Many gardeners, unfortunately, are faced with one of the main pests of cucumbers - spider mites. This small, barely visible insect can cause enormous harm to cucumbers in a greenhouse, reducing their yield by more than half. And although it is not easy to get rid of it, there are still methods of control that have been successfully tested by many summer residents and farmers.
Who is a spider mite and what does it look like?
Spider mite- a small representative of arthropods from the class of arachnids of the mite family, having an almost oval body 0.2–1 mm long. Moreover, males are much smaller than females. The body of insects is covered with a structured cuticle that forms folds, points or tubercles.
The color of ticks varies from very light to yellow-green with translucent spots on the back internal organs. In anticipation of the winter cold, adult females acquire an orange or red hue. There are also species with a bright scarlet color. 
On the thin legs of the mites there is a claw device that helps them cling to leaves. Oral apparatus arachnids are adapted for piercing the surface of plants and sucking out the internal juice.
Important! A dry and hot atmosphere contributes to the active development of spider mites. Under such conditions, the time period from egg to adult takes only 5 days.
Most species of mites wait out the winter as eggs in the soil or collected compost. At the beginning of the new season, when the air warms up to +15°C, small six-legged larvae emerge from the eggs. They feed on young greenery for several days, after which they lie down in a shelter and moult into the first stage of nymphs. Nymphs go through two more stages of molting, after which they become sexually mature adult spider mites. The pest easily spreads throughout the territory, carried by air currents with fragments of its web.
Signs and main causes of damage
Spider mites love potatoes, strawberries, radishes, celery, melons and others, but if there are cucumbers planted on the farm, he will choose them first. At the same time, the pest prefers the varieties that are most unstable to its effects. 
Those cucumbers that grow in a greenhouse are especially attractive to spider mites. This happens due to the fact that favorable conditions have been created in it:
- absence of rain and wind;
- warm and humid atmosphere;
- absence of natural enemies.
In such an environment, mites actively reproduce, settle mainly on the lower surface of leaves and feed by piercing the leaf and sucking out its juices. Gradually, pests move to the stems and fruits of plants, damaging and destroying their cells.
Signs and consequences of spider mites infesting greenhouse cucumbers:
- light dots and spots on the outer surface of the leaves;
- growing cobwebs on cucumber leaves;
- yellowing, browning, drying and dying of leaves;
- slower development and reduced yield of cucumbers;
- reduction in size and appearance non-standard forms fruits
Did you know? In our country, many people prefer lumpy cucumbers, considering them “real.” In the West, on the contrary, they prefer smooth fruits, calling pimply specimens cucumbers in a “Russian shirt.”
How to get rid of spider mites in a greenhouse on cucumbers
You can fight spider mites on greenhouse cucumbers as follows: folk ways, so with the help of chemicals. Using the second method can be dangerous for humans if the poison does not have time to decompose before harvesting the crop treated with it, so you should always follow the instructions for using chemicals. 
Chemicals
Unfortunately, the widespread use of chemicals has led to the destruction of many natural enemies of ticks, in addition, pests have begun to develop resistance to various pesticides.
Nevertheless, they are still actively used, especially in large farms, where the main means of control is spraying with insecticides (pesticides and acaricides). These drugs are not harmless to people, so they should be used only when absolutely necessary, strictly following the instructions.
- "Iskra-BIO";
- "Karbofos";
- "Fitovermon";
- "Bitoxibacillin."
Minimum time between treatments: “Bitobaxillin” - 14 days, “Fitovermon” - 20 days. It is better to spray in the evening so that the light does not destroy the preparation on the leaves and gives it time to act on pests. In the early stages, when only a few mites appeared, the drug “Plant-Pin” worked well. The stick should be inserted into the ground near the cucumber stem. When watering, the active substance dissolves, is absorbed by the root system, enters the plant sap and kills pests. The action of the stick is designed for 45 days.
Did you know? The ancient philosopher and physician Avicenna believed that cucumber has medicinal properties. He advised using this vegetable for diseases of the liver and stomach and even using it as an antipyretic.
Folk remedies
Traditional recipes are also quite effective, although when using them, getting rid of spider mites may take a little longer:
Video: How to detect and defeat spider mites
Ecological methods of control
Such control measures are suitable for those gardeners who do not accept any “extra” effects on plants.
