How to deal with strawberry mites on strawberries?

Strawberry mite is a frequent visitor to areas with garden strawberries and strawberries. It causes great harm to plants, which subsequently affects their yield. How to determine the presence of a strawberry mite, why it appears and how to deal with it, we will tell below.

The strawberry mite is an arthropod insect that is a type of parasitic mite. It gives a great look to strawberries and garden strawberries. If you do not fight with it, then this parasite is able to destroy about 70% of all fruits.

This type of insect is very widespread... It can often be found on strawberries or strawberries. The pest looks like this: it is small, and its body is almost completely transparent with a pale brown or pale yellow color, it has the shape of an oval and triangular legs. It is quite difficult to notice this harmful insect with the naked eye, especially at the first stages of its appearance, due to its inconspicuous color and small size. Its maximum length is about 2 millimeters, and its maximum width is only 1 millimeter.

The areola of these parasites is represented by areas in which temperate climate, which is why they are found quite often within our country. Their wintering takes place most often in the area of ​​young bushes, in the cracks of the stem and not only. In the spring, when the temperature rises to the required level, the insect begins to lay eggs.

The most favorable for the formation of this parasitic insect is the temperature of the air masses is 15-25 degrees and the moisture level is up to 80%. In the presence of such conditions, in one season alone, the parasite can give about 7 generations. By summer, the number of these pests begins to increase actively and reaches its peak in August. By this time, the parasite, if not exterminated, usually spreads throughout the site.

These parasites harm mainly the green part of the plant, that is, its leaves. They actively feed on their cell sap, which subsequently leads to deformation of the foliage, it becomes oily and wrinkled in appearance. This also affects the fruits of strawberry plantings. Since the berries are sorely lacking the substances they need, they cannot fully form, which is why small fruits subsequently prevail in the harvest. With the active attacks of the parasite, strawberry and strawberry plantings ultimately simply die.

Strawberry mites and other harmful insects appear on berry plantings for various reasons.

Most often this is to blame poor quality plant care. This includes rare elimination of weeds and loosening of the earth, a lack of fertilizing with a high content of useful nutrients, the remains of old vegetation on the site, excess water during irrigation and infrequent pruning of strawberry tendrils.

The pest, or rather its larvae, can also get on the plant with the help of garden tools, clothing or shoes. In addition, this is often facilitated by animals and birds.

Harmful insects can also appear on strawberries due to the fact that the place for planting it was chosen incorrectly: it is too shaded, due to which there is a high level of humidity and dampness, which creates the most favorable conditions for these mites. In addition, this may be due to earlier contaminated seed, a rare change of location for growing a plant and the close location of strawberry bushes to the planting of such cultivated plants that belong to the Solanaceae family.

It is possible to determine the presence of a pest on a plant by many factors. So, affected plants start to grow a little slower, and then stop growing altogether... Damaged strawberry bushes are usually dwarfed.

As for the foliage of such plants, young leaves begin to curl and wrinkle, some of them may not open at all. The rest change color, oily yellowness begins to prevail in it. Ultimately, these leaves dry out.

In addition, those strawberry bushes that have been affected by a harmful insect, lose their high resistance to cold. They cannot stand low temperatures and soon die.

The use of chemicals is a drastic measure that is considered one of the most effective. Such funds can help you completely remove the pest, but it should be borne in mind that they also have a lot of disadvantages. Such drugs are very toxic; when using them, there is a risk of harming both the plant and yourself. In addition, the chemicals will eliminate not only harmful strawberry mites, but also beneficial pollinating insects.

Among such agents for treatment against ticks, it is recommended to choose acaricides or insectoacaricides of systemic action.

The most popular of these chemicals are drugs such as:

• Aktara;
• Fitoverm;
• "Fufanon";
• "Switch";
• "Karbofos";
• Actellik;
• Akarin;
• "Omite";
• "Kemifos".

Please note that all of these drugs are highly toxic.... When using them, you must strictly follow the instructions, do not exceed the dosage of substances, be sure to follow safety precautions and use personal protective equipment - a respirator, mask and goggles, as well as rubber gloves.

