How to control Spidermite

Have you ever just looked at your plants and think, hmm somethings not right, it's not looking the greatest. It's looking a little insipid, not it's usual sparky green self. The watering is on point, the soil quality is spot on, fertilising is up to date.... Something is just not right but you can't see any direct reasons why it is struggling. It could be Spidermite. Spidermite is a teeny weeny little red mite that generally lives on the underside of plants. It may often create a web like substance on the underside of the leaves. Generally I will get Spidermite on my mint varieties but more recently I've had an outbreak on my pineapple sage and generally all over my lettuce in our Aquaponics. I kind of just ignored it in the past, only for my plants to just struggle through but this time I really wanted to get it under control, so I asked my gardening community what were their go to methods for eradicating this little nuisance bug in an earth friendly/organic kind of way.

Eco Oil

If you haven't already got this stocked in your garden cupboard it's an essential and I always have it on hand. I use it on aphids and scale. Whilst it doesn't specifically target Spidermite on the packaging this is what I used (as it's what I had) and it did work. You can attempt to make your own using a bit of dishwashing soap and vegetable oil diluted with a bit of water in a spray bottle.

Neem Oil

Not friendly for your fish tank if you have an aquaponics system but an option to try.

Make it wet

Apparently they don't like it wet and humid, so get your hose on the underside of your plant leaves regularly to keep them at bay.

Bugs for Bugs

Another thing I'd love to try is bringing in some beneficial insects to the garden. Lacewings and ladybugs are always good guys to have around generally but you've also got a few predatory mites that will keep these guys in check including Persimilis and Californicus (which probably means nothing unless you're a hardcore entomologist). Eco Oil was what I used in the end and whilst it has not entirely eradicated it, it has kept it in check. My pineapple sage is now thriving even with the small colony left behind (which I'll keep my eye on). Do you have any good organic remedies for controlling Spidermite? Leave a comment below.