I was out working in my garden on Tuesday, and noticed that usual brownish tinge coming from my 3 beautiful Alberta Spruce’s that I have. So I went over and did the loose leaf test and my suspicion was correct. I have spider mites!

So now I know you’re wondering. What is the loose leaf test? Go inside the house and steal a piece of loose leaf paper from your kid’s notebook. Take it outside to your shrub and while holding the page flat, brush the branches onto the paper. If you have mites, you will see them crawling around on the white paper. Spider mites although very small can do serious damage to your shrubs. They bite into the plant and basically suck the life right out of it. It is especially noticeable when temperatures are in the 60’s and 70’s to low 80’s.

Don’t lose sleep over this. You can correct it very easily. I used Bonide Systemic Insecticide. Spray this on them twice about 10 days apart and you will get rid of the spider mites very easily. Always do your spraying in the early morning or late afternoon. It is not good to spray any plant in the middle of the day when the sun is at its peak. This can sometimes burn your plants. Lady bugs are a natural predator of the spider mite and we have them as well. Also always read the label on the remedy you use so you know you are mixing it correctly. Even if it is organic!

When any plant has an insect or disease it becomes stressed out. After you fix the problem, feed your plants and make sure they are watered well. This will help nurse them back to health.

Any other questions feel free to email me your problems or stop down and see us personally. Always bring a nice size sample of the plant in question. We can not guess from descriptions you make.