Indoor woes of winter and bugs

[Rickybobby]

I’m looking for info and motivation to keep on. I do I have homes for a lot of my seedlings in the spring 

I have. Been nieve about checking my seedlings. A bunch of my Washingtonians have spider mites. I have. Been spraying and wiping fronds off with a cloth full of insect soap I’m worried I won’t keep up. I have turned off the room heat which should help. Should I make my own soap spray to keep costs down and spray and wipe each seedling just for good measure? I know a lot of people on heat will say I told you so I have not had this issue is the past but I guess this is the consequence of having all my palms in one room

[GottmitAlex]

Here's my recommendation :

It got the job done two weeks ago. And those critters have not been back since.

[Rickybobby]

Just now, GottmitAlex said:

Here's my recommendation :

It got the job done two weeks ago. And those critters have not been back since.

Impossible to find in Canada I’m using a store bought insect soap  been very busy with it

[Rickybobby]

Any home made recipes to reduce costs? Can you just add liquid dish soap to water? Doesn’t seem right

[Rickybobby]

I’m going to go to town buy more spray and spray the heck out of all the plants top and bottom. And hope it helps. It’s too much to wash each plant I have over 100

[Rickybobby]

I also realized that with my washys my biggest seedlings. That I never have inspected the bottoms at all so I’ve allowed things to get slightly out of hand. (Out of hand for me) ocd. I get discouraged easily. I’ve loved my palms my whole life just have taken up the hobby for over a year and I’ve spent so much effort on them 

[GottmitAlex]

15 minutes ago, Rickybobby said:

I’m going to go to town buy more spray and spray the heck out of all the plants top and bottom. And hope it helps. It’s too much to wash each plant I have over 100

I hear ya. In fact the reason I bought this was expediency. Many folks here suggested a pro product. Forget it's name. However, it was not offered through Amazon Prime. And the "suggested" product beneath that was this. So I bought two. Took two days to get to me. I applied it twice to my palms (three day interval) only needed one 1lt. Can for both applications. 

[Rickybobby]

2 minutes ago, GottmitAlex said:

I hear ya. In fact the reason I bought this was expediency. Many folks here suggested a pro product. Forget it's name. However, it was not offered through Amazon Prime. And the "suggested" product beneath that was this. So I bought two. Took two days to get to me. I applied it twice to my palms (three day interval) only needed one 1lt. Can for both applications. 

I think I need to be strict and thorough. Get under the leaves and be consistant it’s my fault for being busy and having too many palms lol

[Missi]

No one is going to tell you "I told you so" and if they do, tell 'em to piss off! Don't give up! Your best bet is a systemic. Get some!

[Merlyn]

This is (so far) the best guide I've found for mites, and there aren't really any good cheap systemic insecticides for all mites:

https://www.azlca.com/uploads/documents/miticide-guide.pdf

Avid (abamectin), Pylon (chlorfenapyr), TetraSan (etoxazole), Forbid 4F (spiromesifen) are considered "translaminar" so they will seep through plants to the opposite side of the leaf.  That's good for palms because it's tough to get complete coverage, especially indoors where you can't just spray the heck out of the whole thing.  But only Kontos (spirotetramat) and Dimethoate are systemic.  I haven't found Dimethoate available anywhere, and Kontos is remarkably expensive.

I've read that most neonicotinoids are ineffective against spider mites, and some can actually prompt mites to lay more eggs!  So a systemic neonicotinoid is probably a bad choice, unless there's one I haven't read about.  Some people swear by mulching with coffee grounds, or watering the plants with a mild coffee solution.  This appears to be really effective against scale (mealybugs and especially white cycad scale).  I haven't found anything conclusive about the effect of caffeine on spider mites.

[PalmatierMeg]

The Bayer and other standard insecticides do not work with spider mites. Targeted miticides are expensive and too toxic for indoor use.

You can make your own soap solution with castile soap and water. See link below

what-is-castile-soap-and-how-does-it-work-236538

You can find it sometimes in the soap aisle but more often in the cosmetics sections of your local drug store or pharmacy. I got the bars before I found the liquid. I shave off thin slivers of soap into a container, fill with water and stir to dissolve. Apply with a spray bottle over the whole plant, esp the undersides of leaves. If you shield the soil in the pots you can also "swish" each plant in the soap mixture. With the liquid soap you can use perhaps a tsp or two per quart of water. Higher humidity will also inhibit mite attacks.

Never use dish detergents or standard soaps that contain harsh chemicals, deodorants, perfumes or animal fats that can damage plant tissue. 

Regarding used coffee grounds, I'm not sure about mites but they will help against scale, mealybugs etc. that thrive indoors. In addition to spreading used grounds you can dllute black coffee in water and apply as a spray, although the castile soap solution will also fight those pests too.

