The spider mite is a pest that parasitizes foliage and can live both on indoor plants and in the garden. The male tick reaches a length of 0.5 mm, while its female can be twice as large. These pests can be of different colors. There are white, red, green and even orange insects.
The defeat of currant bushes occurs most often from the foliage of its lower part. The main symptom of the disease is the appearance of white dots on the leaves. Whereas, over time, the tick moves higher and higher, enveloping all the currants with its web. We will talk about how to deal with this pest in this review.
Signs of damage to currants with a spider mite
It is not difficult to recognize the appearance of a spider mite on a currant. Even taking into account the fact that the pests are very small, they can cause significant damage to the currants up to their destruction. In view of rapid reproduction, tick individuals quickly spread throughout the plant, sucking juices out of it and thereby deforming the structure of the foliage.
Causes of occurrence
The main reasons for the appearance of a spider mite include:
- hot and dry weather. It is these weather conditions that are considered optimal for the reproduction of pests. Although mites can outlast even cold weather for some time;
- if the soil lacks useful organic compounds or other microelements, pests immediately use this. They immediately attack plants, weakened in some way by the lack of organic matter;
- currant bushes can become infected with spider insectsfrom other plants in the garden. That is why it is important to localize the affected areas and try to get rid of pests as quickly as possible, preventing them from further multiplying;
- excessively dusty plants - this is also the reason for the appearance of ticks. They like this habitat. It is recommended to constantly water the currants to prevent pests.
It is worth noting that if you do not immediately eliminate all the causes of the appearance of ticks, then there will be no sense in this. Since in one day the female can lay about two hundred eggs. It is necessary to fight in a complex way, destroying not only adults, but also their eggs.
Consequences of defeat of currants by a pest
If you do not get rid of the spider mite before the ovary appears, then you can not wait at all for the harvest. This pest is also terrible because it not only affects the ovaries on flowers, but also causes irreparable harm to the foliage. This significantly increases the chance of the currant bush to get sick with other ailments.
Practice shows that black currant bushes rarely get sick. But if they were struck by a spider mite and did not get rid of the pest in time. Powdery mildew attacks immediately. And already it becomes almost impossible to get rid of this problem.
How to deal with spider mites
In the process of fighting spider mites it is best to use folk methods. Firstly, it is free, since the recipes contain improvised tools or plants that can be found in any garden or personal plot. Secondly, these are safe methods for eliminating the pest. Such infusions and solutions do not harm either the plants themselves or people.
Plain water is an excellent remedy for getting rid of mites from bushes at the initial stage. This is because the pest does not tolerate high humidity. If you constantly water the bushes directly from above with water, or after watering, cover them with a film to significantly increase the humidity, adults will quickly die.
Whereas the use of specialized chemical compositions is recommended only in the most difficult situations when traditional methods did not give the desired result. As store-bought drugs, getting into the pulp of currants, spoil it, harming the human body. It is possible to use chemistry followed by harvesting only if the product is used before the currant begins to bloom. Otherwise, it is forbidden to eat the harvested crop.
The use of spider mite control products also depends on the temperature outside.
At an air temperature of + 21 degrees Celsius, it is advised to carry out three treatments with acaricide with an interval of 8 days. If the temperature rises to +30 degrees, the number of treatments increases up to 4 times, and the interval decreases to 5 days. Otherwise, new eggs will have time to ripen, spreading further
The use of special drugs
It is possible to use acaricides only before flowering appears, since hazardous substances can get into the berries and harm a person. If no one will harvest berries at all and the problem is to save the garden from a pest that spreads to other plants, sense and meaning of acaricites at any stage of development of the bush is available.
The method of application, or rather the instructions for preparing the composition, is indicated on the package. It is not worth making your own adjustments to the solution, it is important to follow all the manufacturer's recommendations.
Practice shows that getting rid of a spider mite is not easy. And the first chemical that comes across may not help. We'll have to change the drug based on other poisons.
It is recommended to apply chemicals 3-4 times. Since the eggs of the mite show increased resistance to all drugs, including "lethal chemicals".
For currants, it is recommended to pay attention to the following preparations:
- Floromite;
- Sunmight;
- Oberon;
- Flumite;
- Apollo;
- Nisoran.
Using folk methods
There are some plants that will help cope with the pest. Some should be used dried, others fresh. Let's consider the main options:
- wormwood, dope, dandelion, yarrow, calendula, celandine;
- can be cooked a solution of finely chopped onion with garlic, diluted with water and infused for 24 hours;
- performed well in the fight against ticks infusion of potato tops.
It is recommended to use solutions by spraying them over the surface of the bush. Moreover, this must be done at least three times daily. This is because eggs are highly resistant to liquids. And to destroy them is much more difficult than mature individuals.
Now it becomes clear that it is worth starting the fight against the spider mite immediately after its appearance. This is because, in the first place, pests can be simply washed off with a stream of water or treated with an infusion of herbs. If you do not get your bearings in time, then after the appearance of the ovary, the tick can damage it, which means that there will be no harvest. Moreover, the pest spreads quickly through the garden and can infect all other healthy plants, even reaching indoor flowers. Everything needs to be done on time!