About my garden

Friday 8 August 2014

Red spider mite on Chilli plants

I love chillis and grow them every year. I usually keep them in my conservatory as they like the heat and I can keep an eye on them. 
Almost every year they get greenfly and red spider mite. 
I noticed quite early this year:

I get this white speckling on the stems. (The leaves in the background are geranium not chilli.)

 Then speckling on the underside of the leaves. These are actually the mites and if you have very good eyes or a magnifying glass you can see them.The leaves start to mottle and eventually yellow and fall off. Before that happens you start to see tiny webs on the plants. 

One of the solutions is to mist the plants everyday with water as the mites don't like humid conditions. I confess to forgetting mostly, though. Probably if I did this from the start, the problem wouldn't build up.There are also biological controls which are very effective.
So a few weeks ago when I realised there was a problem I ejected them outside. A cheaper option
The photos above were taken today but the problem is not at all bad and certainly not any worse than it was - almost certainly better. Also it has not spread to any more inside plants. The leaves are mostly green and little chillis are forming. I am misting the plants and we have had some rain.
Numex Twilight

Hungarian Hot Wax

Small purple chilli from saved seed
This one is so pretty. The leaves and flowers are purple as well as the fruit. I can't remember the name. 
I started this post yesterday and was priding myself with how well they were all doing then:
This is what I found when I went out this morning. I think it is mostly leaves that have been eaten. I'll need to go and move them now but slugs and snails will find them anywhere. Maybe an island in the middle of my pond...

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