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-   -   Aculus lycopersici-tomato russet mite (http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=42078)

StrongPlant July 8, 2016 05:43 AM

Aculus lycopersici-tomato russet mite
 
Well I wouldn't call this a common pest as there is not even a separate thread for this pest.That is,until now,but I just had to do it because the greenhouse is absolutely saturated with them.They're killing my tomatoes faster and faster as time passes by.I've begun investigating and reading about this perticular mite,but there's not much information out there.I've never used pesticides and I don't want to start now,so I've tried several things.
Yesterday I gassed the entire greenhouse with smoke from burning dried up grass and branches for a couple of hours.Some plants were a bit harmed by it,and have dried up top leaves,as the smoke was thickest at the top.But to my surprise,after taking a leaf and looking it under magnification I could still see plenty of mites alive...I've also tried exposing them to UV light from a UV tube to see if it kills them,but it did nothing.
Today I wondered if water could wash them away,so I took an infested leaf,and looked it under magnification just to make sure there were plenty of mites on it,and of course there were.Than I took a hose and sprayed it with water,not too strong,for a couple of seconds.After looking at the leaf again,I couldn't find any mites.It seems water can wash them off,but it certanly doesn't kill them.
I'm now thinking about washing all of the plants with strong shower of water once/day,and after some time applying mice trap glue at the base of the stems to prevent them from climbing up(at least some of them,because apparently the wind can transfer them as well).From what I read it looks like they can't handle too much cold,so I will till the soil in the greenhouse in the middle of the coldest month here to allow it to deep-freeze.
Well,these were all experimental methods to see if they might work.I would very much like to hear if anyone else had a problem with them and how did they deal with it,or if someone has any effective way to kill them without using pesticides.Any texts found on the internet about them would be appreciated,too.

ginger2778 July 8, 2016 06:32 AM

You could try Met52. Its looks very pricey, except you only use 1/2 teaspoon per gallon. It is a fungus that colonizes and ruptures mites and other insects. Keep it in the dark to preserve it.

I caved in and use pyrethrins, they come from chrysanthemums. Not all pesticides are harmful, and there are organic ones. My philosophy is that after all my hard work and expense, I do not want to lose to an insect infestation. Soapy water mixed with vegetable oil drench on under and over side of all leafs and down the stem to the soil line are very good at suffocating them and rupturing their body waxes. You must repeat that every 4 days for 3 times.

You can also buy predatory mites, just google it.

Once you have success, new growth will come up from the roots, spray it too, and you will get a crop.

geoffrey44 July 8, 2016 06:52 AM

Agree with Marsha
We have been using pyrethrins for many years... They are non toxic and derived from vegetative material... We use it on all our edibles at first sign of problems,.. and on roses for aphids.
They are contact effective and will need reapplication when the problem reappears or after rain.
Only thing that got our whitefly infestation under control last year.
You should be able to buy it as a concentrate then dilute as per directions
Geoff

Tracydr July 8, 2016 07:02 AM

[QUOTE=StrongPlant;576176]Well I wouldn't call this a common pest as there is not even a separate thread for this pest.That is,until now,but I just had to do it because the greenhouse is absolutely saturated with them.They're killing my tomatoes faster and faster as time passes by.I've begun investigating and reading about this perticular mite,but there's not much information out there.I've never used pesticides and I don't want to start now,so I've tried several things.
Yesterday I gassed the entire greenhouse with smoke from burning dried up grass and branches for a couple of hours.Some plants were a bit harmed by it,and have dried up top leaves,as the smoke was thickest at the top.But to my surprise,after taking a leaf and looking it under magnification I could still see plenty of mites alive...I've also tried exposing them to UV light from a UV tube to see if it kills them,but it did nothing.
Today I wondered if water could wash them away,so I took an infested leaf,and looked it under magnification just to make sure there were plenty of mites on it,and of course there were.Than I took a hose and sprayed it with water,not too strong,for a couple of seconds.After looking at the leaf again,I couldn't find any mites.It seems water can wash them off,but it certanly doesn't kill them.
I'm now thinking about washing all of the plants with strong shower of water once/day,and after some time applying mice trap glue at the base of the stems to prevent them from climbing up(at least some of them,because apparently the wind can transfer them as well).From what I read it looks like they can't handle too much cold,so I will till the soil in the greenhouse in the middle of the coldest month here to allow it to deep-freeze.
Well,these were all experimental methods to see if they might work.I would very much like to hear if anyone else had a problem with them and how did they deal with it,or if someone has any effective way to kill them without using pesticides.Any texts found on the internet about them would be appreciated,too.[/QUOTE]
The best thing I've found for mites is sulfa. You really have to keep them shaded or rinse it off before the sun comes out. The other things I've used are Azamax and dog flea/tick spray with growth regulator.
Probably the most effective method in a greenhouse would be to release either lady bugs or green lacewings.

