Two-Spotted Spider Mites Flourishing in Kansas

By CnAgri2012-07-31 19:24:10 Print

It's smaller than a pinhead. Even so, the voracious two-spotted spider mite could be the world's poster pest for dry, hot weather.

"They're doing real damage in Kansas -- even worse than we saw in summer 2011. Two-spotted spider mites can attack an amazing number of plants. As often as not, today's scorched-looking arborvitae foliage and yellowing rose leaves are reflecting both heat-wave stress and spider mite damage," said Raymond Cloyd, K-State Research and Extension entomologist.

Two-spotted spider mites produce multiple generations per growing season, Cloyd added. But, when the weather's dry and the temperature's high, they can multiply really fast. Between 70 F and 85 degrees, for example, the time they need to progress from egg to adult shortens by half -- from 14 to seven days.

Each adult female in every generation lays an average dozen eggs per day (100 to 300 total). She doesn't even have to mate first, the entomologist said.

As a result, infestations easily expand, yet include spider mites in all stages of development. The mix of stages alone makes controlling the pest difficult.

Adding to the problem, the mites have repeatedly proved they are able to develop pesticide (miticide) resistance. That has eliminated multiple tools for gardeners, farmers and pest control pros, Cloyd said.

"Mites aren't an insect. They're in a whole different family, along with spiders, ticks and scorpions," he said. "Spraying an infested plant with an insecticide simply eliminates the mites' natural enemies. Applications of carbaryl (Sevin, Adios, and Slam) have paved the way for some notably severe spider mite outbreaks."

Some products labeled for spider mite control also can cause unwanted results. Such organophosphates as Malathion, Orthene and Dursban may actually stimulate female spider mite reproduction.

Fortunately, with enough rain, a naturally occurring fungus helps keep two-spotted spider mites in check, Cloyd said. When temperatures are moderate, beneficial insects and predatory mites also serve as a natural control. Their job outstrips their abilities, however, when the weather heats up.

"The classic test for spider mites is to shake a branch over a sheet of white paper and see what falls onto it. Mites look sort of like a typed period -- a half-millimeter dot -- that moves," he said. "If they move fairly slowly and leave a green stain when crushed, they're the two-spotted kind. If they're fairly quick and leave a red stain, they're the beneficial mites that eat other mites."

Human control efforts are more effective if started when an infestation is small, he said.

Unfortunately, two-spotted spider mites can go unnoticed as the growing season warms up and they become increasingly active -- and numerous. The pests not only are small but also tend to congregate on the undersides of leaves.