How to treat a greenhouse against spider mites in the fall so that the pest has no chance

The danger of spider mites in a greenhouse

As a rule, spider mites appear in a greenhouse in early spring or during the growing season of plants. The early appearance of pests means that the eggs were laid in the fall. In summer, mites enter the greenhouse on their own from nearby plantings; they are brought by vegetable growers on shoes or clothing; they can also be carried by pets.

Spider mites are microscopic arachnids. The size of an adult insect is about 1 mm. It has 4 pairs of legs and a brown or dark orange shell. The tick has no wings or whiskers. But they have powerful jaws with which they pierce the leaves and drink the juice.

The main problems in the fight against spider mites in a greenhouse are:

• the difficulty of identifying it when its distribution is low;
• hurricane breeding - one female lays up to 400 eggs over the summer;
• The spider mite has high immunity to many modern insecticides and the ability to produce it with constant use of the same product.

Thanks to these properties, spider mites quickly spread throughout the area. The fight against it must begin immediately, otherwise there is a high risk of losing most of the harvest. In the fall, the final processing of the greenhouses is carried out so as not to start hostilities all over again next year.

The most favorable place for the development of spider mites is greenhouses, which is facilitated by high air temperatures and low humidity levels.

If we talk about preferences, then cucumbers most often come under attack. Nightshade crops grown in greenhouses are less susceptible to pest attacks. Spider mites practically cannot tolerate the smell of tomato tops; peppers have small leaf blades. However, with a strong distribution and a small amount of food, the spider mite does not shy away from peppers, zucchini, pumpkins, and some berries and flower crops.

Soil and greenhouse cultivation

Spraying greenhouse plants will not give the desired result if the soil and walls of the greenhouse are infected with pests and disease spores. The fight against spider mites in a greenhouse should begin with soil treatment. As a rule, this parasite overwinters in the ground, and in the spring it will begin to reproduce again.

You can destroy insects in the soil and on the surface of the greenhouse using pesticides or special sticks that are buried in the ground. When water hits them, the sticks dissolve and kill pests around them. Penetrating through the root system into the plant, they make the juice inedible for spider mites.

Today, manufacturers offer gardeners sticks that, in addition to the toxic substance, include complex fertilizers:

• Plant Pin;
• Etisso;
• Substral;
• Polish sticks “Green House”.

If you were unable to cope with the problem over the summer, then in the fall you will have to completely replace the soil and treat the greenhouse itself with the following compounds:

• 5% copper sulfate;
• 4-6% aqueous solution of bleach;

A greenhouse treated with vitriol or bleach can be fumigated with sulfur bombs. Gas is able to penetrate into any crack, so pests die 100%.

Greenhouse preparation

Autumn treatment of a greenhouse against spider mites involves preparing it for this process.

First of all, all plant remains are removed from the greenhouse and weeded thoroughly. If there is such an opportunity, then it is worth replacing all the soil in the greenhouse.

All parts of the structure are carefully treated with chemicals in the fall. Polycarbonate is also washed with specially prepared solutions of copper sulfate or bleach. The film is removed. Some gardeners claim that you can leave the film for the winter. But between it and the guides there may be clutches of eggs, and sometimes even adults.

Processing times

Greenhouses are treated against spider mites in the fall after the end of the harvest. In this case, the chemicals that get on the vegetables will not harm the human body. And in a greenhouse cleared of plants, it is easy to get to all the corners where pests can hide. There are no strict deadlines for completing processing. Much depends on the region, the crop grown, and the availability of free time. If in the summer there were large-scale attacks of spider mites, then in the fall they do not delay treatment. In the first autumn months, there is still something for an unpleasant neighbor to profit from on the land plot. This means there is a high probability of its spread. Insects feed and harm plants until the air temperature drops to 12 degrees Celsius.

What does an insect look like at different stages of development?

The testicles are small, round in shape and yellowish in color. Pinkish “spiders” with 3 pairs of limbs are the faces of ticks. Nymphs are green with a yellow tint, or brown in color and already have 4 pairs of limbs.

Female spider mites are usually a deep red color and are only visible in the fall. Males are about 0.5 mm in size. The bodies of such insects are painted pale yellow or bright red. The spots on their sides are clearly visible, which distinguishes them from other types of ticks.

By feeding on cell sap, this parasite weakens plants, making them more susceptible to various diseases. This harmful insect can also carry spores of various pathogenic fungi, which begin to develop on weakened vegetable plants in greenhouses. As a result, affected crops die much faster.

How to treat a greenhouse against ticks in the fall

Powerful insecticides and biological agents are widely used to treat greenhouses in the fall. The use of traditional methods in the fall does not have much effect. Their action is mainly aimed at repelling, and not at destroying spider mites. However, they are also worth considering.

