Spider mites on currants: TOP methods of combating photos and videos

The article describes spider mites on currants: how to combat the pest at different stages of the life of the bush, all means of control (chemical, biological), preventive measures.

It is known that all types of currants contain more nutrients and healing substances than 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 method of combating spider mites on currants, which attack berries, based on specific factors.

Time is one of the most important factors; you need to consider the specific period when the plant was occupied by this insect.

In the case when a spider mite appears on a currant before the end of the ovary or before the currant begins to bloom, then you need to make the maximum amount of effort to cope with the horde of mites, since the ripening of the crop is at stake.
If the fruits are lucky, they have already set and are now starting to sing, then the pest will not be able to cause significant damage to the fruits, but may affect the leaves. This provision does not affect cases where the currant bushes are completely covered with mites, because in this case it will be necessary

Another important factor is the extent of damage caused to fruit-bearing bushes by the pest .

If there are only a few currants, as indicated by the number of infected leaves, then physical methods of controlling spider mites will help.
If the currant is seriously damaged, then it will be necessary to use more damaging substances; the ripening of the berries will not affect anything.

Gardeners have come up with a large number of ways to combat spider mites that have attacked currants; for this, they can use labor efforts, improvised methods, other plants, or even natural enemies of spider mites - small other insects. The article reflects the best ways to resist a spider colony, including spraying with acaricides, which is very dangerous for the pest.

Spider mites on currants: what threat does it pose?

Spider mite on currants: photo

A spider mite is a small spider that pierces a leaf with its mouthparts, 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 pest in a timely manner insects.

The affected leaf in some places begins to resemble marble; white spots appear on it, which then darken.
Due to a lack of nutrients, the leaves curl and fall off, the insect moves to the not yet affected parts of the currant - to the stems, fruits or flowers, after which these parts also become entangled in a web.
In the summer, especially in dry, hot weather, the parasite multiplies very quickly, literally in 3 days hundreds of eggs are transformed into small bugs that already infect the leaves, after a week they themselves begin to lay eggs. Due to this rate of reproduction, it will be difficult to fight insect families that have occupied the bushes.
The pest's days are numbered - they last a maximum of 24 days, but during this time females can lay hundreds of larvae.

Important fact! It was found that parasites on berries cannot tolerate excess moisture at any stage - thanks to this, you can fight spider mites with water.

Spider mites on currants: how to fight them before the bush starts flowering?

Before the currants begin to bloom, you can safely fight a huge number of pests with the help of acaricidal drugs, but such measures should be resorted to only in cases where other measures have not given the desired result.

If you do not exterminate spider mites from currants before the ovary begins, the harvest may be lost altogether.
Red and white currants are more susceptible to attack by spider mites, so they are at greatest risk.
Spider mites on currants, in addition to damaging the ovaries on flowers and harming the foliage in general, can also bring other diseases to currants - this is its drawback. “This applies most of all to black currants. Despite the fact that it is less susceptible to tick attacks, after infection with insects it can also get powdery mildew, and this disease is very difficult to cure.

To combat spider mites on black currants, you can use the same methods as when treating other varieties - white and red.

If you generously water the currants with a powerful stream of water on the infected plant, then most of the tiny insects can simply be washed off the bush.
You can create a humidity level of 80% that is lethal for ticks; to do this, you need to spray the bush and immediately cover it briefly with film.
It is very important to remove all the cobwebs that have entangled the plant, because otherwise it will become a kind of barrier to the liquid - and all the struggle will not yield results.
Before carrying out such work, you need to remove all infected leaves and burn them, and not bury them, otherwise the insects may remain in the soil for the winter.
Another option for combating spider mites on currants is to place open jars near the plant, in which turpentine or ammonia is poured, and then again cover the bush with film - this should kill the pests.
First, 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 yet a very large number of pests.
But when the plant is severely affected, it is pointless to fight without chemical special preparations, this will not give any result.

Unfortunately, even commercial chemicals do not have absolute strength, because the pest

Consequences of defeat

If you do not apply protective measures and do not get rid of the harmful insect before the ovaries form, there is a risk of critical crop loss. As a result of their impact on bushes, mites reduce fruiting, destroy ovaries on flowers, and damage foliage.

Failure to treat plants increases the likelihood of developing infections. Even disease-resistant currant varieties are susceptible to viruses after exposure to spider mites or bud mites. The presence of a pest most often provokes the development of powdery mildew.

Spider mites on currants: control measures during berry ripening

In a situation where the ovary has gone well and at the right time, and insect damage is minimal, then there is no need to use radical measures to control pests. You can only stop the reproduction of the insect.

You can again water the currant bush abundantly, this will help reduce the rate of reproduction of insects on the bushes.
Heavy spraying and wrapping with film will help reduce the spider mite population.
You can again put turpentine or ammonia, placed in small open containers, near the damaged plant, wrap it in 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 and pick off the leaves on which the mites are located, then the disease will not spread to the already ripening berries.

