AT A GLANCE
How do I recognize spider mites in the apple tree?
The Red Spider you can tell by her pear shaped physique and the usual one for arachnids eight legs. Depending on the season, it is colored orange, vermillion or light green.
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Due to their size of only 0.6 millimeters, however, the pests are with the bare Eye often hardly seen, especially since they are in contrast to other spider mite species do not form webs. Under the magnifying glass, however, the animals can be identified quite clearly.
How do the spider mites develop in the apple tree?
In the winter shows up in the affected apple trees, mainly in the furrows of the bark or near the buds
brownish coating. These winter eggs hatch in the spring young larvae, which shed their skin several times and grow into adult spider mites.This development lasts about four weeks in spring, but only seven to ten days in summer, so that the number of adult animals can multiply by leaps and bounds in the summer months. Up to seven generations of red spiders are produced each year in warm weather conditions.
Why do spider mites damage the apple tree?
The fruit tree spider mites feed on the plant sap and suck for this purpose already from the flowering period on the foliage of the apple tree. This initially causes bronze-colored speckles to appear along the leaf veins. Since the leaf is no longer properly supplied with nutrients, these flow together and the foliage dries up. The result is premature leaf shedding.
In the case of severe infestation, the suction activity also leads to reduced shoot growth and a smaller size of the apples. In addition, there is often a reduced number of flowers in the following year.
How can I effectively control fruit tree spider mites?
Check you already in the winter months all apple trees up winter eggs A magnifying glass is helpful here, with which you can inspect the coverings.
- In the spring, as soon as most of the spider mites hatch, rinse the underside of the leaves thoroughly with lukewarm water.
- You can get a package with it in stores predatory mites of the genus Typhlodromus pyri or Amblyseius californicus. These decimate the number of mites considerably.
- Settle beneficial insects such as assassin bugs, ladybugs and lacewings with suitable housing.
Tip
If possible, do not fight spider mites with chemical preparations
We advise against the use of pesticides against the fruit tree spider mites, because the extremely useful ones predatory mites and other beneficials also fall prey to these means. This also applies to all insecticides based on natural vegetable oils. If use is unavoidable due to extremely heavy spider mite infestation, it is advisable to release new predatory mites in the spring.