Chemicals

Chemical preparations familiar to us for controlling pests in the garden and vegetable garden have an effect with repeated use of different preparations. “Fitoverm”, “Kleschevit”, “Akarin”, “Aktellik”, “Bi-58” are suitable for such purposes. They try to select phosphorus- or sulfur-containing drugs. Chlorine, which was popular not so long ago, according to biologists and gardeners, has already lost its effectiveness.

Greenhouses are processed as follows.

• Replace or carefully dig up the soil in the greenhouse.
• Treat the walls and structures of the greenhouse with a 5 percent solution of copper sulfate or bleach. Lately, sulfur bombs have become popular. Indeed, smoke will penetrate into the most inaccessible places.
• Prepare an insecticide solution and irrigate or water the soil abundantly. It is advisable to do the last point 2-3 times with an interval of 10-12 days. This is exactly how long it takes for new offspring to hatch from a clutch of eggs.

Attention!

All chemicals affect only living individuals. Therefore, you should not expect to get rid of spider mites in a greenhouse in the fall at one time.

Most drugs have an increased hazard class. A greenhouse is an enclosed space. When performing processing, it is necessary to use protective equipment: gloves, goggles and a respirator.

Biological products

Biological products are made from fungal spores that affect various organs of spider mites. Some of them, such as Omite, kill ticks and their larvae, but do not harm egg laying. "Borneo" gets rid of ticks at any stage. The drugs "Flumite" and "Apollo" cause hormonal disturbances, and females stop laying eggs in the greenhouse.

A distinctive feature of these drugs is their relative safety for humans and animals.

Interesting fact!

Introducing a phytoseiulus mite into a greenhouse is an excellent way to combat spider mites. It will quickly exterminate the pest both in summer and early autumn. At the same time, it is absolutely safe for humans, pets, fish and insects. Sold in garden stores. Unfortunately, not in all of them.

Treatment is carried out in the same way as when using insecticides. Both the structure itself and the soil are treated. It is advisable to perform 2 treatments in the fall, and a third in the spring, immediately before preparing the greenhouse for planting vegetables. In the fall, medications are used to kill ticks.

Tick ​​control

Settlements of the pest, which multiplies at lightning speed, cause harm to plants. Therefore, gardeners, especially beginners, are interested in how to deal with spider mites in a greenhouse.

There are different ways to get rid of the pest:

• biological;
• folk;
• agrotechnical;
• chemical.

Attention! As a rule, in recent years, gardeners prefer to grow organic products, so they use chemistry only if other methods do not give the desired result.

Biological method

This method of controlling mites in a greenhouse is safe for both plants and humans. What can be used to destroy the pest:

1. Acaricidal drugs. To make them, they use mushrooms that live in the soil and can destroy the pest. Thanks to the selective action of the drug, other insects do not die.
2. Natural enemies. In nature, there are predatory mites whose main diet is vegetarian insects. They don't touch plants.
3. Repellent plants. There are a number of plants whose scent repels spider mites. First of all, tomatoes, garlic, onions.

Traditional methods

The fight against a malicious pest in a greenhouse has been carried out by gardeners for a long time. Traditional methods are sometimes more effective than chemicals if they are used in a timely manner, without waiting for mass reproduction of pests.

How to get rid of spider mites using decoctions and infusions of herbs and medications? Let's look at a few of the most common recipes:

1. You will need about 1.5 kg of potato tops. After cutting into small pieces, the green mass is poured with 10 liters of water. After 3 hours, the product is ready for spraying pests. During processing, only adult individuals die, but eggs remain. Therefore, the procedure is repeated several times every 3-5 days until complete destruction. The lower part of the sheet needs to be treated with the strained solution.
2. Take 400 grams of chopped tomato tops, which are filled with 10 liters of clean water. For best effect, boil for 30 minutes. For every two liters of the resulting decoction, add 30 grams of laundry soap. Spraying leads to the destruction of not only aphids, but also other insect pests.
3. Onion peels will get rid of not only wireworms, but also mites. Place the husks in a bucket halfway and add hot water (not boiling water!). The spider mite remedy will be ready in 24 hours. Strain well before spraying. For better adhesion of the solution, you can add liquid soap.
4. A solution prepared on the basis of hogweed works well. Leaves, roots and stems are harvested before or after flowering and dried. For 10 liters of water you need 1 kg of dry raw materials.

Attention! By treating greenhouse plants with dope, wormwood, garlic, goat's rue and other aromatic plants, you can also destroy harmful insects in the greenhouse.

