Yates Nature's Way Citrus & Ornamental Spray
Organically certified insecticide for effective control of insect pests on fruit trees, ornamental plants and vegetables.
Eriophyidae, Tetranychidae
Mites are not insects – they are arachnids related to scorpions, spiders and ticks. There are about 3,000 species of mites in Australia involving many families. Many of the mites of concern to gardeners are members of two families:
Mites are very small creatures and some species (especially from the family Eriophyidae) can only be seen with a powerful hand lens or a microscope. Usually it is the damage they cause that you will see. Mites have piercing and sucking mouthparts which is how they damage plants.
The secret to pest control is to keep an eye on your plants so that you can detect pest incursions early. This is especially important with pest mites because they breed very rapidly and infestations may build up quickly.
Keep an eye out for mite damage when working in the garden - you will need to know what to look for (see Symptoms of Mite Damage). If you find damage you should have a closer look to see if you can find some mites (see Description). This is quite difficult because many species of mites are about 0.2 mm long so you will need some kind of magnifier to actually see them.
Prevention is always better than cure, and you are more likely to be able to achieve that if you are out and about in your garden regularly. There are several things that you can do to prevent serious damage from Mites (see How to Prevent Mites Appearing).
Regular monitoring of your garden will make it less likely that a major infestation of mites happen ‘overnight’. All treatments are way more effective if you can catch an infestation in its early stages.
If you do find minor infestations of mites you can simply prune off the infested leaves, shoots or fruits. Take care not to inadvertently transfer the mites to clean parts of plants. You can put your prunings in a plastic bag and place it in the sun for a couple of days to kill the mites. Depending on the type of mite, there are also several products you can use to treat them (see Description).
There are several types of mites that may cause damage in your garden. Common pest mites include Blister Mites, Camellia Tea Mite, Citrus Bud Mite, Citrus Rust Mites, Tomato Russet Mite and Two-Spotted Mites (aka ‘Spider Mites’).
Description:
Blister Mites (Eriophyidae) cause grotesque blistering on the leaves of various plants. They include Grapeleaf Blister Mite (Colomerus vitis), Hibiscus Erinose Mites (Aceria hibisci) and Lychee Erinose Mite (Aceria litchii). Blister Mites are tiny (less than 0.25 mm long), pale, torpedo-shaped creatures with four legs at the front end of their bodies. They do not have eight legs like other arachnids.
Products: Yates Lime Sulfur
Camellia Tea Mite (Calacarus carinatus) is also known as Ribbed Tea Mite or Purple Tea Mite. It is a member of the family Eriophyidae and is similar in appearance to Blister Mites except for its colour. It is a deep reddish-purple with white stripes – not that you will see that without a microscope!
Products: There are no treatments registered for camellia tea mite. The best thing to do is to remove as much of the affected growth as possible and feed the plant with a complete fertiliser, like Yates Thrive Roses & Flowers Organic Based Pelletised Plant Food to help the plant recover from the attack and to help strengthen it against future attacks.
above image of Camellia Tea Mite
Citrus Bud Mite (Aceria sheldoni) is found in all citrus growing regions of Australia and affect citrus fruit in particular. Citrus Bud Mite is a member of the family Eriophyidae and is similar in appearance to Blister Mites.
Products: Yates Lime Sulfur
Citrus Rust Mites cause brown russeting of citrus fruit. The Brown Citrus Rust Mite (Tegolophus australisi) is a native pest, while the Citrus Rust Mite (Phyllocoptruta oleivora) is introduced. Both pests are at their most serious in warm humid regions. Citrus Rust Mites are members of the family Eriophyidae and are similar in appearance to Blister Mites.
Products: Yates Lime Sulfur
Grapevine Bud Mite (a strain of Grapeleaf Blister Mite) feeds inside the buds of grapevines.
Products: Yates Lime Sulfur or Yates Mancozeb
Tomato Russet Mite (Aculops lycopersici) is a widespread pest of several solanaceous plants. Tomato Russet Mite is a member of the family Eriophyidae and is similar in appearance to Blister Mites.
Products: Yates Lime Sulfur
Two-spotted Mite (Tetranychus urticae) – aka ‘Red Spider Mite’ - is a serious and widespread pest of a wide range of plants. Two-spotted Mite adult females are about 0. 5mm in length, are yellowish-green with a large dark spot on each side of the abdomen and have eight legs. Males are smaller and narrower than females. Two-spotted Mites change colour to reddish-orange (hence ‘Red Spider Mite’) with the onset of cooler conditions.
Products:
All ornamentals and edibles: Yates Nature’s Way Vegie & Herb Spray, Yates Nature’s Way Citrus & Ornamental Spray or Yates Lime Sulfur
Roses and ornamentals only: Yates Mavrik
Citrus, shrubs and ornamentals: Yates White Oil or Yates Pest Oil
Citrus only: Yates Scale Gun
Life Cycle:
Mites have a life cycle of incomplete metamorphosis – there is no pupal stage. The entire life cycle can be completed in about a week during warm weather, and there are many generations per year. All stages of the life cycle may be present at the same time.
Eriophyidae: Eggs hatch into four-legged nymphs which moult into a second, larger nymph before a final moult to adult stage – all life stage only have four legs.
Tetranychidae: Eggs hatch into six-legged larvae and don’t develop the other pair of legs until they moult into nymphs. There are two eight-legged nymph stages – protonymph and deutonymph – before the final moult into the eight-legged adult form.
Mites usually prefer feeding on young growth and will move up a plant when new growth becomes available.
Monitor
Prevent
Natural enemies:
Organically certified insecticide for effective control of insect pests on fruit trees, ornamental plants and vegetables.
Controls mites, aphids, thrips, mealybug and whitefly on vegetables, fruit trees, vegetables, ornamentals and pot plants.
Controls a range of fungal diseases and pests on fruit trees, tomatoes, grapes, roses & ornamentals. No withholding period.
A multi-purpose, dual-active formulation combining the benefits of mancozeb and wettable sulfur.
Controls various leaf eating caterpillars, including tomato grub and cabbage white butterfly, on a range of vegetables and ornamentals.
A ready to use insecticide that kills scale, aphids, caterpillars, leafhoppers, mealybug, thrips, whitefly, mites, ants and sooty mould.
Controls citrus leaf miner, scales, mites, mealybug, aphids and white fly on citrus, grapes, fruit trees, roses and ornamentals.
Blocks the breathing pores of insects causing suffocation and rapid death.
There are many types of caterpillars which are usually the larval (caterpillar or grub) stage of moths and butterflies.
Make mealybug a thing of the past by talking to the expert gardening team at Yates. We can answer your questions and provide all the information you need.
There are 7,400 species of thrips in the world and quite a few are serious pests of plants.
Rid your plants of white flies with products and advice from the expert team at Yates. White flies are always guaranteed to turn up to be prepared from the start.
Share
Share this article on social media