- Remove and burn all affected leaves and stems. Do not use them for composting to avoid spreading contamination.
- Separate infected areas by pulling roots between infected and healthy specimens.
- Wash the cucumbers generously with strong water pressure (without damaging the plants). Try to grab the lower surface of the leaves.
Important! In the fight against spider mites, one should take into account its rapid reproduction, so it is better to focus on the destruction of both adults and eggs and larvae.
What diseases can spider mites cause on cucumbers in a greenhouse?
In addition to external manifestations in the form of cobwebs on cucumbers, there are more serious threats. Thus, the growing web interferes with photosynthesis and causes oxygen starvation of plants. Over time, necrosis develops on the leaves, manifested by light dots, spots and complete death of the foliage. 
All this leads to a significant decrease in the quality and quantity of fruits. If you do not pay attention to the first signs of cucumber disease in time, their treatment can take quite a long time. And in advanced cases, plant death and complete loss of harvest are possible, so you should respond promptly to the appearance of pests and immediately begin fighting them.
Prevention measures
When growing cucumbers, one should not forget about preventing spider mite damage. Basic measures to prevent infection:
- carefully remove weeds in the greenhouse, especially nettles, shepherd's purse and quinoa;
- if there are a large number of weeds, remove and disinfect upper layer soil or replace it with fresh one;
- treat all greenhouse structures blowtorch or gas burner;
- in the fall, fumigate the greenhouse with a sulfur bomb and disinfect all equipment;
- plant cucumber varieties resistant to the pest; they usually have thick leaves with stiff hairs on the back surface;
- water the plants in a timely manner, since with insufficient watering they are more susceptible to infection;
- use sparse planting of seedlings, which prevents the rapid spread of infection to neighboring plants.
So, inspect the cucumbers every 2-3 days, and if you notice that cobwebs have appeared and the leaves are turning yellow, do not hesitate and take measures to get rid of mites. The sooner you start fighting, the greater the chance of preventing further spread of the pest and completely preserving the harvest. 
The spider mite is an arachnid insect, a polyphagous pest. It feeds on plants planted in greenhouse conditions or open ground. The mite causes particular harm to cultivated plants in greenhouses, in particular cucumbers.
An adult spider mite is very small - only 1 mm in length. It is usually very difficult to detect it on cucumber plantings in a greenhouse. To do this, you need to take a magnifying glass and carefully examine the back side of the leaves of the vegetable crop. It is possible to visually assess the size of the disaster, without special instruments, only when the tick population grows significantly.
Females are slightly larger than males, their size can reach 2 mm if there is enough food. The color of the body varies depending on the type of insect and habitat. There are milky-transparent, orange, and red specimens. Males have a more elongated body, while females are brightly colored.
The insect's body is soft and has four pairs of legs. The larvae are very small, have a greenish tint and have dark spots on the sides. The spider mite is very prolific; the female lays up to 500 eggs every 3–4 hours. The insect population is growing at a tremendous speed, so when a gardener discovers a pest on crops, he needs to act immediately.
Larvae develop differently. If the temperature in the greenhouse is set at about +15°C, their development period will be approximately 15 days. At elevated temperatures, up to 48 degrees, the hatching period will be from 48 to 72 hours. The lifespan of a spider mite is on average 5 days.
As soon as relative cold sets in in the greenhouse, the females leave for the winter. Some can descend to the lower part of the greenhouse, looking for a comfortable shelter, while others rise up. That is why measures to combat spider mites on cucumbers in a greenhouse should include thorough treatment of the room itself, from top to bottom.
Causes of infection
The main reason for the appearance of the pest in a greenhouse is considered to be high temperature and low humidity in the room.
This usually happens if the temperature in the greenhouse reaches +30°C or more. That is why the mite often infects plants growing in southern regions our country.
In addition, common causes of ticks are:
- non-compliance with crop rotation;
- soil contaminated since autumn;
- wooden greenhouse structures previously infected with mites.
Fattening plants that are most to the taste of the pest are those that gain green mass to the detriment of the fruit. Most often this process occurs when there is an excess nitrogen fertilizers in the soil. This must be strictly monitored when planting plants in the ground.
