Spider mite on currants: fight. The complete guide
Content:
The article describes a spider mite on currants: how to deal with a pest at different stages of a bush's life, all means of struggle (chemical, biological), preventive measures.
It is known that in all types of currants there are more nutrients and healing substances than in other berries, therefore, if a spider mite appears on the bush, which destroys the leaves on the currant, the harvest may be lost.
It is necessary to choose a way to deal with currant spider mites, which are attacked by berries, based on specific factors.
Time - one of the most important factors, it is necessary to consider the specific period when the plant was occupied by this insect.
- In the case when a spider mite appeared on a currant before the end of the ovary or before the currant began to bloom, then you need to make the maximum amount of effort to cope with the horde of ticks, since the ripening of the crop is at stake.
- If the fruits are lucky, they have already set up and have now begun to sing, then the pest will not be able to cause significant damage to the fruits, but can affect the leaves. This provision does not affect cases when currant bushes are completely covered with ticks, because in this case they will be needed
Another important factor is pThe amount of damage inflicted on fruit-bearing bushes from the pest.
- In the event that there is little on the currant, which will be reported by the number of infected leaves, then physical methods of dealing with spider mites will help.
- If the currant has suffered great harm, then it will be necessary to use more damaging substances, the ripening of the berries will not affect anything here.
Gardeners have come up with a large number of ways to combat a spider mite that attacked currants; for this, labor, improvised methods, other plants, or even natural enemies of the spider mite - small other insects - can be used. The article reflects the best ways to resist a spider colony, including spraying with acaricides, which is very dangerous for the pest.
Spider mite on currants: what threat does it carry?
Spider mite on currant: photo
A spider mite is a small spider that pierces a leaf with its mouth apparatus, like a needle, thereby drinking nutrients and juice from the plant, the leaves are deprived of chlorophyll, which is as important for currants as blood is for us, so you need to start fighting this harmful insects.
- The affected leaf in places begins to resemble marble, it has white specks, after which darken.
- Due to a lack of nutrients, the leaves curl and fall off, the insect moves to the parts of the currant that are not yet affected - on the stems, fruits or flowers, after which these parts are also entangled in cobwebs.
- In summer, especially in dry, hot weather, the parasite multiplies very quickly, literally in 3 days hundreds of eggs are transformed into small insects that already infect the leaves, after a week they begin to lay their own eggs. Because of this reproduction rate, it will be difficult to deal with the insect families that have occupied the bushes.
- The days of the pest are numbered - they are a maximum of 24 days, but during this time, females can lay hundreds of larvae.
An important fact! It was found that parasites on berries cannot tolerate excess moisture at any stage - thanks to this, spider mites can be fought with water.
Spider mite on currants: how to deal with it before the flowering of the bush?
Before the currants begin to bloom, you can safely deal with a huge number of pests with the help of acaricidal preparations, but such measures should be resorted to only in cases where other measures did not give the desired result.
- If you do not exterminate the spider mite from the currant before the ovary begins, then the harvest may be lost altogether.
- Red and white currants are more susceptible to attack by spider mites, so they are most at risk.
- A spider mite on currants, in addition to harming the ovaries on flowers and harming the foliage in general, can also bring other diseases to the currants - this is its drawback.
“This is especially true for black currant. Despite the fact that it is less susceptible to tick-borne attack, after infection with insects, it can also receive powdery mildew, and this ailment is very difficult to cure.
To combat spider mites on black currant, you can use the same methods as for treating other varieties - white and red.
- If the infected plant is poured abundantly with a powerful jet of water, then most of the tiny insects can simply be washed off the bush.
- You can create a moisture level of 80% that is lethal for the tick, for this you need to spray the bush and immediately cover it with a film for a short time.
- It is very important to remove all the cobwebs that have entangled the plant, because otherwise it will become a kind of barrier to liquid - and the whole struggle will not give results.
- Before carrying out such work, you need to remove all infected leaves and burn them, and not bury them, otherwise insects may remain in the soil for the winter.
- Another option for combating spider mites on currants is to put open jars near the plant, in which turpentine or ammonia is poured, and then again close the bush with a film - this should kill the pests.
- To begin with, you should try some infusions or decoctions that have natural acaricidal properties. The use of such substances will have the same effect as chemical ones, but it will be effective when there are not very many pests yet.
- But when the plant is severely affected, it makes no sense to fight without chemical special preparations, this will not give any result.
