Combat gall mites: 6 natural pesticides

When gall mites spread to plants, the first signs of damage usually become visible quickly. The use of chemical mace is quickly made to remedy the situation quickly. But if only for the sake of the environment, natural sprays against gall mites should be used. The plant guide explains what works effectively and describes in detail how you can easily make them yourself.

Recognize

In order to carry out a targeted fight against gall mites, the infestation must be identified in advance. The microscopically small Eriophyidae with a size between 0.2 and 0.5 millimeters are not visible to the naked eye. For this reason, you can only identify an infestation by the damage caused to the affected plants. If your plant shows the following symptoms, there is a high probability that it is one of the countless species of gall mites:

• Round or pointed growths on the leaves and/or branches
• Hairy or felt-like coverings on leaves and stems/branches
• Deformed infructescence
• Missing fruit formation
• Maturity disorders in already existing fruits
• Hollow buds that remain closed
• Flowers do not form to the end
• Leaves and needles change color and fall off
• Plants particularly affected

Gall mites are usually only attracted to a few plants that are considered to be particularly endangered. These include, among other things:

• maple trees
• berry bushes
• mugwort
• birches
• Book
• alders
• ash trees
• dogwood
• linden trees
• conifers
• nut trees
• plum and damson trees
• roses
• elms
• Rowanberries
• Ziest (Stachys)

Best time to fight

Gall mites spend the winter on and mostly in their favorite plants. For this reason, effective control is no longer possible from mid-autumn, because they then settle into their winter quarters and can no longer be reached. You should therefore always spray between spring and late summer or at the latest in early autumn to the beginning of October. They are active during the warm months and the chances of finding them outside on the plants are high. So if, for example, in November due to the typical damage from a gall mite infestation, immediate control is of no use and you should wait until the next wait for spring.

Natural sprays

In order to protect the environment, to protect ecologically valuable insects in the area and not to use chemicals to protect yourself or your neighbors Exposing yourself to pollutants from pesticides, you can easily use natural sprays on a purely biological basis to combat gall mites produce. You have various options for doing this.

nettle manure

Required material

• Larger bucket or barrel with a lid/cover
• Fresh nettles
• Spray pump with larger nozzle
• garden hose
• secateurs
• Gloves against skin contact with stinging nettles
• If necessary, a mouthguard against the smell
• A stick, branch or something similar for stirring

manufacturing

• Cut fresh nettles into small enough pieces to fit in the bucket/barrel
• Fill the bucket/barrel 3/4 full with the stinging nettles (about one kilogram of stinging nettles to ten liters of water)
• Fill bucket/barrel completely with water
• Seal as airtight as possible
• Stir the mass daily
• Fermentation time: between two and three weeks

Application

Once the nettle mass has fermented, it is filled into a pointed pump and used as follows:

• Application on a cloudy day is optimal to avoid burns on the plant
• Spray the plant dripping wet with the nettle liquid manure
• Repeat every two to three days for a period of one week to ten days (depending on the extent of the infestation)

nettle brew

Fighting with nettle brew works more slowly than nettle manure. This is produced in a similar way to liquid manure. Only the longer fermentation time is eliminated. Here you can already sieve the nettle residue out of the water about two days after the preparation and then use the brew as a spray. Appeals should be made daily for at least a week.

ivy manure

Slightly gentler than nettle manure, but more effective than nettle broth, you can use ivy manure to combat gall mites. The advantage is that there is no long fermentation time and this liquid manure is ready for use much more quickly.

Required material

• Bucket or barrel with the possibility of being sealed as airtight as possible
• A kilogram of ivy for ten liters of water
• stirring stick
• Spray pump with large nozzle

manufacturing

• Cut the ivy into small pieces, place in a bucket/barrel and fill with water
• Mix the mass well so that there are no air spaces
• Shoot the bucket/barrel well
• Open the bucket/barrel after three days – the liquid manure is ready for use when bubbles have formed
• Can be kept and used for a few weeks

Application

• Always stir the young liquid manure well before use
• Mix with water in a ratio of 1:20 and only then fill into the spray pump
• Spray infested plants until dripping wet
• Repeat three to four times at two-day intervals
• Be careful not to hit any insects, because the ivy manure is poisonous to them

wormwood infusion

Materials needed

• Fresh or dried wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)
• A saucepan
• Water
• Sieve
• spray pump

manufacturing

• Fill the pot with the wormwood
• Add enough water so that it stands at least three to five centimeters above the herb
• Cook for about 45 minutes
• Stir occasionally
• Then sift the herb out of the brew and let it cool down to room temperature
• Sud is hermetically sealed and can be kept for at least a week

Application

• Pour the cooled vermouth stock into a sprayer
• Spray the affected plant until dripping wet
• Repeat the spraying process once a day for the next three days
• Do not use in direct sun as it may burn the plant

tansy tea

Required material:

• 200 to 300 grams of tansy
• Pot
• Boiling water
• Something to stir
• Sieve
• spray pump

manufacturing

• Bring the water to a boil
• Put the tansy in a saucepan and pour the boiling water over it
• The water level should be high enough to just cover the tansy
• Leave for between ten and 20 minutes
• Tansy from the Sud seven
• Finally, let the brew cool down to room temperature

Application

• Mix with stale, low-lime water in a maximum ratio of 1:1
• Fill the brew into the syringe pump
• Spray the infested plant generously and dripping wet
• Best time to spray is early morning before the sun gets too hot

neem oil

Neem oil is a biological product that when used against gall mites clogs the airways and suffocates the parasites. To do this, the neem oil must get directly onto the little animals and the application must be carried out accordingly accurately and extensively. Neem oil is ideal as a natural spray for smaller plants, where you can easily sharpen all parts of the plant and especially below the leaves. Application to coniferous trees is not advisable. The gall mites hollow out the needles and often sit in them. The neem oil would not reach them.

Neem oil is already available in ready-to-use spray bottles, so there is no preparation. For example, Lavita has a neem oil spray that works directly against mites.

combination with other control measures

If you have a heavy infestation with gall mites, you will achieve better and faster control efficiency if you combine a natural spray with another control measure. This can be, for example, the use of natural predators that feed on gall mites. You can get these in any well-stocked garden supply store for little money.
The main predators of the gall mite include:

• predatory mites
• ladybug
• assassin bugs

Learn more about plant pests