The insect can also settle in old dried cucumber leaves. In the spring, as soon as positive temperatures set in, females move to young shoots and begin to actively lay eggs, increasing the population many times over in the shortest possible time.
Most often, primary pest damage occurs on upper leaves, but then the adults move to the lower tops. This makes them almost invisible to the naked eye of a gardener. The point is that on lower leaves Usually less attention is paid and the pest goes unnoticed for a long time.
Signs of pest damage
The cells of cucumber leaves are the main food for spider mites. The plant begins to weaken, losing protective forces, and becomes vulnerable to many secondary diseases. Often after this, infection with gray rot spores occurs.
You can notice pests at the tips of the leaves; they look like many small moving larvae. Over time, the leaves of the plant become enveloped in a thin web. white, and on the back side of the sheet a huge number of white dots are found.
If you do not treat the plant in any way and do not act on the insect with special means, the cucumber leaves will become dry and devoid of life. Brown, curling edges or dots throughout the leaf surface may also indicate a spider mite infestation.
Basic methods of pest control
With the establishment and modernization of the chemical industry, special synthetic products have become available that quickly cope with harmful insects. However, many gardeners try to eliminate as much as possible the impact of pesticides on the soil and plants on the site, so biologically active substances and folk remedies.
Often, for preventive purposes and as an auxiliary method of pest control, replanting plants that are dangerous for ticks into the greenhouse is used. Thus, measures to combat spider mites must be comprehensive in order to quickly and permanently rid crop plants of infection and preserve their harvest.
Pesticide
You can find it in stores a large assortment insecticides. However, this is a last resort method that should be used to get rid of the insect pest. Such products have a high toxic effect on the environment and humans themselves. In addition, during treatment the tick quickly becomes accustomed. Therefore, you cannot spray cucumber plantings in a greenhouse with the same chemical more than 2–3 times.
The most popular means are:
- Karbofos;
- Etisso;
- Apollo;
- Vertimek;
- Flumite and others.
Some of them are produced in the form of granules, which need to be diluted in water and treated with a spray bottle. They act by intestinal contact or destroy adults and larvae with direct contact.
Certain substances can even simultaneously feed a cucumber bush. Other products are available in the form of dense sticks. They are buried in the ground next to cultivated plantings.
It is important to understand the development cycle of an insect from larva to adult and compare treatment intervals. So, in dry and hot weather, it is recommended to spray cucumbers in the greenhouse at least once a week. The main thing is to understand that spraying alone will not be enough to get rid of the pest.
Spraying of plants with special means must be carried out in evening hours. It's related to action sun rays. It promotes rapid evaporation of sprayed substances and a decrease in the concentration of active components at the treatment site.
You should also take care of personal protective equipment. A person needs to put on a special suit or gown, also get a respirator and goggles or a special mask and put on gloves. This way, the gardener will feel fine after processing the cucumbers in the greenhouse.
Biologically active drugs
Tools based on natural ingredients, biologically active substances, are absolutely harmless to the plant, therefore they are preferred for use by most gardeners. They are used during watering. The active components enter the structure of the plant without damaging its condition, and then enter the body of the pest, which feeds on the leaves of the cucumbers.
Subsequently, the insect is quickly paralyzed, and then its death occurs. Moreover, the first results can be noticed very quickly; after 12 hours there will already be many dead spider mites. Also, biological substances have a long-lasting effect.
The most popular among agronomists and owners of personal plots are:
- Vertimek;
- Agravertine;
- Bi 58;
- Kleschevit and others.
The principle of their operation is almost identical. However, they are harmless to environment, the man himself and his pets. The main thing is to follow the processing regimen and precautions described in the instructions for use. Pest damage occurs only when leaves are consumed as food. Therefore, this method is good for destroying larvae and adults.
Plants dangerous to spider mites
To prevent or remove spider mites from the greenhouse, they also use planting pest-repellent plants between the rows of cucumber plantings. This method is used in combination with treatments with biological agents.
Plants with a rich aroma are considered unpleasant for ticks:
- marigold;
- sagebrush;
- nasturtium;
- garlic;
- yarrow and others.