Unfortunately, even purchased chemicals do not have absolute strength, because the pest
Spider mite on currants: control measures during the ripening of berries
In a situation where the ovary has gone well and at the correct period, and the damage to the insect is minimal, then there is no need to take drastic measures to combat pests. You can only stop the reproduction of the insect.
- You can again water the currant bush abundantly, this contributes to the fact that the rate of reproduction of insects on the bushes will decrease.
- Vigorous spraying and wrapping will help reduce the spider mite population.
- You can put turpentine or ammonia again, placed in open small containers, near the damaged plant, and wrap it in a film for a short period. This will again have an effect: a large number of larvae and adults will be eliminated.
- If you constantly inspect the bush, pluck the leaves on which the ticks are located, then the disease will not spread to the berries that are already ripening.
Note! If these methods of struggle do not give an effect in the fight against spider mites on currants, then there is another option - biological products. But the use of chemicals on a ripening currant bush is not recommended.
What to use to remove spider mites from the garden
In the summer, infusions and decoctions of herbs or biological products will be the safest means for currants.In the event that a threat to other plants has arisen, or all other methods of control have not worked, then already “deadly” chemicals can be used.
Plants that can help get rid of the pest
Decoctions and infusions from some fresh or dried herbs work as acaricidal preparations, but they have little expressed this property. In addition, those active substances that fight the pest are not very persistent. Because of this, it is most effective to process the plant in the evening or in the morning - there is no strong solar activity at this time.
- Plants such as wormwood, dandelion, dope, calendula, celandine, and yarrow will help in the fight. In addition, garlic and onions are effective - they need to be crushed into gruel, diluted with water, let it brew for a day, after which it can destroy most of the pests.
- There is a way to deal with potato tops, from which you need to make an infusion. They will need to spray the bushes every 3 days, because the eggs tolerate this liquid well, which is why new generations need to be processed.
Spider mite on currants: the fight with biological agents
Substances such as insecticides and acaricides, which work with biological weapons using microorganisms, are wonderful achievements in biochemistry. They are taking the place of the usual chemicals on the market because they are absolutely safe.
- Those insects that eat the treated leaves will be affected by a natural substance that slows down their life processes - as a result, they will die.
- The insects will not die instantly, this whole process will take time - up to 12 hours. Only adult insects and larvae will be affected, and the eggs will remain intact.
- It is necessary to carry out processing cyclically, there should be 3-4 of them in total. The interval depends on weather conditions: at temperatures up to 30 degrees, it should be 5-6 days, and if the thermometer readings are more than 30 ° C, it should not exceed 3 days.
The drugs "vertimek", "fitoverm", "acrophyte", "agravertin", "mite" have already proven their effectiveness.
Important! Such preparations for combating spider mites on currants will not harm berries, soil, people or beneficial insects. They are completely safe.
Chemical acaricidal preparations against currant spider mites
Such poisonous substances can only be used before flowering begins. If this condition is not met, then there is a risk that toxic substances will get into the berries, after which they can be poisoned.
However, you can safely use chemical preparations when the crop from the infected currant cannot be harvested for sure, but all the surrounding bushes are in danger, it is worth preventing their infection.
It is necessary to strictly follow the instructions when using acaricidal preparations, spraying currants with them.
As noted, the pest may not succumb to all chemicals, which is why there is a possibility that the summer resident will have to change the remedy to another, which contains other poisons at the base.
Following the instructions, you will need to go through 3 stages of processing, because the pest eggs are resistant to acaricides.
List of drugs that can help: Floromite, Nisoran, Sunmight, Apollo, Oberon, Flumite.
Attention! It is recommended to keep the label, which says which poison is in the base of the product, because if the result is ineffective, you will need to buy a drug with another poison.
Preventive measures against spider mites
You can carry out some preventive work that minimizes the chance of spider mites on currants.
- It is necessary to dig up the ground around the currants in the spring and autumn, this helps to reduce the population of female ticks that hibernate in the soil.
- It is worth removing fallen leaves.
- If you plant calendula somewhere nearby with currants, then it will scare off the parasite with a smell.
- It is imperative to prune infected bushes before the onset of cold weather, because pests may remain on the upper part, which, on the eve of frost, will descend into the ground.
Attention! Parts of the currant that have traces of the parasite must be burned, not buried in the soil!
Important! All parts of the plant with traces of spider mites should be burned, and not buried in the soil!
Spider mite on currants: how to fight and get rid of it forever?