As soon as it starts to
warm up in late spring I keep an eye out for the inevitable explosion of pests
that want to rob me of my hard earned veggies.
Without fail each year one of
the most aggressive culprits attacks – the Two Spotted Mite (play Jaws music here). I expect them to appear around October or November, as the temperature starts to climb.
| Magnified Two Spotted Mites |
Which
of my veggies do they attack:
Cucumbers, Zucchini,
Pumpkin, Watermelon, Rockmelon, Strawberries, Beans, and Soya Beans (Edamame). I am sure that they are not too fussy, and
attack other plants also.
 |
| Yellowing on the edges of the Cucumber leaves |
What look out for:
The plants may start
to slow in growth and lose vigour for no apparent reason. There also will likely be a discolouring of the
leaves similar to what you would expect if your plants were experiencing a lack
of nutrition in the leaves.
So when it is a hot day, I
turn the leaves over and look for little black spots that are about the size of a
pinhead on the underside. If you look very closely you
may see them moving around slowly.
Some Options on what
to do:
1. Use
pesticides and spray - Not my preferred option because of the other
insects around the garden that I am quite fond of. Not to mention the frogs, lizards, birds, and all
manner of animals. Also you could cause an imbalance and breed chemical resistant
ones so your problem will be compounded.
 |
| First signs on Cucumbers - under the leaf |
2. Keep
the garden humid - A better option, the Mite enjoys living in
dry habitats, so keeping it moist will reduce the chance of an
infestation. You will not stop them
though. I have a moist garden and they
move in every year without fail.
3. Use
a biological control - The way to go I reckon. The first year these little buggers attacked
my patch it took me some time to find out how to control them. What I wanted was a garden friendly
way to control them and the best solution was to
catch another little animal to predate on them. I found that hard to do because I didn't know what to look for so I bought 2000
predators that feed on two spotted mites.
They are called Persimilis or
in plain English, the Three Spotted Mite
- your new best friend.
 |
| Beans - still healthy but a prime target |
I order my new friends on the
internet and a couple of days later they arrive in the post and I formally introduce
them to the Two Spotted Mite. The
relationship becomes quite one sided, which is unfortunate for the Two Spotted
Mite, but is good for me. Basically, the three Spotted Mite brings an appetite to the relationship and the Two Spotted Mite contributes the food.
It takes a
couple of weeks to have your veggie patch ecosystem balance itself. Have no fear, your
veggie plants to bounce back.
It has worked well for me for three years now. All summer I will be able
to find both populations of Mite on my veggie plants, but it is not a
problem. There is a balance that
works.
 |
| Healthy Zucchini |
It gets too cold in
winter and the Three Spotted Mites die out.
So I recruit a new batch of willing Three Spotted Mites every year and
all is well in my Veggie patch over summer.
If you are interested
in where I get them from here is a link.
Bugs for Bugs. You get what you ask for - bugs!. $50 will have them
delivered to your door. I’ll let you know
when my new employees arrive.
If you want to see more
detail on Two Spotted Mites, the Royal Botanic Gardens Fact Sheet is pretty
good.
Go check your
garden. I dare you, go on. I would be
interested to see if you can find them.