In addition to planting fragrant plants, you can use other safe method as an aid. The moss or bark is thoroughly treated with boiling water and then dried. This will allow the raw materials to be disinfected. After drying, the material is buried in the soil near the cucumber plantings. This method also helps to get rid of ticks in combination with other methods.
Folk recipes
During the period of active fruiting, if the pest was not identified in the early stages, only folk remedies can be used. This is explained by the fact that the fruits should not be damaged by chemical or biologically active substances. Therefore, decoctions and infusions based on various plants are used.
You can treat cucumbers against spider mites using the following homemade remedies:
- marigold infusion(the recipe is very simple, put the fragrant flowers in a bucket (10 liters), then fill them with water slightly heated over a fire, leave for 2 days and add shavings made from laundry soap, mix thoroughly and filter through cheesecloth, you need to process the back side of the leaves);
- infusion of potato tops(the preparation method is similar, half a bucket of tops is poured with warm water and left for 5 hours, then the cucumber plantings are filtered and treated in a greenhouse, sanitary spraying is carried out once a week);
- decoction of tomato tops(put tomato tops into a 10-liter bucket, add water and boil over low heat for half an hour, let cool and add 40 g of tar soap shavings, let it brew, before filling the spray bottle, the concentrate must be diluted in a ratio of 1:2 and only then sprayed cucumber bushes);
- garlic infusion(chop the vegetable in the amount of 2 heads thoroughly, pour in a liter warm water and infuse for 5 days; before use, the infusion will have to be passed through cheesecloth and the concentrate diluted in a ratio of 1:2);
- infusion of hogweed root(pour the crushed root of the plant, collected before or after flowering, with warm water, take about 10 liters of water per 1 kg of raw material, after a day you can pour the product into a spray bottle and spray the plants in the greenhouse).
It is important to understand that folk recipes They are effective as preventive substances against the appearance of spider mites, but they are unlikely to be able to cope with the pest on their own. It is reasonable to use folk recipes as measures to combat spider mites on cucumbers in combination with other methods, for example, treatment with bioactive preparations.
Agrotechnical control methods
Proper care of the greenhouse where the cucumbers were planted will guarantee the absence of spider mites if the gardener follows all the instructions of experienced agronomists. Sometimes even doing simple things agrotechnical techniques makes it possible to protect yourself from a dangerous pest that damages cultural plantings.
Preferred methods of care include:
- constant monitoring of nitrogen levels in the soil under plantings;
- moderate watering of plants;
- application of fertilizers with a high content of potassium and phosphorus;
- loosening and regular weeding of the soil;
- crop rotation;
- maintaining the distance between bushes when planting;
- disinfection of the greenhouse after autumn cleaning;
- control of humidity level in the greenhouse;
- air temperature regulation;
- treatment of fertile soil layer with disinfectants.
Among other things, you need to choose cucumber varieties that have increased resistance to spider mite damage. The most resilient are Benefis, Murashka, Rodnichok and 5 stars.
Preventive measures
Spider mites are dangerous insect pests. preventive measures which should not be neglected. It is important to protect yourself from insect damage at the planting planning stage. This way the guarantee of crop safety will be much higher.
It should be remembered that spider mites are more likely to settle in a greenhouse with high temperature and humidity. Therefore, the first thing to do is monitor the temperature and control the air humidity in the greenhouse. At a humidity of 60%, the tick actively dies. Keeping the greenhouse at a humidity of about 70% and a temperature of 25 - 28ºС makes it possible to control the appearance of dangerous insect and exclude it when proper care behind the plant.
In the fall, after harvesting, and in the spring, immediately after the snow melts, you need to carefully dig up the fertile layer of soil under the greenhouse to prevent the growth of larvae that have buried themselves in the ground for the winter. This simple agrotechnical method helps to cut off the development of spider mites at the root.
Cucumbers need to be fertilized and fed with phosphorus fertilizers. Cucumber tops should not be stored or placed in silage; after harvesting, they should be burned. Thus, any possible specimens remaining on the tops will be completely destroyed.
Weeds and other extraneous plants, except repellent ones, are carefully weeded and removed from the beds where cucumbers grow. A few bushes of wormwood or calendula will greatly help in the fight against spider mites.