StrongPlant July 11, 2016 06:56 AM

I like what I read about pyrethrine and met52,but it seems they are very difficult to find them in my area.I will keep searching and trying some experimental methodes as well.

In the meantime,does anyone have a clue wheter elevated CO2 levels in the greenhouse would kill this pest? The greenhouse is not big so I could easily raise CO2 levels well above 1% for extended period,but would it actually do anything to them?

PhilaGardener July 11, 2016 07:19 AM

I doubt raising the CO2 would do anything for the infestation.

If you can collect lady bugs locally (I often see them on trees with aphid problems), [URL="http://www.tomatoville.com/member.php?u=6961"]Tracydr[/URL]'s suggestion might be a great non-toxic solution.

Perhaps one of our other EU members can add suggestions that better match the availability of materials in your area.

Good luck!

StrongPlant July 11, 2016 10:22 AM

[QUOTE=PhilaGardener;577047]I doubt raising the CO2 would do anything for the infestation.

If you can collect lady bugs locally (I often see them on trees with aphid problems), [URL="http://www.tomatoville.com/member.php?u=6961"]Tracydr[/URL]'s suggestion might be a great non-toxic solution.

Perhaps one of our other EU members can add suggestions that better match the availability of materials in your area.

Good luck![/QUOTE]

Thanks,I just found out that the CO2 levels need to be over 60% for up to 4 weeks,so I think I will cross that one off my list.

I found a bio-pesticide that seems to be avaliable in my area,it is based on a fungus [I]beauveria bassiana.[/I]This particular strain is ATC 74040.Would this work?

Damage caused by [I]aculus lycopersici:
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/KSmBoMu.jpg[/IMG]

[/I]Most of the plants from these 2 rows only made it to the 1st fruit truss,everything above was completely destroyed.This is after the removal of leaves that were completely dried up.I burned them just to be sure.

StrongPlant July 20, 2016 01:58 PM

I was thinking for a while now about novel physical methods of removing pests from my garden,and I came to an idea to mix up some kind of sticky liquid that would become stickier as it dries,sticking the mistes and suffocating/immobilizing them.I tried to make a mixture of plant mucilage(from my cactuses) but it seems that to be effective I need a ton of pads from my poor opuntias.Today I was thinking about gelatin,if I'd make a mix with water and spray plants with it while it's still warm(liquid) it would harden on the plants and suffocate the mites.What do you guys think about this? Do you have any idea for a better sticky recipe? Btw the stickines needs not to be osmotically active because it might draw water out of the plants,that is,no sugars or anything like that.The problem with gelatin is that I don't know for how long it would stay on the plants,and it might clog their stomata to the point of killing them.I might just try this on 1-2 plants and see if it does anything.I would appreciate any input from anyone and new ideas on more physical means of control.
As to why I don't like chemical means of control,I have my reasons and am too tired to explain them right now but I'll tell if anyone is eager to know.

BigVanVader July 20, 2016 03:59 PM

Marsha, or any of you, can you direct me to a pyrethrum spray that is pure? Do they even make it that way or does it all have petroleum in it?

ginger2778 July 20, 2016 04:20 PM

[QUOTE=BigVanVader;579750]Marsha, or any of you, can you direct me to a pyrethrum spray that is pure? Do they even make it that way or does it all have petroleum in it?[/QUOTE]

It all has something in it that was used in the extraction process. What on earth would you do with 100%? The concentrates have 1%!

Here's a website for growing your own mums and extracting the concentrate yourself.
[url]http://eap.mcgill.ca/agrobio/ab360-02e.htm#PROCESSING%20PYRETHRUM[/url]

heirloomtomaguy July 20, 2016 07:32 PM

Why not use food grade Diatomaceous Earth in powder form or mixed with water as a spray? It kills mites in my garden extemely well. It kills every bug extremely well also but if you are not using beneficial insects it would work and be cost effective without chemicals or extracts.

StrongPlant July 21, 2016 04:47 AM

[QUOTE=heirloomtomaguy;579792]Why not use food grade Diatomaceous Earth in powder form or mixed with water as a spray? It kills mites in my garden extemely well. It kills every bug extremely well also but if you are not using beneficial insects it would work and be cost effective without chemicals or extracts.[/QUOTE]

Can't find it in my area :cry:

BigVanVader July 21, 2016 07:35 AM

[QUOTE=ginger2778;579758]It all has something in it thapt was used in the extraction process. What on earth would you do with 100%? The concentrates have 1%!

