Help! Spider mites!
My Bougainvillea is starting to show signs of spider mites infestation. It has the telltale spots on a few leaves so far and I observed around 10ish white specks. I know it’s spider mites cause I had to get rid of my potted lettuce that had webs already. My Bougainvillea is doing good so far and is in the process of growing a bunch of new leaves. I would like to help the plant before it gets any worse. I would hate to lose this gorgeous plant #LesserBougainvillea
12” pot with drainage
Last watered 6 days ago
3
Best Answer
@CrispLungwort no worries! PS responders may not see your replies if you don’t reply to them directly using the ‘reply’ button :)
Are you seeing webbing? If I was just going by the photos, I would actually be thinking this could be powdery mildew rather than a pest 🤔🤔🤔 If it is a fungal infection, here is what I would do:
1. Sterilise your snips using rubbing alcohol/methylated spirits and cut off all the affected leaves - throw them away in the garbage and not the compost
2. Spray your plant with a fungicide. I use liquid copper and mix that up in a dark coloured spray bottle (it’s not supposed to be exposed to light - I store it in a cupboard as well)
3. Make sure you have air circulation in the space your beautiful bougainvillea is growing.
4. Reapply the fungicide weekly for a few weeks and watch for signs of worsening.
Fungal issues can be really take over a plant and destroy it which can be heartbreaking.
If you do think it’s spider mites, spray using one of the sprays I mentioned initially. I personally prefer using DIY solutions as they don’t contain harmful hormone disrupters that pollinators and other beneficial bugs need to continue their lifecycle and work their magic.
Oh and another option is to source some beneficial insects online such as predatory mites which will consume the spider mite adults and eggs. In which case, you should probably avoid doing any spraying as it will impact the beneficial mites as well. Good luck to you!!
Are you seeing webbing? If I was just going by the photos, I would actually be thinking this could be powdery mildew rather than a pest 🤔🤔🤔 If it is a fungal infection, here is what I would do:
1. Sterilise your snips using rubbing alcohol/methylated spirits and cut off all the affected leaves - throw them away in the garbage and not the compost
2. Spray your plant with a fungicide. I use liquid copper and mix that up in a dark coloured spray bottle (it’s not supposed to be exposed to light - I store it in a cupboard as well)
3. Make sure you have air circulation in the space your beautiful bougainvillea is growing.
4. Reapply the fungicide weekly for a few weeks and watch for signs of worsening.
Fungal issues can be really take over a plant and destroy it which can be heartbreaking.
If you do think it’s spider mites, spray using one of the sprays I mentioned initially. I personally prefer using DIY solutions as they don’t contain harmful hormone disrupters that pollinators and other beneficial bugs need to continue their lifecycle and work their magic.
Oh and another option is to source some beneficial insects online such as predatory mites which will consume the spider mite adults and eggs. In which case, you should probably avoid doing any spraying as it will impact the beneficial mites as well. Good luck to you!!
Hi Triin, could you please post some photo of the leaves and pests you are seeing so that this community could help you identify what’s going on and how to respond? White specs could be mealy bugs or thrips as well.
At the first sign of pests, I usually spray my down all the leaves - the affected ones and also the unaffected as a preventative step. Both the tops and the undersides. Depending on the plant, I also spray the stems and any hidey holes.
After spraying, I let the plant sit away from any direct light - usually I spray in the evening in my bathroom and then let it sit overnight to dry. If I have a very sensitive plant, I spray then let the plant sit for 15 mins and then spray again with water to get the solution off the leaves. Otherwise, I don’t remove the solution with water.
I use 2 versions of DIY sprays - i like to alternate between them so that the pests don’t get acclimated to one type. I mix these up in large pump style spray bottles. Here are the 2 versions:
Version 1:
- 1.5L rain water
- 1/3 cup liquid Castile soap (eg Dr Bronners)
- 5 drops eucalyptus oil
- 5 drops peppermint oil
- 1 tbsp hydrogen peroxide (3%)
- 2/3 cup isopropyl alcohol (64%)
Version 2:
- 1 tbsp peppermint dr. Bronners
- 1 litre water
It’s good practice to quarantine your plants for a few weeks while they are in treatment, if you can. This way you won’t infect other plants. For infected plants I spray weekly for a few weeks and monitor closely to make sure nothing comes back.
Good luck with your beautiful plant baby! 🌿🌿🌿
At the first sign of pests, I usually spray my down all the leaves - the affected ones and also the unaffected as a preventative step. Both the tops and the undersides. Depending on the plant, I also spray the stems and any hidey holes.
After spraying, I let the plant sit away from any direct light - usually I spray in the evening in my bathroom and then let it sit overnight to dry. If I have a very sensitive plant, I spray then let the plant sit for 15 mins and then spray again with water to get the solution off the leaves. Otherwise, I don’t remove the solution with water.
I use 2 versions of DIY sprays - i like to alternate between them so that the pests don’t get acclimated to one type. I mix these up in large pump style spray bottles. Here are the 2 versions:
Version 1:
- 1.5L rain water
- 1/3 cup liquid Castile soap (eg Dr Bronners)
- 5 drops eucalyptus oil
- 5 drops peppermint oil
- 1 tbsp hydrogen peroxide (3%)
- 2/3 cup isopropyl alcohol (64%)
Version 2:
- 1 tbsp peppermint dr. Bronners
- 1 litre water
It’s good practice to quarantine your plants for a few weeks while they are in treatment, if you can. This way you won’t infect other plants. For infected plants I spray weekly for a few weeks and monitor closely to make sure nothing comes back.
Good luck with your beautiful plant baby! 🌿🌿🌿
First off, thank you for answering. Here are some photos I just took. Unfortunately I have already thrown away the more affected leaves. I hope I managed to catch some of the “white specks” snd the leaves damage.