Planting cucumber bushes mixed with tomatoes and cabbage in the same greenhouse also guarantees getting rid of spider mites and works as a preventive measure for their occurrence. Following all instructions experienced gardeners you can safely count on a large harvest of cucumbers.
Agronomists advise using chemicals only when mite infestations are extensive and the pest cannot be controlled by other means. In other cases, it is recommended to use safe bioactive drugs and traditional recipes. This way you can effectively avoid damage by spider mites and get a large, and most importantly, healthy harvest.
If you are interested in the question of how to fight spider mites on cucumbers, then it is best to choose biological products. This excellent replacement toxic chemicals. The action of such products is based on the fact that they contain microorganisms that inhibit the vital processes of ticks. However, such means also have disadvantages. For example, eggs are not affected by such drugs. The same applies to females that burrow into the soil. Therefore, experts advise repeating the procedure 3-4 times.
The most effective and popular acaricidal drugs are the following:
- 1. Nisoran. Contains hexythiazox.
- 2. Sunmite. The main component is pyridabene.
- 3. Oberon. The main substance is spiromesifen.
- 4. Flumite. Contains flufenzine.
- 5. Floromite. Includes biphenazate.
- 6. Apollo. Based on clofentezine.
To cultivate open ground, you also need to pay attention to weather conditions. The hotter it is outside, the more often you need to treat
It is also necessary to first remove the cobwebs from the plants, since drops of the solution will linger on them and not fall on the plant and soil.
The arthropod feeds on the cell sap of garden crops. Its salivary glands produce enzymes that destroy chloroplasts. Depending on the “food” preferences there are different types ticks:
- polyphages - not picky in their diet;
- oligophages - prefer only certain species;
- monophages - dangerous for one specific crop.
This type of mite causes many plant diseases - e.g. gray rot. This is an infection that kills leaves and fruits. Even the stems die off in neglected areas. Diseased shoots lose turgor and photosynthesis stops in them. At high humidity air, the above-ground part becomes overgrown with fungal organisms, and the spores are spread by the wind to neighboring areas, infecting other susceptible crops.
Fruit affected by gray rot
Attention! Spider mites are not dangerous to humans. The only thing you should be afraid of is contact with drugs used to treat plants.
They can be poisonous.
When damaged by arthropods, the bush stops growing and withers. If measures are not taken, the plant dies after 20 days of the week.
If the spider mite is not removed from the garden bed, crops planned to be grown in the same area next year may suffer. When leaf fall begins, many fertilized females sink into the soil and enter diapause. This is the ability to endure adverse external conditions. The body “turns on” the economy mode: the animal hardly moves, does not eat, and consumes less oxygen.
The female mite survives in the soil even in severe frosts
Getting rid of spider mites is very difficult, as evidenced by numerous comments from summer residents. Gardeners complain: we fight insects with everything possible methods, but no results are visible. No wonder: the enemy is very cunning, and to defeat him, you need to be patient and persistent. The most difficult thing is to notice the appearance of a pest in time. Every 2-3 days, carefully inspect all the plants in the greenhouse, look under each leaf and check if there are cobwebs or reddish bugs.
In order for the fight against spider mites to be successful, you need to know all the tricks that help the insect protect itself from poisons and other harmful effects.
What qualities of this species help it endure all dangers? Nature has rewarded ticks:
- high fertility - you destroyed adult insects, but they were replaced by a generation hundreds of times larger in number;
- good adaptation to poisons and toxins;
- the ability to weave a web that protects insects from splashes of a toxic solution.
- Place approximately 15 g of onion in a jar and pour 1 liter of water into it. Let it sit for one night, after which you can water and spray your plants.
- The same can be done with dandelions. Mix about 20-30 g of this plant with warm water, and after two hours you can start watering.
- Make a garlic tincture. Grate it, put it in a bowl and pour water into it. Place this infusion in a dark place for about 7 days.
- Turpentine vapor under cucumbers also works well to destroy the pest.