Here's a website for growing your own mums and extracting the concentrate yourself.
[url]http://eap.mcgill.ca/agrobio/ab360-02e.htm#PROCESSING%20PYRETHRUM[/url][/QUOTE]

I'm sorry I didnt mean 100% strength, just something that is pure without kerosene in it. I may actually try that make your own thing. I could just do the hot water thing and I bet the strength would be above 1% per gallon.

ginger2778 July 21, 2016 08:38 AM

[QUOTE=BigVanVader;579895]I'm sorry I didnt mean 100% strength, just something that is pure without kerosene in it. I may actually try that make your own thing. I could just do the hot water thing and I bet the strength would be above 1% per gallon.[/QUOTE]

I hope you do, that would be very cool if it worked.

b54red July 21, 2016 11:55 AM

[QUOTE=StrongPlant;579884]Can't find it in my area :cry:[/QUOTE]

You should be able to get food grade diatomaceous earth online if no one has it locally. I use a mix of 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup food grade DE mixed in a separate container with water and strained into my sprayer. I then add 2 TBS of Dawn per gallon of water along with the pesticide Permethrin. This mix without the Permethrin should help you a lot. The Permethrin is a mild poison used on dogs for fleas with a short almost non-existent wait time to harvest. The Permethrin like Pyrethrin is a quick contact killer used to eliminate many of the adults so they don't continue laying eggs. This has been the most effective means of slowing or stopping mites that I have found in over 40 years of gardening.

Good luck finding some DE and from the looks of those plants you need to do something soon.

Bill

Tracydr July 21, 2016 08:57 PM

Rubbing alcohol. Works on mites I think.

StrongPlant August 16, 2016 01:12 PM

[QUOTE=b54red;579943]You should be able to get food grade diatomaceous earth online if no one has it locally. I use a mix of 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup food grade DE mixed in a separate container with water and strained into my sprayer. I then add 2 TBS of Dawn per gallon of water along with the pesticide Permethrin. This mix without the Permethrin should help you a lot. The Permethrin is a mild poison used on dogs for fleas with a short almost non-existent wait time to harvest. The Permethrin like Pyrethrin is a quick contact killer used to eliminate many of the adults so they don't continue laying eggs. This has been the most effective means of slowing or stopping mites that I have found in over 40 years of gardening.

Good luck finding some DE and from the looks of those plants you need to do something soon.

Bill[/QUOTE]

Hey I managed to find permethrin.99% of the plants are dead anyway but I wanted to save a couple of them for some end-season crossings.I already sprayed the plants but because it's quite expensive here I'd like to mix only as much as is necessary.So I guess the quiestion is what's the minimum concentration of permethrine to be effective? How much do you use?

Nematode August 16, 2016 07:03 PM

Follow the label...

ilex August 17, 2016 04:22 AM

Any experience or studies with essential oils? There are a few that work on other mites.

I'm looking for something I can do myself. Everything else is expensive. I've tried DE but using 5-6 kilos per spraying also costs some money.

b54red August 17, 2016 07:32 AM

[QUOTE=Nematode;587274]Follow the label...[/QUOTE]

With spider mites as well as stink bugs I usually up the dose from what is recommended as well as add 2 TBS of Dawn dish washing liquid to the mix so I get better coverage and penetrate the webbing of mites. The Dawn actually kills some of them by itself but it will not take care of a bad infestation. If you can add some diatomaceous earth to the mix all the better because it will make it much more long lasting. No matter how many mites you kill with Permethrin the eggs will continue to hatch so frequent spraying is the only solution unless you can add the DE to the mix because Permethrin is such a short lived toxin. Their life cycle is so short that it is really difficult to control them without frequent spraying to get the new ones that hatch out. I think the DE takes care of most of the new hatch-lings and juveniles so frequent spraying is less of a concern.

Bill

Bill

tomgirletc August 19, 2016 12:12 AM

Has anyone tried the Buttermilk, Flour, Water spray for spider mites? I'm finding little evidence of it's use here through searches, a few people report success online in other places I've found through google searching.

I have quite an infestation. I knew I had them a long time ago and only used Neem and not frequently enough, had I known that it would turn into the problem it now is I would have been all over the buggers. Fortunately, I've had a pretty great harvest already and still lots of greenies that should have a chance to ripen if all the foliage dies. It would be nice to keep these plants going as long as possible though of course and I imagine that my overall harvest is surely way down from what it would be without these beasts. I've ordered spinosad & pyrethrin, have DE but I am super curious about the buttermilk & flour since it would be so inexpensive. Plus, it's supposed to be super specific to mites, I hate to kill beneficials though I suspect I have none of those anyway considering this infestation.

