Two-spotted spider mite on cucumber
On cucurbits such as squash and melons, UC IPM says heavy infestations can lower yield and reduce fruit quality. Phytoseiulus spreads through a crop where leaves touch, reproduces best at 17–28 °C with humidity of 60–90%, and loses ground above about 29–30 °C in dry air, when it retreats down the canopy. Start at the first mites, concentrate on hot spots, and lightly mist the leaves just before release so the predators do not fall off (K-State).
At a glance
- Damage
- Pale stippling, bronzing, webbing under leaves
- Type
- Sap feeding
- Settings
- Under glass, Field, Garden, Indoors
- Threshold
- At the first mites found — no numeric threshold
- Release
- Phytoseiulus persimilis
- Rate
- 2–50 /m² per release, repeated once or twice at weekly intervals
How to confirm it
Confirm with a 10× hand lens on the leaf underside: oval yellowish-green mites with a dark blotch on each side, round translucent eggs, white cast skins and fine webbing. Tap a leaf over white paper and they walk off.
Identification, lifecycle, degree days and every control option are on the full Two-spotted spider mite profile. Not sure it is this pest? Answer four questions about the damage.
Work it out
How many do I need?
Carries Phytoseiulus persimilis and cucumber through so nothing is re-entered. Open the calculator →