packing. Spraying with an insecticidal soap, available from our garden centre here in Co. Limerick, also keeps numbers down. Or you can always turn to the nuclear option: a predatory mite, Phytoseiulus persimilis, which eats both eggs and mites voraciously. As our staff for more details on how to get hold of some and when to use it.