Midsummer, hot and dry. These are ideal conditions for the worst pest – spider mites. The spider mite is a polyphagous pest; it affects various cultivated plants, flowers, shrubs, and does not disdain weeds. It can live both in open ground and in a greenhouse. But most of all he loves to live in cucumber beds. If you don’t notice it in time, and it is sometimes quite difficult to notice it due to its microscopic size, then you can completely lose your cucumber harvest.
Spider mites on cucumbers are the most common pest after fungal diseases. Therefore, processing must be carried out necessarily. If you do not carry out the treatment on time, then at least you will lose a significant part of the harvest, or the plants will die altogether.
Signs of spider mite damage to cucumbers
It is quite easy to detect the pest. The insect is located on the underside of the leaf, and this is where its development begins. When there is a large accumulation, small cobwebs are formed, hence the name of the insect. The pest, settling on the leaves, begins to feed on its juice. Cucumber leaves begin to fade, yellow spots appear, and the leaves dry out. These are the first signs of a pest.
Having sucked all the juice from the leaves, the mite moves to the stem, wraps itself around all the stems, the plant stops developing normally, photosynthesis stops, dries out and gradually dies.
Signs of appearance
The main food of the pest is plant cells. The main sign of its presence is small white dots on the back of the leaves . A little later, a thin cobweb appears, like a veil entwining the bushes.
With severe damage, the leaves turn white from numerous damages. At the tips of leaves and shoots you can notice hordes of small, moving pests.
As a result of cell destruction, the process of photosynthesis is disrupted. The plant weakens, immunity decreases. Against this background, secondary diseases of cucumbers appear. Ticks are the main carriers of gray mold spores.
What to do and how to deal with spider mites
Cucumber plants should be periodically inspected for insects. It is easier to prevent any disease than to treat it later. This also applies to insects.
If, during inspection, several leaves with signs of insects are found, then it is necessary to urgently begin to combat them. At the initial stage, when single leaves are affected, they must be urgently torn off and destroyed. At this stage, you can get by with folk remedies, but sometimes they are not so effective. When using biological drugs, their effect may not be immediately visible. Perhaps the best option would be insecticides - chemical agents for killing insect pests, their eggs and larvae. Some of them are effective against herbivorous mites.
There are many ways to combat spider mites, some of them are more effective, others less. What is right for you is your choice. And I will briefly tell you what you can use in such a situation.
Preventive measures
To avoid the need to fight to save the cucumber harvest, it is necessary to follow certain pest prevention measures:
- In the fall, after harvesting, it is necessary to pull out and destroy all the tops, as well as weeds. Plants should not be left in a greenhouse over the winter - these are overwintering areas for mites.
- If the top layer of soil is contaminated, it must be removed and replaced with new soil. An alternative way to destroy a pest hidden in the soil is to treat the soil with a 2% bleach solution.
- To prevent spider mites from appearing on cucumbers in the spring, the greenhouse should be disinfected with smoke bombs. One of the effective methods of getting rid of pests that hibernate in cracks is freezing the structure at a low temperature.
- Maintaining optimal humidity (80-85%) and temperature, and frequent ventilation of the greenhouse will create conditions unfavorable for pests.
Spider mites pose a real threat to the cucumber crop. Having discovered a pest in a garden or greenhouse, it is necessary to immediately begin comprehensive actions to destroy it. Despite the wide range of effective drugs, prevention remains the best remedy.
Methods for treating cucumbers against spider mites
The following biological preparations are used to combat spider mites.
- Actofid - the main advantage of the drug is its high effectiveness against spider mites on cucumbers. It disintegrates quickly and is not addictive, which means it can be used repeatedly. Effective in cool and hot weather. The advantage will be its relatively low price.
- Bitoxibacillin is an insecticidal drug based on the activity of certain types of bacteria. The action of the drug is aimed at the digestive system and the reproductive system of insects. As a result, the fertility of pests and the viability of larvae decreases. The effect of use occurs from the first to the tenth day of use of the drug. After a week, you can notice a massive death of pests.
The only disadvantage of these drugs is their short shelf life, only 2 months at a temperature of +2º (due to microorganisms). Experienced gardeners recommend using both of these products simultaneously, adding to them a set of Brexil-Combi microelements (15 g per bucket of water).
Before processing, ripened cucumbers are collected. Pour water into the spray tank and add all 3 drugs. Treat with the solution from bottom to top (remember that insects are on the underside of the leaf). Processing is carried out in the evening.
- Fitoderm is a biological insecticide, a drug harmless to humans, as it is created on the basis of soil microorganisms. Does not cause addiction to insects. After treatment, you can harvest the crop within 2-3 days. It can be bought in specialized stores. Before use, you must read the instructions for use.
Folk remedies for fighting spider mites in a greenhouse
When there are only a few affected leaves or for the purpose of prevention, folk remedies can be used. They are cheap and can be purchased at your local pharmacy. The most popular of them:
- 3% hydrogen peroxide . Ratio - 2 tbsp. l. hydrogen peroxide per 1 liter of water. We spray for 3 days in a row at a temperature of 30º, after 10 days we repeat the treatment.
