How and how to deal with a spider mite on cucumbers

A spider mite on cucumbers in a greenhouse, in open-air beds is able to destroy a crop in 1-2 weeks. The pest loves dry, warm weather, lives on the green part of the plant, and hibernates in the soil. Measures to combat the spider mite on cucumbers are to destroy the parasite, preventing its appearance again.

Description of the web pest

It is impossible to notice one individual in view of the microscopic dimensions - no more than 2 mm. Spider mite includes many species, subspecies, so the color is very different. Found on cucumbers red, green.

In greenhouse conditions, the parasite appears in April, affects seedlings. It inhabits the entire warm period, so you can find it at any stage of the growing season of cucumbers. On open ground, cold, humid weather can inhibit the development of the pest. The first signs of infection are observed in May.

On a note!

The cucumber tick lives in huge colonies. The family is updated every 3 days, after 2 weeks a new individual begins to lay eggs. Initially, the parasite lives on the lower part of the leaf, gradually moving to stems, buds.

What do the affected cucumbers look like?

You can notice the pest with a thorough inspection of the culture. Obvious signs of damage appear even with a significant number of colonies. The spider mite feeds at different stages of development by the plant sap.

Important!

Light spots appear on the leaves of the cucumber, then dark spots. From below, ticks wrap the leaf in cobwebs, so it curls. After a few days of parasitism, the culture begins to dry, the buds fall, the fruits do not develop. A spider mite on cucumber seedlings can destroy a plant in a week.

A photo of the diseases of cucumbers developing against the background of infection with small parasites is presented below.

How to deal with a spider mite on cucumbers

Proceed with active actions immediately after the detection of the parasite. Which method to choose depends on the growing season of the crop, personal preferences of the gardener, and the degree of infection. Treatment of diseases of cucumbers is carried out by chemical insect-acaricidal drugs, biological products, folk remedies. Each of them is distinguished by its effectiveness, validity, and safety.

How to get rid of spider mite chemistry

A colony of parasites can be removed in one treatment. The effect is noticeable after half an hour, the poisoning properties remain for another 20 days. Preparations in the form of concentrates are sold, immediately before use, a solution is prepared according to the instructions. Pour into a bottle with a sprayer, household spray.

Important!

You can treat cucumbers with poison before planting in a greenhouse, as well as until flowering. It is strictly forbidden to use a chemical preparation during the period of fruit formation. You can’t eat cucumbers if 20 days have not passed since spraying.

Cucumbers are processed in dry, calm weather.Hands should be protected with rubber gloves, spray should be directed in the opposite direction from oneself in the direction of the wind. The maximum effect of the poison lasts 2 hours. During this time, toxic substances penetrate the juices of the plant, the colony of parasites disappears upon contact with poison, during nutrition.

Effective spider mite remedies:

• Acarin;
• Apollo
• Aktara;
• Actelik;
• Tick-borne;
• Anti-tick;
• Spark;

You can buy the product in household departments, specialized stores, in the market. Price from 10 rub. per dose for one spray. Dissolve in 5-10 liters of water.

Feedback

Bought a house with a small garden. Planted a large bed of cucumbers. They grew normally, in mid-May, growth stopped, they began to fade. Before that there was a garden in another place, there were no problems with cucumbers. Advised Aktar. Sprayed already during flowering, because before that there were no signs of infection. A week later, the bed withered completely. They explained that the solution was too concentrated. The next year I had to spray as soon as 5 leaves appeared. There was no spider mite, the harvest was good.

Svetlana, Voronezh

Processing of cucumbers with biological products

The principle of action is similar to insect-acaricidal drugs. The active substance penetrates the body of the parasite by contact, in the process of nutrition. It violates the functions of the nervous system, provokes paralysis, death. The result is not immediately noticeable, this is the main difference from chemistry.

Bipreparations act gradually. You can save the culture in a week. It should be processed every 14 days until the plant is fully recovered. It is allowed to apply at the time of flowering, the period of formation of the fruit. This method of control is used in the active phase of the growing season of cucumbers.

Effective remedies for the treatment of cucumber leaf disease:

• Fitoverm;
• Spark bio;
• Actofit.

The concentrate is diluted with cold water immediately before use. The finished solution is poured into a bottle with a spray, household spray. During operation, hands must be protected with rubber gloves. Cucumbers are sprayed in dry, calm weather in the morning, in the evening.

You can buy a phytopreparation in household departments, specialized stores, you can order online. Price from 20 rub. Keep away from direct sunlight.

Feedback

When I found a spider mite on a cucumber bed, there were already small fruits. You can’t use poison, I don’t trust folk remedies, I bought a biological product. Processed culture means spark bio. Within a week, a tick observed, then the leaves began to rise, the plant came to life.

Valentina, Kislovodsk

Folk remedies for spider web pests

They will help to save cucumbers with a slight damage to the culture, in combination with other methods of control, with regular use.

• Hydrogen peroxide. Dissolve in 2 liters of peroxide in 1 liter of cold water. Spray the plant. After 3 days, the procedure is repeated.
• Ammonia. In 1 liter of cold water, 1 teaspoon of ammonia. Cultivate the culture once a week. If necessary, repeat after 14 days. An increased dosage of ammonia leads to the death of cucumbers.
• Ash. Wood ash is dissolved in water, laundry soap is added. Spray the culture, water the beds. One treatment is enough for 2 weeks. Ash irritates the paws, the abdomen of the tick, makes the juice of the leaves bitter, unattractive to pests.

For processing cucumbers, tinctures from garlic, onion husks, celandine, tomato tops, dope, wormwood, and tansy are also used. Pour raw materials with cold water, leave to infuse for a day, add soap.

Feedback

Of all the folk remedies, the most effective is ash. Processing can be done only 1 time per week, which is very convenient if the garden is in the country. There should be a lot of ash so that it sticks to the leaves better, use laundry soap.A folk remedy saved my cucumbers in a week.

Irina, Tver

Prevention

A spider mite hibernates in the soil where cucumbers and other crops that the parasite managed to infect grow. What to do in this case is to fight the pest before the seedlings of cucumbers get into the soil. Dig the ground, you can pour insect-acaricidal drug. Dig the ground again in the spring. When planting seedlings, dip it in a solution of a chemical preparation for several minutes.

The spider mite does not like high humidity. You can prevent the appearance of the parasite on cucumbers with regular, plentiful watering.

It is recommended to plant varieties resistant to damage by spider pests. These include hybrids:

• Athlete;
• Stork;
• Unity;
• Lotus;
• Aquarius;
• Phoenix;
• Electron;
• Swag;
• Darling;
• Crane;
• Katyusha;
• Debut;
• Idol;
• Muromsky 36;
• Nightingale;
• Altai early;
• Vanguard.

To prevent diseases, it is recommended to process the leaves of cucumbers before bearing fruit with urea.