Spider mites are a very common pest found on vegetable crops, including cucumbers, eggplants, peppers and tomatoes. It belongs to the class of arachnids, so it is difficult to call it an insect and will withstand treatment against simple midges. Small and almost invisible at first glance, spider mites are capable of completely destroying a plant. Its appearance is characteristic: the color can be red, yellow or orange.
The body of the spider mite is small and has rounded shape. There are small bristles on the body that hold an air bubble around the tick during rain. This creates additional difficulty when destroying with water. The pest lives on the back of the leaves, so it is difficult to notice. In the process of life, it feeds on plant sap, so after some time you can see whitish spots on outside leaf.
Temperatures above 15 degrees are favorable for the development of larvae and active reproduction. At this temperature, the larva develops within 2 weeks. But if the weather is dry, hot, with a temperature of +30 degrees, then the embryo from an egg into an adult can develop in 2-3 days. With the onset of cold weather, the spider mite ceases to lead an active lifestyle and goes down to find a place to hibernate. In greenhouses, this is the top layer of soil, the place under leaves and dried plants.
There are many types of spider mites, but the most common are the following:
- Red common spider mite;
- Red-legged spider mite;
- Spider mite Savzdarga;
- Atlantic spider mite.
Signs of spider mites on cucumbers
At first, the spider mite is difficult to see, but as its life activity progresses, it becomes noticeable. It entwines leaves, buds and flowers with its web, interfering with the natural development cycle of the plant. The disease of the plant occurs gradually: the leaves turn white and then dry out. The cucumber trunk also withers and dries up. After some time, on the web you can find many diligent bugs and no less diligent larvae that eat and reproduce.
How do spider mites appear in a greenhouse? There are many options: it is blown by the wind, with new soil, with seedlings.
The mite feeds on plant sap and sucks it out of the cells, which is why white spots appear on the leaves. Damaged cells die, vital processes in the leaves are disrupted and the plant weakens.
Preventive measures
Methods for controlling spider mites
In a greenhouse, you can fight spider mites in several ways: using chemicals, biological and by mechanical means.
Biological methods include the use of natural natural resources. For example, in a greenhouse and in a vegetable garden next to cucumbers, you can plant wormwood, garlic, mint and other plants with a pronounced aroma.
Mechanical methods include placing traps with adhesive tape, smoke bombs, or using aerosols against flies and cockroaches.
Chemicals
Most effective methods Treatments are modern chemicals aimed at combating spider mites. It is advisable to choose special means, because insecticides designed against insects will not work. Acaricides and insectoacaricides help fight ticks. You can get rid of it completely if you use the drugs several times over a certain period of time. This scheme will allow you to destroy adults and larvae that emerged from eggs after a while. Biological products are better for use because they are less toxic.
The most popular drugs are:
- Neoron. A unique drug that destroys both adults and eggs. Two treatments will be enough. Dilute the contents of the 12.5 ml ampoule in 10 liters of water, mix thoroughly and spray.
- Fitoverm. Biological preparation with a low degree of toxicity. Spraying with Fitoverm should be carried out outdoors or in a well-ventilated area.
- Aktofit. The drug is used in a proportion of 4 ml per 1 liter of water. For spraying, it is better to choose 2 days without precipitation, so that the rain does not wash the solution off the leaves.
- Aktara. Used for most pests, but not for mites. Aktara is diluted at the rate of 8 g per 10 liters of water. Spraying should be repeated after 10-15 days.
- Alatar. The biological product Alatar is diluted at the rate of 5 ml per 10 liters of water. The instructions recommend spraying 1 or 2 times to increase the effect.
- Actellik. Actellik is a toxic insecticide with a pungent odor, so it should not be used indoors. Dilute 1 ml per 1 liter of water. More suitable for indoor plants, since the garden requires a large amount of it.
- Anti-mite. An effective remedy against ticks. Anti-mite is diluted at the rate of 1 ml per 1 liter of water. The protection is valid for 25 days. Because of these proportions, it is advantageous to use it not in the garden, but for a small number of plants in a greenhouse or conservatory.
- Karbofos. This is a broad-spectrum drug. Processing is carried out in dry, windless weather. The solution is prepared 75 g per 10 liters of water. Suitable for use in the garden, since 2 liters of solution are required to process 10 bushes. For details on using Karbofos, see the instructions.
