How to get rid of Red Spider?

I have a grow light in my office, which has done a good job of bringing some plants (most noticeably Cannas) on during the Winter.

However, I put some Geraniums under the lamp back in November, and they had some red spider on them, and the whole lot is now a Red Spider haven :(

I want to start to re-use the growing area for new seedlings etc. and I'd like to sterilise the lot and make sure no Red Spider can remain.

If I move the plants to the (unheated) conservatory I will be taking the red spider with them, and that will pose a risk for all the plants I raise during the Spring, and which I would normally grow-on in the Conservatory.

Any ideas for how to control this?

I'm thinking move all plants to quarantine area (how do I cordon that?)

Sterilise everything that is "non plant" with Jeyes Fluid, or similar, so that it is safe to reuse.

In my youth, when we had a bug that was hard to eradicate, I filled a dustbin with some noxious insecticide and dunked the whole plant every day over a period of several weeks to kill all adults, and any emerging egg-hatch-lings. Dunno if that is a good idea? I did buy some Scotts systemic "Bug Clear Ultra for Flowering Plants" which may well be better at killing things than the Pravado "Ultimate Bug Killer" [which I ahve been using] that is also suitable for Veg.

 

Red spider has been a real problem to me for years.
I once got hold of a chemical from a friend of a friend who grew cucumbers commercially, it worked a treat.
I very much doubt that is available now, and its wasn't available to amateurs back then in th 80s

At the back end of last summer I started using "Westland Plant Rescue", with good results.

You need to buy the one for ornamental plants containing "Abamectin", if it doesn't state it kills RSM, it wont.
Unfortunately it only seems to be available in those stupid ready mixed trigger sprays.

Anything that says it "controls" them is as good as soapy water and not worth wasting you're money on.

 

Have a look at Februarys Victorian Kitchen Garden on the Ziggy TV thread.

 

I promise I will do that if you can promise me it doesn't involve lighting a Nicotine Bomb? :D :D :D or Arsnic? :D :D :D

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Scotts "Bug Clear Ultra", for flowering plants, contains acetamiprid (but is silent on whether it can be used for Red Spider).

RHS says: "Alternatives are sprays containing thiamethoxam and abamectin (Westland Plant Rescue Bug Killer Ornamental Plants Ready To Use), acetamiprid (Scotts Bug Clear Ultra Gun), which are for use on ornamental plants only."

So I'll give what I have a try and look out for some Plant Rescue. Thanks.

I also read that icy-cold water (spray) helps.

 

I think it was Radium.

 

Thanks :thumb:

The Hot / Dry thingie is true (and which I know about). Weak excuse ... my normal misting spray bottle has Chestunt Compund in it ... I'm sure I've got another bottle, but I'm too idle to go find it :(

I wonder if I should swap the 400W Metal Halide for some flurosence tubes (for the time being) as they would be much cooler. The M.H. lamp gives off plenty of heat, of course ... and I could then sanitize the M.H. lamp, and reflector, and re-deploy that on the seedlings.

Or, cut out the "middle man" !!: I could leave all alone for now, thus containing the Red Spider where it is, and use a the fluorescent tube on the new seedlings (they would be happy) and avoid any possible cross-contamination. The Canna's can go outside after last frost which will probably finish of the Red Spider anyway.

(Mean time adopt an aggressive chemical approach too ...)

 

I've never known outside conditions to kill red spider, it might slow them down for a bit, but by August I have red spider on quite a few garden plants, and thats plants that winter outdoors not just greenhouse plants put out for the summer.
They dont die easily and appear to overwinter very well.

Fruit trees are a magnet.

 

Not noticed a problem with them outside, but my point was that they would not be much of a source to infect anything else if they were outside (and, at worst, would be reduced to a small colony) - whereas if I try to quarantine the plants INSIDE Conservatory / Greenhouse then I reckon they will be guaranteed to spread to other greenhouse plants :(

 

Peach and apple both lose leaves early most years due to RSM.
I must say its not been quite as bad the last couple, but when we were getting the good summers they were very evident in late summer on the undersides of the leaves.

I've actually stopped growing Brugs due to the problem, one or two other plants including plumeria and adenium in the greenhouse are very near the point of no return.

I'm pinning my hopes on the westland abamectin, best thing I've found in years.

 

Tell me its not true? :(

Excellent, thanks for that reassuring advice, I will look out for it at the garden centre. Not many plants effected, so I don't mine pre-mixed-spray formulation.

 

I've used predators, phytoseiulus, to very good effect on indoor plants - brugs and citrus, but found that with plants, mainly cucs, in the greenhouse and tunnel, I couldn't introduce the predators soon enough due to the lower temperatures as it needs to be above 16C.

 

I used predators three years ago in the conservatory in high summer - they didn't seem to make any difference at all, and weren't cheap, so I was a bit reluctant to use them again - plus my plants must by now be full of systemic insecticide which won't help!

I need to eradicate them too, rather than just control, but a period with predators followed by chemicals for any malingers, might do the job.

There is another predator which will also eat other things (forgotten the name) and starting off with phytoseiulus and then introducing the other guy might be another route.

 

I used to use predators with some success but found I was ordering every month or so in the growing season.

And of course if you get an aphid attack or scale you cant spray so that then gets out of control.

I eventually came to the conclusion that predators work fine, but are more for the commercial grower who can afford to buy all the different kinds for other pests also.