Sacramento Digs Gardening Article
Your resource for Sacramento-area gardening news, tips and events

Articles Recipe Index Keyword Index Calendar Twitter Facebook Instagram About Us Contact Us

When heat is on, spider mites attack

Web-spinning pest loves hot, dry conditions

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JUN 17, 2021

Spider mite webs catch all kinds of tree debris. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)

Some pests LOVE this heat. The hotter, drier, dustier the conditions, the more they thrive. Topping that heat-loving list: Spider mites.

Where are they? Just look for the fine webs.

Right now, several of my shrubs look like they’ve been web-bombed. Leaves of my Christmas camellias are so coated, they pick up all sorts of garden debris – anything dropping from nearby trees or blown into the webbing by gusts of wind.

Spider mites don’t mind. These itty-bitty arachnids thrive in hot, dry, dusty conditions. Their favorite food? Water-stressed plants. During this record heat, just about any plant can fall into that category.

If it seems like spider mites and their telltale webs came out of nowhere, they almost did. According to the UC Cooperative Extension master gardeners, spider mites can multiply rapidly during these conditions.

“If the temperature and food supplies are favorable, a generation can be completed in less than a week,” say the master gardeners’ pest notes.

No bigger than a pinpoint, a spider mite is a teeny-tiny arachnid, the same eight-legged class that includes spiders and ticks.

Spider mites spin fine-textured webs, which are much more noticeable than the tiny creatures. They attack just about any plant from strawberries to full-size trees, sucking out moisture.

This camellia has several spider mite webs on the leaves.

Beneficial insects usually can outnumber the spider mites and keep them under control. But when the weather turns unusually hot and dry (like right now), predators retreat, allowing the spider mite populations to explode.

What’s the best cure for spider mites? Water. Take the hose and spray dust (and bugs) off leaves, making sure to get the undersides of foliage, too. A strong shower disrupts spider mite paradise and holds them at bay until the real rains come (hopefully) in fall. It also gives those natural predators a chance to catch up with their mite munching.

To keep spider mites away all summer, regularly water your landscape. Irrigation is key to spider mite control; this pest prefers life hot and dry. Whether you see webs or not, occasionally wash off foliage, especially of large shrubs such as camellias or roses. Your plants will be happier and healthier – only the spider mites will be gone.

For more on spider mites:

http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7405.html

Comments

0 comments have been posted.

GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

extreme weather gardening Sacramento integrated pest management spider mites vegetables heat pests trees dry conditions flowers

Newsletter Subscription

Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.

Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Find our spring recipes here!

Local News

Thanks to our sponsor!

Sites We Like

Garden Checklist for week of May 19

Temperatures will be a bit higher than normal in the afternoons this week. Take care of chores early in the day – then enjoy the afternoon. It’s time to smell the roses.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. If you haven’t already, it’s time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters.

* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.

* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Don’t forget to water. Seedlings need moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants.

* Add mulch to the garden to help keep that precious water from evaporating. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch to 1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.

Taste Summer! E-cookbook

Find our summer recipes here!

Taste Fall! E-cookbook

Find our fall recipes here!

Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Find our winter recipes here!