This method is also good in the fight against parasitic insects. It involves the use of entomophages, that is, predatory insects that can eliminate all pests on strawberries.

The method refers to the number the most effective... In addition, it is absolutely safe for humans, strawberry bushes, and the environment in general. You can buy such helper insects in specialized stores, the only drawback is their rather high price.

Many summer residents, in the fight against strawberry mites, prefer precisely the means that are prepared according to folk recipes. Their main feature is that they are completely harmless to both humans and plants. In addition, they are available, you can cook them with your own hand from improvised means at home.

However, keep in mind that these funds are much less effective than biological and chemical ones. They will not be able to exterminate ticks in large numbers; they will be best used for preventive purposes or in combination with other methods of control.

• So, to prepare one of the solutions, you need 0.2 kilograms of onion skins and a bucket of water... All this must be mixed and left to infuse for 5 days in some warm place.After the time has elapsed, the solution must be filtered, after which the plants can be sprayed.
• Getting rid of the pest can also help garlic based solution... You will need 0.2 kilograms of the main component in crushed form and a bucket of water. All this must be left to infuse for 3 hours. Strain the mixture before use.
• Suitable for the fight against parasitic insects ammonia. You only need 30 milliliters of the product, which you need to fill with water, and then spill the plants with it.
• Marigold tincture Is another mixture that can help get rid of harmful strawberry mites. You will need 0.3 kilograms of the main component in a crushed form and a bucket of water. All this must be mixed and left for tincture for 3 days, then strain. Then you can water the plant with a solution, this should be done at intervals of 3 days.
• An alternative to marigolds can be calendula or dandelion... You can also take celandine, but in this case you only need 0.1 kilograms of the main component.
• Another option for a solution is tomato tops. You will need 1/3 of a bucket of the main ingredient and heated water. All this should stand for about 3 hours, after which the solution must be brought to a boil and boiled for 10-15 minutes. Next, the mixture should cool, strain it, add ½ a piece of grated soap and water to it so that the bucket is full. It is recommended to spray plants with this solution 2-3 times.

It is necessary to monitor the condition of strawberry bushes from the very early spring. If there are symptoms that indicate the appearance of a pest, the plant should be treated. Treatment can also be carried out as a preventive measure in order to prevent the appearance of parasites. This can be done with a drug like "Fitosporin" or folk remedies.

In the summer, treatment with chemicals, folk remedies is suitable. It will also not be superfluous to use biological methods.

After the final harvest, the plant also needs to be protected from pests. You can protect culture with the help of chemical and folk remedies. It is recommended to carry out processing in dry, rainy and calm weather or in the evening, so as not to harm the plantings. In this case, the processing must be carried out carefully, paying attention to each side of the leaf, stems and soil, since parasite larvae may remain there.

If it rains after the treatment, the treatment should be repeated.

Compliance with preventive measures will help to avoid the appearance of harmful insects or, if something happens, prevent their spread in the early stages.

• So, initially you need to use healthy seedlingsthat you are sure of.
• To grow a plant, you need to choose a good place, so that it is not unnecessarily shaded and damp. It is recommended to choose places that are away from old plants and nightshade crops.
• It is also necessary on a regular basis eliminate weeds, periodically loosen the soil and trim the strawberry tendrils.
• Old plant residues must be removed after the final harvest, since pest larvae may remain on them.
• Gardening tools should be periodically disinfect, since it is one of the main carriers of the pest and its larvae.
• When planting strawberries, it is recommended periodically alternate plots... Re-planting the plant on the site is allowed no earlier than after 4 years.
• In addition, for preventive purposes, you need to regularly to process plants with folk remedies.

In order for your strawberries to suffer less from tick attacks, it is recommended to choose varieties that are highly resistant to parasites. These varieties include:

• "Viola";
• "Kokinskaya Zarya";
• "Mommy";
• "Slavutich".

For information on how to deal with strawberry mites, see the video below.