Folk remedies
There are a lot of traditional ways to combat ticks. Below are the most effective and easy to prepare.
- A decoction of black henbane. Take 1 kg of dried and chopped henbane leaves and pour 10 liters of boiling water. Let it sit for 12 hours, strain and add 40 g of liquid laundry soap. Soap is added so that the solution lingers on the leaves and does not roll off immediately.
- A decoction of medicinal dandelion. For 10 l hot water take 500 g fresh leaves or 300 g of dry roots. The broth should stand for a day, after which it must be strained and you can water the plants.
- Decoction of field chamomile. Take 1 kg of dry chamomile per 10 liters of hot water. Let it brew for 12 hours. After this, strain, dilute with water, add 40 g of soap and you can begin processing.
- Garlic solution. Take 30 g of garlic per bucket of water. The solution is infused for about a day in a dark place. You can add laundry soap.
- Onion infusion is also effective in the fight against ticks. Take 200 g of fresh husk and fill it with warm water. The decoction is left for 12 hours, then filtered and applied as directed on the affected plants.
- Hot peppers. Take 50 g of red hot pepper per 500 ml of water. Spray the leaves.
- Hydrogen peroxide 3% is used in a proportion of 20 ml per 1 liter of settled water. Hydrogen peroxide works best against mites. Safe for humans, there is no odor and the effect appears immediately.
- You can use a vinegar-based solution. Vinegar is harmful to ticks.
Resistant varieties of cucumbers:
It is difficult to find cucumber varieties that are resistant to spider mites, but there are hybrids that are characterized by increased immunity and resistance to most diseases: Stork, Aquarius, Unity, Lotus, Phoenix, Khabar, Electron, Golubchik, Debut, Zhuravlenok, Katyusha, Idol, Nightingale.
Video reviews
On hot days, summer residents are faced with the problem of spider mites appearing on cucumbers. It is tiny in size, but causes enormous damage to young plants. Small insects capable of destroying plantings in just one week. Seedlings in a greenhouse can die even faster.
Confrontation is easy, but you need to know effective ways control and methods of penetration of mites onto plants.
In order to identify methods of combating mites, you need to know how they penetrate the plant:
- the insect crawls from the ground after wintering, when the soil is already warm enough to attack young plants;
- weeds surrounding plantings are often a breeding ground for spider mites;
- seedlings for greenhouses, as well as greenhouses, can be a gateway for entry.
Pest danger
To save the cucumber crop from a mite invasion, it must be detected in time, and this is not easy to do. On each visit to the site, the owner should carefully examine the leaves of the cucumbers, having previously familiarized himself with what a spider mite looks like.
To see a spider mite, you need to have excellent eyesight or at least a good magnifying glass. This is a very small creature, its size is less than a millimeter. The tick is colored brown-orange and has four pairs of legs. Tick larvae have one pair of legs less. They are colored greenish, which in some places gradually turns brownish.
At high magnification, you can also see the tick's paws
Ticks spend the winter in the soil, and crawl out to the surface of the beds closer to summer, when the amount of greenery necessary to feed them has grown. IN summer time they feel best in hot and very dry weather (at a temperature of about 30 ° C and a humidity of no more than 60%). The tick is extremely prolific: each female lays about 100 eggs at a time. Literally after a few days, larvae emerge from them, which soon turn into adults.
First of all, the mite destroys the leaves.
The mite is able to settle on cucumbers both in unprotected soil and in a greenhouse, and it is even more comfortable in the shelter, since it is warmer there, there is protection from precipitation and winds, and there are no birds that can fight it. The tick moves from bed to bed, using pieces of the web it creates itself, as well as “moving” on animals or even on humans. Therefore, it is impossible to completely protect cucumbers from the invasion of this guest.
Most often, signs of damage are detected before the gardener notices the pests themselves. The results of its harmful activities can be expressed in the following:
Yellowing of the leaves of cucumbers is not only due to spider mites: many diseases and lack of nitrogen nutrition are also to blame for this, but in the case of such a symptom, a thorough examination of the leaves with the help of good glasses or a magnifying glass is mandatory. The fight against a tick should begin immediately after its discovery: unfortunately, it does not always lead to victory.
