tastyratz

I overwinter my bananas in my basement so I have a head start each year, but it seems like as soon as they come in any spider mites i fight outside just get out of control. Soap and water baths don't seem to keep it licked enough and doing that every other day with a hand wash on the leaves gets very tiresome and time consuming.


What do you guys doo to keep them in check when you bring plants in from outside? predatory mites? anyone have experience with them?

I've tried some pesticides but I hate using them and it seems like it knocks them back only to have them come back stronger later when anything predatory just dies with them.

I also have cats and don't want to go killing them if they eventually "inspect" the plants. keeping them away isn't an option.

Hammocked Banana

Give your plants a shower. Literally put them in the shower and blast away. Do this every few days until they are under control, then do it every/every other week after that.

H2O

I am trying 20ml neem oil in 1L water [ foliar spray ]


I will tell the result in a few days...

see also Spider Mites?!

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jack hagenaars

careful with neem oil...some plants dont like it..like phaleonopsis orchids.
I hand wash my bananas with soapy water once a week for three weeks...then they are gone....thats the only thing that works...

tastyratz

Showering them really doesn't seem to keep up, and I should rephrase. I overwinter clumps together in 1 piece at around 200lbs ea underneath. I couldn't fit any of them in
my tiny bathroom haha. If I chop some pups off I can do it but I like the clumps together. a picture is worth a thousand squirts:

That was before I moved them all to the basement.


Showering these involves a hand sprayer and lots of hand cramping/wet floor. I have neem and it works outside but I think it's a little rougher than straight water with soap. overwintering is stressful enough for an infested plant. I think it blocks some of the pores


Has anyone tried predators like these Spider mites - BIN Everwood Farm ?

Kostas

Predatory mites have worked wonders at eradicating problem mite species from my indoor environment. I like to get more than needed so that the problem is solved faster and so that they can eradicate the mites easier instead of just controlling them and keeping them at really low levels. The predatory mites persist and reproduce as long as they have food available(other mite species,be them spider mites,mites infesting animals or people,any kind of mites)so they keep mites at barely noticeable levels or even eradicate them if the predatory mites are enough. Another tactic used for eradication is a first release of the normal quantity for controlling the problem mites and once they reach low levels,a second release of more predatory mites than needed usually results in eradication of problem mites

Btw,Predatory mites need moist,pesticide free soil for successful reproduction.

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''To try,is to risk failure......To not try,is to guarantee it''

nph

Where can you find these predatory mites?

pushak513

I need to know as well the spider mites have destoryed my EE's that are indoors. I ws told a solution of iso alcohol and water would work as well..DONT DO IT! killed my bordelion, thai black and superbum. I need some predatory mites

stevelau1911

I've just noticed that every ensete maurelii that I've seen growing in pots tends to have a very short stature in comparison to the ones growing straight in the ground. Does anyone know why that is?


I want to know because I have 3 of these guys currently growing on my window sills, and I want to know if planting them straight into the ground by around late May will result in more gains than if I were to stick them in very over-sized pots.

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I'm in zone 6 upstate NY, specialize in growing temperate cold hardy bamboos(mainly phyllostachys) and starting to get into bananas.

my picture website is http://www.flickr.com/photos/31489820@N02/

http://stevespeonygarden.blogspot.com/

LilRaverBoi

Thread derail....plants grow short/stocky when they have adequate light/nutrients. They grow tall/leggy when they are struggling for light/nutrients. That's really all you need to know. Pot vs ground has nothing to do with it.

/derail.

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BANANA RAVE!
Feel the beat from start to stop, dancin' and movin' from bottom to top!
lilraverboi@genxglow.com
RIP Tog Tan. We love you and will always remember you!
I'm Bryan with a Y! There is no 'I' in BRYAN!

tastyratz

Thanks guys!

I just called the guys at naturescontrol.com and had a good conversation. Looks like Mesoseiulus longipes are what they recommend for low humidity environments like my basement over wintering, and he recommended about 500 per plant or so... but wow!
That's easily $100 in bugs there that is QUITE the investment!

Seems like the cheapest place to order from as far as I can tell.

pushak513

at 100 bucks for some bugs I might be cheaper just to buy new plants..idk bout that one

sandy0225

You can get avid or the generic form probably on eBay. It has a residual action and works for about 28 days. It only takes a couple of good thorough sprays to get them under control usually. It has a 24 hour reentry period I believe, so keep your cat out of the garage for a day, it hasn't killed my cat yet....lol

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Sandy Burrell



Northern Tropics Greenhouse
1501 East Fuson Road
Muncie, IN 47302
www.northerntropics.com


specializing in bananas, heirloom tomatoes and water gardening plants~
check out our new online store at our website!

tastyratz

I've tried lots of different pesticides but it seems like every time I knock em back they just come back later stronger. Mites just seem to stunt me more and come back fiercer every year. After the drought my plants have freckles this year. Its like it kills everything but the stupid mites! They knock back and then evolve. Don't want to kill any predatory bugs if I put them on there later and you can't evolve past the food chain lol.

Lots of insectiaries the more I look now.
so far looks like biconet has them for $36/1000 and shipping is MUCH cheaper for me.

rinconvitova.com is $28.50/1000
greenmethods is $15 for 1000!! 25 shipping makes it the cheapest of the bunch.

I am thinking I am going to give them a try and I really appreciate the time naturescontrol gave me with talking but that really is a gap in price.

I wish I could really verify the legitimacy of some of these sites but I have no idea. Hopefully everything looks on the up. for $40 I can eat the risk and apply pesticide LATER if need be. I can't really keep the cats away it's in the basement near the litterbox and they seem to think they are jungle animals weaving in and out of them.

I think the avid might be one that waits till summer lol

pushak513

I could swing it for 15 or 20 bucks but not for 100. I only have them in really one spot they stay contained to a area with baby EE's in them, which they have almost destroyed. if it gets any worse I'll have to order them

H2O

No spider mites left on 'Mekong giant'

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Abnshrek

I bombed my living room and kitchen.. I guess I need to bomb my garage too.. I think I have 10 banana's out there. That works good.. :^)

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I'm a Nannerhead :^)

pushak513

I picked up some spray from Lowes last night that was on sale for a buck. it says its will kill mites but Idon't have much faith in it. they had neem oil sitting there so I might have to go back and get it

tastyratz

everything says it will kill those tricky little SOB's
I battled them all summer and winter storage now its too nuts. Those longpipes arrived today, $40 shipped for 2,000. I could tell the bottle was CRAWLING with them, it was certainly loaded.

I will report back in a little while how they do. Should be a few weeks to a few months for some real impact.

Hammocked Banana

Does anyone know where to get predatory mites in Canada?