Note! If these control methods 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. If there is a threat to other plants, or all other methods of control have not worked, then “killer” chemicals can be used.

Agrotechnical techniques

To cope with ticks, it is necessary to use special agricultural products. Such measures are highly effective.

Description of actions for cleansing from parasites with fire

First you need to carry out sanitary pruning of the plant. To do this, use a blowtorch to burn branches at a distance of 10 centimeters. In this case, the lamp should be quickly moved from top to bottom.

This is done several times. It is important not to keep the device in one place.

Under the influence of fire, it is possible to cope with most mites and aphids. In this case, healthy buds and the plant itself will not be damaged. This method does not make it possible to completely destroy pests. However, it will significantly reduce their activity.

How to pour hot water on bushes

Pouring boiling water over currant bushes helps to cope with mite larvae even before they reproduce. The procedure also increases the plant’s immunity to powdery mildew. When carrying out the procedure, you should adhere to the following recommendations:

in order not to harm the kidneys, you should use slightly cooled water - its temperature should be 90 degrees;
to facilitate the procedure, the branches should be tied at the top;
It is recommended to use a watering can for watering;
The bushes need to be doused before the buds appear - the next treatment is carried out only after the leaves fall.

Plants that can help get rid of pests

Decoctions and infusions of some fresh or dried herbs work as acaricidal preparations, but they have a weakly expressed property. In addition, those active substances that fight pests are not very persistent. Because of this, it is most effective to treat the plant in the evening or in the morning - at this time there is no strong solar activity.

Plants such as wormwood, dandelion, datura, calendula, celandine and yarrow will help in the fight. In addition, garlic and onions are effective - they need to be crushed into a paste, diluted with water, allowed to brew for a day, after which this can destroy most of the pests.
There is a way to fight it using 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 treated.

Signs of appearance

You can detect the presence of a tick at different times of the year.

In winter, the buds increase in size.
In spring, the uneven development of the plant is noticeable. On shoots that are lagging in growth, the leaves are deformed and develop poorly. A mite-infested shrub has few flower stalks.
In summer, due to curvature and underdevelopment of shoots, currants look sloppy. There are few ovaries; most fall off before reaching maturity. By the end of summer, damaged buds swell and begin to look very different from healthy ones.
In autumn, increasing in size, the buds acquire a rounded shape.

Spider mites on currants: control with biological agents

Substances such as insecticides and acaricides, which work as biological weapons using microorganisms, are a wonderful achievement of biochemistry. They take the place of conventional chemical drugs 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 - eventually 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 treatments cyclically, there should be 3-4 in total. The interval depends on weather conditions: at temperatures up to 30 degrees it should be 5-6 days, and at temperatures above 30? C - not exceed 3 days.

The preparations “Vertimek”, “Fitoverm”, “Acrofit”, “Agravertin”, “Kleschevit” have already proven their effectiveness.

Important! Such preparations for controlling spider mites on currants will not harm berries, soil, people or beneficial insects. They are completely safe.

Chemical acaricidal preparations against spider mites on currants

Such toxic 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 you can be poisoned by them. However, you can safely use chemicals when it is definitely impossible to harvest the infected currants, 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 and spraying currants with them. As noted, the pest may not respond to all chemicals, which is why there is a possibility that the summer resident will have to change the product to another, which contains other poisons.

Following the instructions, you will need to go through 3 stages of treatment, because the pest eggs are resistant to acaricides. List of drugs that can help: Floromite, Nisoran, Sunmite, Apollo, Oberon, Flumite.

Attention! It is recommended to keep the label, which says what poison is in the base of the product, because if the result is ineffective, you will need to buy a drug with a different poison.

Preventive measures against spider mites

You can carry out some preventive work that will minimize the chance of spider mites appearing on currants.

It is necessary to dig up the soil around the currants in spring and autumn, this helps reduce the population of female mites that overwinter in the soil.
It is worth removing fallen leaves.
If you plant calendula somewhere close to currants, it will repel the parasite with its smell.
It is imperative to prune infected bushes before the onset of cold weather, because pests may remain on the top part, which will descend into the ground on the eve of frost.

Attention! Parts of the currant that have traces of the parasite should be burned and 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 mites on currants: how to fight and get rid of them forever?

Follow preventive measures

Remove weeds from the soil . From them, mites often fall onto currants, so the soil must be clean. It is also very important to remove all plant debris in the autumn, since most tick larvae overwinter in them.
Thin out plants and trim branches . Avoid thickening the bushes; when they are well ventilated, they are less affected by ticks. It is important that all diseased shoots are removed.
Maintain normal humidity . If the air is very dry, pests multiply much faster.
Scald currants with hot water in early spring . This simple manipulation kills spores of many diseases and pest eggs.