Gardener tips:

Prevention measures

It is important not only to treat the greenhouse against spider mites in the fall, but also to follow preventive measures during the season. It is advisable to adhere to the rules of crop rotation, but this is not always possible. That's why:

• keep the greenhouse clean, regularly weed, and do not create compost heaps next to the greenhouses;
• maintain high temperatures and high humidity levels when growing cucumbers in a greenhouse;
• fertilize with complex fertilizers that contain phosphorus;
• pungent-smelling plants are planted in the greenhouse: onions, garlic, marigolds or calendula.

Regular inspection of plants in the greenhouse will help identify the problem at the very beginning, which will help preserve the harvest and get rid of spider mites in a timely manner.

Signs of spider mites

How does a greenhouse become infected with spider mites? Everything is quite simple - small parasites enter the greenhouse, arriving on the gardener’s clothes, the fur of a random cat, and sometimes settling in with young seedlings. That is why it is almost impossible to protect the greenhouse from their invasion.

If measures are not taken in a timely manner, the spider mite will cover the plant with a continuous layer of whitish plaque.

At the first stage of settling a tick in a greenhouse, it is extremely difficult to notice. If you are lucky, you will see small light dots on the leaves of plants - usually along the main vein on the back of the leaf. Gradually these marks will turn yellow and discolored. But in just 7-10 days you will see parasites in quite large numbers, busily crawling along the leaves of cucumbers or tomatoes. After some time, small areas entwined with a thin web appear on the plants - this is where colonies of mites are formed, which begin to actively multiply and spread around.

White dots on the leaves are a sign of spider mites

On a note! Cobwebs are not the main evidence of the appearance of spider mites in a greenhouse. Sometimes it may be completely absent. And mites entangle the entire plant only if there are too many of them.

Plants located along the edges of the passage are among the first to be colonized - most likely, the tick was brought in from the street, so it is easiest for it to settle here. Unfortunately, in this area of ​​the greenhouse, crop leaves are often damaged by people passing by, so summer residents do not always understand that the damage is not caused by them, but by the arachnid pest. Ticks especially love cucumber bushes.

Spider web on a plant

Why are spider mites dangerous? It lives on the back side of a plant leaf, where it eats and reproduces. While eating, the mite pierces the surface of the leaf and sucks out the contents of the cells. And, of course, the cells die and the leaves become depleted. Imagine if each of them was sucked out by a tick? Naturally, the entire leaf will die. The parasite simply destroys the green part of the plants. The mite sucks cell sap from the leaves, thereby disturbing the water balance and reducing the level of chlorophyll. Because of this, crops begin to photosynthesize poorly, weaken and die.

Spider mites on grapes - photo

It’s great if you are lucky enough to find signs of mites in the greenhouse during the first stages of settlement. Then measures to expel pests will be most effective, and the harvest and the plants themselves will be saved.

On a note! It is worth noting that this parasite is not at all dangerous for humans, because it does not bite and does not carry any diseases. It is dangerous only for plant crops.

It is interesting that the active reproduction of this parasite is often associated with improper fertilization of the soil - adding excessive amounts of phosphorus to it. The fact is that an excess of this particular element can scare away or destroy those representatives of the living world that happily feed on spider mites. Thus, the parasite population grows and prospers.

Image of spider mites on cucumbers

Biology and development cycle of spider mites

Spider mites are fairly small arthropods, 0.2-1 mm long. Except for flat beetles, their body is solid and the cuticle is thin. As a rule, pests are painted in different colors. The mouthparts of spider mites, or more precisely tetranychoid mites, are adapted for piercing plant cells and sucking juice, resembling a kind of syringe in structure. With its help, mites pump out the contents of cells. While aphids and scale insects feed due to the root pressure of plants, piercing the vessels of the plant, mites suck out the cells using their own efforts.

A special feature of spider mites is the arachnoid glands, which are located at the base of the pedipalps - the second pair of limbs.

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Spider mites often exhibit parthenocarpy, in which unfertilized females lay unfertilized eggs, which hatch into females.

This feature significantly accelerates the reproduction of pests.

Round eggs during the growing season of plants are attached to the surface of the leaves. Overwintering females and eggs can be found in cracks and crevices of structures, plant debris, etc.

The development cycle includes a larva with a similar lifestyle, two nymphs and a neotenic adult phase.

Symptoms of spider mite infestation

As a rule, female insects begin to lay eggs in late April - early May. They do this mainly on weeds, and by the beginning of summer they move on to vegetables, berry bushes and ornamental plants. A mite can get into a greenhouse in a variety of ways: from the soil, with seeds and tubers, it can overwinter on frames or fly through open doors and windows.

It should be borne in mind that spider mites are among those insects that lead a secretive lifestyle. Therefore, look for signs of damage on the undersides of your plant's leaves. Small whitish or yellowish spots indicate places where the parasite pierced the leaf and began to suck out the vital juices. If you do nothing, you will soon notice the accumulation of cobwebs along which the pest moves in search of food. By that time, the leaves will begin to turn yellow, dry out and crumble, the plant loses its vitality and, as a rule, dies.

