coolrobby2003

Please any and all EXPERTS come and rescue my naner! I have mites i chopped a leaf about 6 weeks ago and gave it too the extension office in PONTIAC ILLINOIS they said NO MITES! THEY WERE WRONG! I just found them tonite and there are at least 2 dozen little whiteish ones- at first i gave them a good soaking of soapy water! If i remember correctly i read somewhere about fish oil spray! My folks take 1200mg fish oil pills can i take 1 or more of these in some water and spray them to get rid of these if so how many pills in how much water? PLEASE SEE PIC POSTED TODAY ALSO!
THNAKS TOO ALL
ROBBY

bepah

First,
Let's hope its your banana has mites, and not you.

Second, soapy water may not solve you problem. If you can, take it outside in a protected area and use neem oil....maybe that will help.

I'm certain there will be other help for you....

__________________
John Case
Rookie Gardener, Veteran Drinker

JCDerrick

I've been fighting the little buggers in the garage for the past few weeks now too; they seem to be a lot worse this year, but it may just be bc I have so many extra bananas and soft-tissue plants in there this year. There are close to 60 nanners in the garage (and this is the LAST time I'm doing that). They also LOVE the Christmas Palms, which I've always fought them on.

I've sprayed with a Neem Concentrate several times now, which initially reduces their numbers, but I'm worried it's stressing the plants a bit (maybe it's my imagination). The neem also seemingly causes the aphid population to explode (which doesn't surprise me, it happened last year too). So water spraying seems to help. If they keep up, I may go to a more pure neem oil spray, though I've tried to keep as many chemicals off the plants as I can. Being only December though, I've still got 3-4 months left to fight these annoying things. I may just chop off the majority of my banana leaves and stop watering them as much - it's warm in the garage (65-70F) with high humidity, but they should slow their growth with lack of water. And that'd mean less mites/aphids to fight.

So I feel your pain

__________________
Malama 'Aina



Normal Jan. Low: 34°F, Normal Jul High: 92°F
Coldest: 16-20°F, Warmest: 98-103°F
Annual Precip: 48 inches

jack hagenaars

I cut off the affected leaves, then wash the remaining ones by hand...leaf by leaf with h2o and a couple of drops of sunlight dish detergent,,,then spray with pokon which is made from pyrethrins....weekly....that will kill the !@#$%^&goodluck!

Chironex

http://www.bananas.org/f2/spider-mites-4943.html

post #6 on this page

This is an older post that should kill those buggers without using any chemicals. Very effective and won't harm the plants, pets or people. Just do the mixing outside so you don't breathe the dust from the bag.

__________________
Scot

Lagniappe

Be sure to mulch with it too ! It won't help with airborne mites but it'll keep the crawlers and fugus gnats at bay .

jack hagenaars

couldnt find the spider mite webpage you included????wrong address...it comes up on my computer as website could not be found. thanks Jack

JCDerrick

Same here, broken link - now I'm really curious. Thanks guys.

__________________
Malama 'Aina



Normal Jan. Low: 34°F, Normal Jul High: 92°F
Coldest: 16-20°F, Warmest: 98-103°F
Annual Precip: 48 inches

D_&_T

Spider Mites


Trying link again, If not copied it.

By: Chironex 06-23-2008

Here's what I use, 100% organic, no chemicals and 100% effective.
Go to your nearest NAPA Auto Parts store and buy a 25# bag of "Super Absorbent" part no. 8822 for about $10-13.
It is 100% diatomaceous earth. I just scoop about 1/2 cup with a small coffee strainer. Put a funnel in your misting sprayer and set this strainer on top. Pour water through the strainer (enough water to fill the sprayer) and spray it directly onto the plant. Aphids, spider mites and such are gone in 1-2 days. 100% pesticide and chemical free. The diatomaceous earth is made up of tiny crystals that slice and dice the little pests as they crawl on it.
Another great use for this is as a soil-less seed starting medium. It's cheaper than perlite or vermiculite and you won't get any damping off. Plus if you spill some liquid or if your car leaks fluid, you can also use it to absorb the spill.
One word of advice, it is dusty when you open the bag, so do so carefully. If you're asthmatic, wear a dust mask. Keep the sack in your garage and it will last forever. Lots of bonsai books recommend it for bonsai tree soil as well. Oh, and you can also use it as cat litter.

__________________

JCDerrick

That's genius! I'm going to have to try that this weekend. Thanks guys.

__________________
Malama 'Aina



Normal Jan. Low: 34°F, Normal Jul High: 92°F
Coldest: 16-20°F, Warmest: 98-103°F
Annual Precip: 48 inches

saltydad

Great stuff. I would emphasize that inhaling it is dangerous, so I'd wear a mask.

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Lagniappe

I just potted up a bunch of sweet basil in it. I'll plant a bunch of Genovese basil seedlings in it later tonight. I don't rinse it because I read that it's best to leave it be so that the dust will go to the roots and provide silica to your plants. hopefully, it will prove itself as a hydroponics media.
It's a darn good idea to pop a hole in the bag and wet the living daylights out of it before use. Then, you can pour the water into a container and have your insecticide solution all made up without the dust.

Lagniappe

BTW Scot, I'm usind this and the optisorb (larger size granules) and both are mined in NV.