- Ammonia . Add the solution at the rate of 1 tsp. for 5 liters of water, spray the leaves on both sides and the ground around the plant. In addition to killing mites, you will feed the plant with nitrogen.
- Iodine . Proportions – 10 drops of iodine per 10 liters of water + 1 liter of low-fat milk. We spray thoroughly on both sides and the trunk of the plant.
- Laundry soap . If there are very few affected leaves, you can wipe the affected leaves with warm soapy water or spray the plant. The remaining soap solution can be poured onto the garden bed nearby. The solution is prepared at the rate of 50 g of soap shavings per bucket of warm water. We wait until the soap dissolves, then we treat the plant. Laundry soap can be replaced with sulfur-tar soap.
- Vinegar . If cucumber seedlings are affected by spider mites, spray with a vinegar solution, ratio 2 tbsp. l. vinegar essence into a bucket of water. Helps cope with other pests (codling moth, cruciferous flea, aphid).
- Mustard . Dilute 60 g of dry mustard powder in 1 liter of water, leave to infuse in a tightly sealed container for 3 days. Then add another 3 liters of water and spray the affected plants. The insect cannot stand the smell of mustard.
Causes of infection
Cucumbers affected by spider mites
The main reason for the appearance of the pest in a greenhouse is considered to be high temperature and low humidity in the room.
This usually happens if the temperature in the greenhouse reaches +30°C or more. This is why the mite often attacks plants growing in the southern regions of our country.
In addition, common causes of ticks are:
- non-compliance with crop rotation;
- soil contaminated since autumn;
- wooden greenhouse structures previously infected with mites.
Fattening plants, which gain green mass to the detriment of the fruits, are most to the taste of the pest. Most often, this process occurs when there is an excess of nitrogen fertilizers in the soil. This must be strictly monitored when planting plants in the ground.
The insect can also settle in old dried cucumber leaves. In the spring, as soon as positive temperatures set in, females move to young shoots and begin to actively lay eggs, increasing the population many times over in the shortest possible time.
Most often, primary pest damage occurs on the upper leaves, but then adult individuals move to the lower tops. This makes them almost invisible to the naked eye of a gardener. The fact is that less attention is usually paid to the lower leaves and the pest goes unnoticed for a long time.
How to treat cucumbers in open ground against spider mites
For cucumbers in open ground, treatment must be carried out. You can spray the leaves with Fitoverm solution. Treatment begins when the plant reaches half its height or at the beginning of flowering. Treatment is carried out twice with an interval of 10-15 days.
To administer the solution, 1 ampoule of the product is diluted in 1 liter of water. This dosage (according to the instructions) is intended for treating indoor plants, but it also works for cucumbers in open ground.
The treatment is carried out early in the morning or after sunset, the main condition is that there is no sunlight, otherwise the product will quickly evaporate and there will be no effect from the treatment.
Among the folk remedies, the most effective is spraying with plain water, because the insect does not like moisture. But this will need to be done 5-6 times a day. You can also spray with a solution of laundry soap. 15 g of soap are diluted in 2-3 liters of water and sprayed on the plants. Since the insect breathes through its body, the film of soap will not allow the insect to breathe, and it will die.
Why do mites appear on cucumbers?
Many crops are susceptible to severe pests. Cucumber bushes are no exception. Due to the large leaves and planting density, it is very difficult to detect and eliminate in time. It is necessary to regularly inspect plants for infection.
Cucumber growing conditions are an ideal environment for mites. Loss of vigilance, oversaturation of seedlings with nitrogen or infrequent watering can lead to the appearance of arthropod beetles.
Prevention
Spider mites are quite difficult to fight, and therefore preventive measures will help prevent the mite from being carried into the greenhouse. What should you pay attention to?
- Check leaves regularly for mites. Insects noticed in time will help to deal with the problem faster.
- When purchasing seedlings, do not immediately bring them into the greenhouse. Give her a little quarantine. Leave it in the room or outside for several days. If the seedlings are infected, then after a few days the mites will make themselves felt.
- Pests on cucumbers do not like strong odors, so between planting cucumbers you can plant marigolds, calendula, garlic, and onions. Or put on the garden bed picked plants that insects cannot tolerate: tansy, celandine, dandelion, yarrow, wormwood.
- Loosen the soil more often, but carefully, since the roots of cucumbers are located on the surface.
- Mites from weeds in the garden can be blown into the greenhouse by the wind, so get rid of the weeds.
- Ventilate the greenhouse.
I wish you good harvests!
What does it look like
A spider mite is a tiny parasite of red, red, brown or milky color, which is almost impossible to see with the naked eye, since its size usually does not exceed 1 mm. Its body has a round shape and is divided into 2 parts: a smaller anterior one and a larger posterior one. The upper part of the tick's body is more convex than the lower.
An adult tick has 4 limbs on each side. On each limb there are sharp hooks, with the help of which it moves along the leaves of plants. The parasite has small bristles on its body. They can be needle-shaped, feathery or leaf-shaped and perform the function of touch.
Spider mite larvae have a greenish body with dark spots on the sides.
The tick develops in five stages: egg, larva, two nymph stages and adult.