The recipe I've seen everywhere is basically this one.

1/2 cup buttermilk
4 cups wheat flour
5 gallons water

Mix the buttermilk with the flour and then add the water. Spray over a 2 day period to make sure that the infestation has been successfully been eradicated.

Some places say to strain it through cheesecloth, some don't. One woman said she strained through a pillowcase.
[B]
[/B]

ilex August 20, 2016 02:49 AM

I can't find buttermilk here, but really want to try the flour remedy.

What's the use of buttermilk here? Can I substitute it with soap? Milk?

tomgirletc August 21, 2016 10:49 AM

Hi ilex. I'm doubtful anyone understands the purpose of the buttermilk in this recipe but I think it's a little bit acidic and thick. I think if you can't find it, I would substitute plain yogurt, thinned with plain milk with a touch of lemon or white vinegar. I do know that when I try this, I'm going to strain the mixture before spraying. It's going to be a real pain but cheap and the couple of times people said they tried it, it did work for them. Obviously, like all sprays for this pest, it must be very a thorough spray. One person said that they suspected it suffocates the mite without hurting the plant. Good luck!

greenthumbomaha September 20, 2016 10:27 PM

I discovered a mite problem today (sigh).

Two years ago I overwintered a lemon tree and it became infested with a red mite. I tossed it. Left the south facing window fallow for a year.
Last summer I bought a tropical Rio mandevilla and overwintered it in the same window and grew it inside all summer. Today I discovered the red might on a stem and some of the leaves were sticky so I tossed it. I overwintered geraniums on the same rack but I don't see any mites but tossed anyway. I have the green plastic rack outside for cleaning. (Bleach?)

I have carpet, I'm a terrible housecleaner, and I spill soil all the time. I do not eat in this room.

The mites must have lived on soil in the carpet or something in the room. Its not a greenhouse but I have all my grow equipment there so it might as well be. Any suggestions to clean the carpet and wood paneling to get rid of this mite for good?

- Lisa

Sun City Linda September 21, 2016 10:35 AM

I hate mites. :x

greenthumbomaha September 21, 2016 07:08 PM

[QUOTE=Sun City Linda;593201]I hate mites. :x[/QUOTE]

Me too. It was in the back of my mind if this would return. I wish I could grow a lemon or lime tree. Several local Chinese restaurant have beautiful healthy orange trees in the entry. No supplemental lighting and no leaf diseases..

- Lisa

StrongPlant May 7, 2017 12:04 PM

OK,this season I can't take chances with this mite again.Last year the losses were probably 60-80%,it was horrible.I'm not against spraying with chemicals,as long as they're not really dangerous to human health.I've never sprayed anything in my life,but now I'm forced to do it as this gosh darnoodley mite is relentless.The infestation started 2 years ago,but I've only identified what it was last year(thanks to this forum,actually).I've been reading a lot about this mite,and some papers suggested abamectin is quite effective at killing it.From what I read it's not that dangerous to human health and it degrades quickly in the environment.Literature says it's not mutagenic,which is the most important trait for me.I've already bought it,in my country it's called "abastate".
Have any of you used this and what's your opinion on it as far as human health is concerned?

zipcode May 8, 2017 11:03 AM

I have since 2 years a problem with normal mites, and one thing that I know about mites is that they will survive anything and the next population will be resistant to whatever you gave them.
So for mites alternating at least 2 things is essential.
Not sure why everybody keeps saying that if it's extracted from plants is fine. There are deadly toxins that can be extracted from plants.
You need to try something though, that is for sure. You can find DE by the way on ebay.de. I bought it and used a bit and it does have an effect, it's called Kieselgur, find one that is finest powder.

StrongPlant May 8, 2017 12:32 PM

[QUOTE=zipcode;638079].Not sure why everybody keeps saying that if it's extracted from plants is fine. There are deadly toxins that can be extracted from plants.[/QUOTE]

Haha yeah,ricin and cocaine are also extracted from plants and I don't hear anyone saying it's good for you xD people also use the term "organic" the same way even though it means nothing.

DE is quite hard to get in my area,but even if I get it I think it will not kill the russet mite because it's so tiny(can't see it with the naked eye) though I really like that it's not a chemical method of control and insects can hardly ever gain resistance to it no matter how much you use.

decherdt May 8, 2017 02:03 PM

Raybo beat them with a pyrethrin in canola oil product ( in temps below 90F)
[URL]http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=15547[/URL]

Agrimek is used on lots of commercial tomatoes. I've eaten plenty of them.
[URL]http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/24d-captan/abamectin-ext.html[/URL]

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