What to do to get rid of spider mites.

First of all, you need to put things in order in the greenhouse. Remove old tops and weeds. It is better to do this in the fall. If this process is quite difficult, then you can bury the tops and grass in a trench. Over the winter it will bend and become fertilizer for plants. But this can only be done if the tops are healthy and have not suffered from late blight or other diseases and pests.

Also in the greenhouse you need to remove all equipment and process it. Next, remove all the ropes that supported the tomato and cucumber bushes. If this was not done in the fall, then you need to restore order in the spring, as soon as the weather permits. After cleaning, we treat the greenhouse.

Greenhouse last spring.

If the plants were healthy last year and there were no pests. It is enough to wash the greenhouse with soapy water. And spill the soil with potassium permanganate. But if there were diseases and pests, especially spider mites, then we use special preparations.

Autumn treatment of a greenhouse: 8 important rules

Recommendations from experienced vegetable growers:

• After harvesting, remove all weeds and dig up the soil. Replacing the soil every two to three years will help prevent the appearance of pests. If it is impossible to completely change the soil, it is advisable to remove the top layer (up to 10 cm), in which pests often breed;
• Soil disinfection is another effective prevention method. You will need the toxic substance carbathion. The optimal soil temperature for treatment is +10 degrees. The air temperature should not fall below +18 degrees;
• The first stage of disinfection is treating the racks and greenhouse frames with a stream of water from a hose, then with a soap solution. Particular attention is paid to joints where lumps of soil, plant remains, and hidden parasites often accumulate;
• a wooden greenhouse needs to be “updated” after harvesting. The best option is to paint frames and shelving. You will need whitewash + copper sulfate of 10% concentration or copper. During processing, the temperature in the greenhouse should not fall below + 15 degrees. Metal and various wire structures need to be treated with kerosene;
• treatment with a sulfur bomb is one of the effective remedies against pests and rodents. It is important to remember that after such treatment the condition of metal structures deteriorates. The sulfur bomb is allowed to be used for planting greenhouse crops, otherwise the plants will die. Entry into the greenhouse after treatment is allowed only 24 hours after disinfection;
• in the absence of parasites and rodents, it is enough to wash the frames, racks, and other areas of the room with a strong solution of potassium permanganate;
• it is important to destroy weeds around the greenhouse so that pests do not move there for the winter;
• non-compliance with the rules for treating the soil and all structural elements allows individual pests to remain in the bud or at the joints, successfully overwinter and attack the plants again in the spring. Carefulness and compliance with all stages of autumn processing of the greenhouse is a prerequisite for preserving the future harvest.

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Preventive measures

Eliminating spider mites in a greenhouse is a very difficult task. It often exhausts the gardener and gardener, who at a certain point is ready to simply give up. In order to prevent the parasite from spoiling your nervous system, it makes sense to take all the necessary preventive measures. They will protect your greenhouse from ticks, although not 100%, but 80% for sure. And this is already a lot!

1. Crop rotation rule. If this year you grew cucumbers in a greenhouse, then next year you should definitely plant tomato seedlings there. The fact is that the mite rarely settles on nightshade trees. Unlike cucumbers, the bushes of which he absolutely adores. Alternating tomato and cucumber plantings is the key to success and is effective in preventing the spread of small pests.
2. Weeding is required. Cucumbers must be weeded during the growing season; under no circumstances should weeds be left in the greenhouse. The same applies to cleaning at the end of the summer season: the remains of weeds and cultivated plants from the greenhouse must be removed and burned. The earth should be dug up. Otherwise, you will leave many locations where spider mites can easily overwinter, hiding from the frost.
3. Maintaining high humidity. High humidity in a greenhouse has a beneficial effect on plant development. But ticks really don’t like it. If you manage to maintain the hygrometer readings at 85-90%, rest assured: the pests will escape on their own, without waiting for the moment when you take up the chemical weapon.
4. Maintaining distance. Another important point is maintaining a distance between seedlings at the time of planting. If the cucumber bushes are located too close to each other, spider mites will easily move from the destroyed plant to a healthy one - in order to destroy it too. Another effective option is to delimit cucumber bushes with other plants. For example, the same tomatoes that ticks hate so much.

When buying cucumber seedlings, do so with the understanding that the plants may be infected. Examine them carefully, looking under the leaves. Continue inspection during the growing season. This will allow you to identify the problem in a timely manner and begin solving it as soon as possible. Keep the greenhouse clean and tidy, and water the greenhouse crops on time. Strict adherence to the watering schedule and time distances between chemical treatments is the key to a large harvest of cucumbers.

Read: Temperature changes in a greenhouse: what are the dangers

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