Killing and Controlling Spider Mites
Home gardeners all over North America know all too well the danger posed by spider mites. These destructive creatures multiply quickly, damage plants and other vegetation, and can completely ruin all the hard work you’ve put in to your greenery. In order to prevent a serious spider mite infestation in your home, killing and controlling spider mites is absolutely essential. The good news is that it can be done fairly easily and inexpensively.
Red Spider Mites
To fight against spider mite infestations we have two options at our disposal. The first is killing adult spider mites and preventing the return of more. The second weapon is to control their spread by controlling reproduction. A strategy which employs both options tends to be the most successful in solving the problem once and for all.
Killing Adult Spider Mites with Miticides
The most effective way to kill adult spider mites is by using specially designed pesticides known in the industry as miticides. These chemicals have been engineered to specifically attack various types of mites and kill them on contact. Often, general pesticides and insecticides won’t work against many types of mites because of their physiology. But a miticide will do the trick if you purchase the right one. If you’re not sure what to buy, ask your gardening specialist.
Miticides generally kill adult spider mites on contact. Furthermore, when used on a continual basis according to the product’s instructions, they help to prevent future infestations by keeping other spider mites away. Yet despite their success in killing adult spider mites, there are a couple of downsides. The first lies in the fact that miticides are not a permanent solution. You could follow package instructions and rid yourself of your spider might infestation only to have it return several months later. If this is your only battle plan you may find you have to repeat it continually.
The second downside is that miticide chemicals do carry some safety concerns. Like all pesticides, long-term exposure to these chemicals, or the improper use thereof, could subject you, your family, and your pets to some harmful side effects. All pesticides should be used with extreme caution.
Controlling Spider Mites Naturally
In conjunction with killing adult spider mites, you want to control the egg cycle to prevent them from breeding. That’s because an adult female can lay as many as one dozen eggs per day throughout the breeding cycle. Once her eggs hatch, the young spider mite reaches full adulthood in about a week. The reason spider mite infestations grow so quickly is because of this incredibly fast birth and growth cycle.
Controlling spider mites naturally means purchasing an all-natural solution based on botanical oils. These solutions work by suffocating the young spider mites while they are still in their eggs. If you can prevent the majority of eggs from hatching, you will slow down, and possibly even stop, a colony’s breeding. Combined with the killing of adult spider mites, controlling the reproduction cycle should help you attain complete and total victory.
