Ugh. I received a plant as a gift on Saturday (I think from Sam's Club, maybe Home Depot) and I set it in my dining room on my plant shelf. I noticed today my basil in the kitchen (a room over) looked really bad, and upon further inspection realized it was full of spider mites. I tried to salvage the plant but ended up tossing it because 85% of the leaves had the little black dots.
I then took a closer look at my Hoya in the dining room, and I found more mites (this time the white specks). I finally thought to check the new plant and sure enough, the undersides were filled with mites & webs.
I checked every plant in my house, and they all have them. My pileas, all my snake plants, my string of hearts (I think they're on there), my orchid, even my ferns upstairs (I think the central AC contributed to this). I just can't believe how quickly they all spread from one plant, how far they traveled, and how fast they began hurting my plants.
My smaller plants I sprayed down completely in the sink, and the larger ones I used a spray bottle and wiped the leaves. I plan to do neem oil and insecticidal soap treatment starting tomorrow.
If anyone has any advice (or words of encouragement), I'd be greatly appreciative :') I'm quite devastated and nervous as the last time, a few years ago, I had spider mites I was unable to save the plant (a palm from Home Depot, although they didn't spead at all- we didn't have central AC).
And yes, I know, this is a great reminder to me to always quarantine/ inspect new plants, maybe don't even buy/ accept them from big box stores all together. Truly kicking myself over this, I've had many of these plants for years.
For general care, I water my plants once they start to feel dry and my house is mostly low light (I'm getting new full spectrum grow lights soon).
by itsbrittanybishhhh
6 Comments
Honestly, if you just got the plant Saturday, I don’t think you would notice such a widespread infestation already.
I think you already had them. đ
Iâm confused – the first image doesnât look like spider mite webbing, it looks like human hair that has fallen onto the plant. And the second image just looks like regular plant pores, maybe some dust. Thrips caaaan look like this, but the way it looks zoomed in makes me think itâs just pores and dust. Spider mites infestations are pretty unmistakable IMO. Iâm not sure what you mean about the âwhite specksâ – in a spider mite infestation âwhite dotsâ are probably just dust caught on the webbing.
If white/yellowish dots are moving, they could be mites or thrips. But spider mites are pretty unmistakable – fine webbing, and bugs that look like tiny spiders. I personally see neither here.
Also, if you got an infested plant 5 days ago, it is highly unlikely to have spread to all the plants you describe. Especially via AC? Spider mites donât fly, and they lay their eggs in the webbing – no âsporesâ which is kind of what you describe. Unless a strand of webbing was blown off and sucked into a fan – which also wouldnât spread that much that quickly.
Are you able to add more photos of the other plants you suspect could be infested? We may be able to advise if itâs a different pest affecting your plants.
You can be as careful as you want, in my experience spider mites will still âspawn inâ from literal nowhere like a wizardâs curse. But I agree Iâm not seeing many signs here.
A 1-2 punch of systemic granules and jackâs deadbug are your best friend if you want to go nuclear and donât have any furry companions who will nibble your plants. They donât hurt for prevention anyway, even if your plants arenât infested right now.
Yeah, spidermite don’t spread that quickly, especially to multiple rooms in a home. The plants you are showing here and mentioned are also not spidermite prone plants. I see no spidermites or spidermite damages in these pics… You are going to need better pics to get actual advice that might help. The pilea looks normal, the white dots are not spidermites if that’s what you are referring to. The Hoya looks terribly dry, maybe to the point of dry rot damage. Dusty, but not spidermites that are visible in these pics.
I wouldn’t doubt the basil, basil is susceptible to all kinds of pest damage. The rest of the plants are highly doubtful to have spidermite infestations though. Take decent pics of the actual pest you’re seeing and maybe we can identify it.
That looks like dust and animal hair
Spider mites love a dry atmosphere. Once you get them under control, spray your plants regularly to increase humidity