[Rickybobby]

Got a bunch of this today from my agromart (local farmers supply) I sprayed and wiped all the plants top to bottom. All 100! And will spray again in two days and will then bath each palm in the sink or shower I’m going to give some plants for my wife to take to work and start lowering my numbers to make it easier on me. I’m not going to give up. And I will give a good read thanks everyone 

[Rickybobby]

8 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

The Bayer and other standard insecticides do not work with spider mites. Targeted miticides are expensive and too toxic for indoor use.

You can make your own soap solution with castile soap and water. See link below

what-is-castile-soap-and-how-does-it-work-236538

You can find it sometimes in the soap aisle but more often in the cosmetics sections of your local drug store or pharmacy. I got the bars before I found the liquid. I shave off thin slivers of soap into a container, fill with water and stir to dissolve. Apply with a spray bottle over the whole plant, esp the undersides of leaves. If you shield the soil in the pots you can also "swish" each plant in the soap mixture. With the liquid soap you can use perhaps a tsp or two per quart of water. Higher humidity will also inhibit mite attacks.

Never use dish detergents or standard soaps that contain harsh chemicals, deodorants, perfumes or animal fats that can damage plant tissue. 

Regarding used coffee grounds, I'm not sure about mites but they will help against scale, mealybugs etc. that thrive indoors. In addition to spreading used grounds you can dllute black coffee in water and apply as a spray, although the castile soap solution will also fight those pests too

[Rickybobby]

8 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

The Bayer and other standard insecticides do not work with spider mites. Targeted miticides are expensive and too toxic for indoor use.

You can make your own soap solution with castile soap and water. See link below

what-is-castile-soap-and-how-does-it-work-236538

You can find it sometimes in the soap aisle but more often in the cosmetics sections of your local drug store or pharmacy. I got the bars before I found the liquid. I shave off thin slivers of soap into a container, fill with water and stir to dissolve. Apply with a spray bottle over the whole plant, esp the undersides of leaves. If you shield the soil in the pots you can also "swish" each plant in the soap mixture. With the liquid soap you can use perhaps a tsp or two per quart of water. Higher humidity will also inhibit mite attacks.

Never use dish detergents or standard soaps that contain harsh chemicals, deodorants, perfumes or animal fats that can damage plant tissue. 

Regarding used coffee grounds, I'm not sure about mites but they will help against scale, mealybugs etc. that thrive indoors. In addition to spreading used grounds you can dllute black coffee in water and apply as a spray, although the castile soap solution will also fight those pests too.

Meg so your saying good insect soap from an agriculture store doesn’t work on the mites?

[metalfan]

NEEM OIL

[PalmatierMeg]

1 hour ago, Rickybobby said:

Meg so your saying good insect soap from an agriculture store doesn’t work on the mites?

Not at all. I thought you were complaining about the cost of buying the commercial brands of insecticidal soap. You can make your own for pennies. Also, see neem oil above. I had forgotten about that.

[Rickybobby]

15 minutes ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Not at all. I thought you were complaining about the cost of buying the commercial brands of insecticidal soap. You can make your own for pennies. Also, see neem oil above. I had forgotten about that.

I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t want to be ignorant and say money is object.  Obviously if it’s going to take 100 bux in spray I would try a recipe. But today I bought a ton of spray for 20 bux and have been spraying like made. The culprit seems to be my Roystonea it was the start and spread to the neighbouring adonidia  the Roystonea has been moved out of room and being treated and the adonidia being treated as well. 

[rprimbs]

I've never heard of using soap to control mites.  The soap would just help the water stick better.  People usually use "oil"-- like Neem oil.  You can even use Canola oil. Mix a tablespoon and a half into a cup of water.  You can add a tablespoon of soap to that to help it stick.

[Missi]

I would be incredibly careful using oils on your indoor plants. Many have killed their beloved plants by smothering the leaf pores that way.

[Rickybobby]

For. Now I have been thorough. Spraying a paper towel with the solution and wiping each leaf top to bottom and then spraying top to bottom on each side. I will do this everyday for a few and see results. Today’s check no webs or any signs which is good!

[Steve Mac]

Ricky,

A bit of discussion of mites here,  "Chamaedorea tuerckheimii in Pots "  in the pots section.

Apparently mites can float in on dust in the air, so complete removal may be impossible.  

Also the three stages of egg, larvae and adult all need to be treated differently, and at the right time. 

 And have you considered predatory mites, at which stage you may need to suspend the other control methods.

I don't think that most people can eradicate mites completely and permanently but just keep them down to a manageable level.  

Thinning out your workload is a good start . I think that you are about to learn alot about mites. 

Steve