Identifying Spider Mites on your Hydroponically Grown Produce
Sunday, January 22nd, 2012It is important to identify and get rid of any insects living in your hydroponics system. Insects such as spider mites can destroy your hydroponically grown produce. Spider mites like many pests can be terminated in several ways. The best way to avoid a spider mite infestation is by taking precautionary measures. Plants should be visually inspected weekly; this will help determine if there are any in your garden.
It’s important to check under leaves, around the stems and in the growing medium or soil for signs of spider mites. If there are tiny holes in any of your plants or crops, this could be a sign that spider mites are lurking. If there is a large infestation then there will be webbing visible after a light misting of the plants’ leaves.
It’s a good idea to take time, and find out how many of your plants are affected. Determining the number of spider mites in your garden, the size of the area they cover, and the size of the infestation will give you an idea of how to eliminate them. Identifying the spider mites will be easier if you use a garden microscope, which will give you a better view of the tiny bugs.
Many think using pesticides to eliminate spider mites in their hydroponic gardens is a good idea, but the use of pesticides in hydroponic gardening is discouraged and usually not necessary. Hydroponically grown plants are not immune to spider mites, but they are more pest resistant than plant grown in soil. Plants grown in hydroponics are usually healthier than soil grown plant, because hydroponic plants are fed their exact nutritional requirements. The natural preventive measures against spider mites are used in most hydroponics systems.
If you base what you do on inaccurate information, you might be unpleasantly surprised by the consequences. Make sure you get the whole Hydroponic Garden story from informed sources.
Many hydroponic gardeners use a method of natural prevention called â??companion planting.â? In companion planting crops are intermixed with plants that act as spider mite deterrents for the primary crop. For example, marigolds may be planted between rows of herbs in a hydroponic greenhouse. Spider mites will be turned off by the smell of the marigolds and will leave the garden.
Biological insect control is another method of pest management through the introduction of predator insects to eliminate spider mites. Using enemy insects is a safe and poison free way of controlling spider mites. Natural enemies will feast on the spider mites until there aren’t enough for the predator to survive, then they will die off or leave in search of more food. Releasing predator insects into your hydroponics garden infestations of spider mites can be eliminated or, they can be avoided. There’s no need to worry with predator insects, because most will not harm your crops.
Your garden should also be able to support the predator insects. Many biological insects will not survive if the temperature is too hot, or if there isn’t a good source of water. Other ways to protect your hydroponic produce against spider mites include using non-toxic yellow sticky cards. The cards are useful for monitoring spider mites and many other small bugs. The bright yellow color will attract the spider mites where they will adhere to the sticky surface.
The yellow cards are best for preventing the infestations of spider mites, but can’t act alone in eliminating them. It’s best to identify spider mites before their infestation grows too large, eliminating the spider mites with early detection will save your hydroponically grown produce.
As your knowledge about Hydroponic Garden continues to grow, you will begin to see how Hydroponic Garden fits into the overall scheme of things. Knowing how something relates to the rest of the world is important too.
About the Author
John Cane is a health care enthuaist writer who writes for health care companies around the country. To find out more about one of the companies he endorses go to michigan health insurance quote,health insurance quote,small business health insurance quote