The spider mite is engaged in sucking juice from the cells of cucumbers. By these actions, he brings the death of young plants closer. After a tick attack, cucumbers cannot resist infections.
Many gardeners are concerned that the tick can threaten human health. This is a myth because this pest is only harmful to crops. The only thing that the pest will bring is damaged nerves when searching for a remedy against it.
It is impossible to notice one individual due to its microscopic size - no more than 2 mm. Spider mites include many species and subspecies, so the color is very different. Red and green are found on cucumbers.
What does a spider mite look like?
Spider mites on cucumbers are very difficult to notice. The size of this insect is about 1 mm. The color can be different: milky-whitish, yellowish-green, reddish-orange. After entering the greenhouse, the tick first approaches the bushes that have the largest and most succulent greenery. Sucking the juices from the plant cells, it leads to its drying out and death.
Is it possible to recognize the signs of a pest? The pest is most often localized on the inside of the leaf, since that is where the most nutrients are located. You can recognize mites on cucumbers in a greenhouse by appearance plants. Moving along the leaf, they leave gray-white spots, which over time turn into white stripes. The mite, destroying the cells and blood vessels of the plant, stops its growth. The cucumber leaf turns yellow and curls.
After 2-3 days, the female pests begin to lay eggs, the number reaches up to 400 pieces. And after 7-8 days the number of insects increases significantly. If you begin to see cobwebs on cucumbers in a greenhouse, then this is a sure sign of the appearance of a whole colony of insects.
Ticks develop their active activity if it is warm and dry. For the winter, the tick burrows into the leaves, into the remains of tops after harvesting, and hides in the corners of the greenhouse or in manure. Can be carried by gusts of wind. For the human body this is small insect cannot cause harm, but can destroy all cucumber beds. The insect, devastating the inside of the leaves, leads to a decrease in immunity.
Most often, the mite causes the development of gray rot. On the leaves there are large brown spots, and a gray coating appears on the fruits. You can treat rot in a greenhouse chemicals(Hom, Oxy), you can use biological products (Sodium Humate, Stimpo) or apply traditional methods(iodine or soda solution, composition with whey).
The spider mite is a small representative of arthropods from the arachnid class of the mite family, having an almost oval body 0.2–1 mm long. Moreover, males are much smaller than females. The body of insects is covered with a structured cuticle that forms folds, points or tubercles.
The color of ticks varies from very light to yellow-green with internal organs visible on the back. In anticipation of the winter cold, adult females acquire an orange or red hue. There are also species with a bright scarlet color.
On the thin legs of the mites there is a claw device that helps them cling to leaves. The mouthparts of arachnids are adapted for piercing the surface of plants and sucking out the internal juice.
Important! A dry and hot atmosphere contributes to the active development of spider mites. Under such conditions, the time period from egg to adult takes only 5 days.
Most species of mites wait out the winter as eggs in the soil or collected compost. At the beginning of the new season, when the air warms up to 15°C, small six-legged larvae emerge from the eggs. They feed on young greenery for several days, after which they lie down in a shelter and moult into the first stage of nymphs. Nymphs go through two more stages of molting, after which they become sexually mature adult spider mites. The pest easily spreads throughout the territory, carried by air currents with fragments of its web.
The pest can be noticed by carefully inspecting the crop. Clear signs lesions appear even when the colony size is significant. Spider mites feed on different stages development by plant juices.
Spider mites can be found both indoors and outdoors. The insect is characterized by its small size, as a rule, the female is no more than 0.5 mm, and the male is even smaller. Its size does not exceed 0.3 mm. There are voracious individuals that manage to feed on young leaves and their size is 2 mm.
The tick's body shape is elongated. The color of the female is red with an orange tint. In one season, females lay 8,000 eggs. After a few days have passed, the egg will become a sexually mature inhabitant of the garden. If you do not speed up the process of pest control, then there is a risk of being left without a harvest.
Video tips: how to get rid of ticks using folk remedies
Tiny insects - spider mites, which appear on cucumbers, are capable of quickly destroying cucumber plantings due to their gluttony and fertility.
It is difficult to deal with them, as they quickly get used to chemicals.
