How to deal with strawberry mite on strawberries?

How sometimes you want to eat something from your own garden, because it seems that these products are grown with their own hands, the most delicious and contain more nutrients than any other. Growing strawberries is not an easy task, because in addition to careful care, you have to deal with various insects. Strawberry mite is one of these parasites.

Ticks are invisible to the human eye, so they are extremely dangerous. Own mistakes and lack of prevention can lead to the fact that the crop will die in this and in subsequent years. The resulting damage is manifested in the fact that the insect is parasitic on flower buds, thereby causing irreparable damage. Often the tick attacks three-year plants. The name “strawberry mite” is generalizing, in fact, this insect has several subspecies, which will be discussed below.

Parasites do not look very nice. The tick's head is covered with a hard shell of chitin, there are a lot of microvilli on the body, and a small rim is seen at the edges.

This class of “inhabitants” of your garden is not very different from the following two representatives. However, a few points are still worth considering. There is no web in the secret of the parasite, there are no spots on the back of the female representatives, the insect itself is several times smaller than the previous ones. Leads a passive lifestyle, because it is transferred to predominantly warmed and torn leaves, also, possibly, on clothes.

This subspecies is called so because of its physiological features. The fact is that after their attacks, the tick leaves the formation of spider webs. The peak of its malicious "program" is reached during such spring months as March and April. A favorable time for the reproduction of the strawberry parasite is a temperature of about 13 degrees Celsius.

This subgroup is activated around mid-March. When the warm sunshine is already beginning to warm the earth and the leaves of plants, insects more and more often begin to occur in moist soils. During temperatures reaching almost 15 degrees, mites parasitize strawberries, dehydrating its leaves. Thus, the leaves of your plant are deprived of all juices and die.

One of the main causes of plant damage is improper care. Lack of weeding, incorrect watering, thickened beds - all this becomes an excellent breeding ground for ticks. Many gardeners mistakenly overfeed strawberries, but a lot does not mean good. Beginners forget about the simplest prevention - they do not treat plants, they do not spray them with fungicides.

There are a number of changes in appearance:

• young foliage becomes wrinkled and wavy;
• bushes no longer grow in size;
• an incomprehensible veil appears on the reverse side of the sheet;
• drying of leaves prematurely;
• frost resistance of bushes decreases, freezing is possible;
• berries dry and crumble, not having time to ripen.

Fortunately, the progress of the 21st century provides us with various methods of waging a “war” with a potential adversary. If you suspect that your tubers are infected or the planting site is saturated with ticks, then you can use the most convenient way for you.

It should be noted a number of plants that can frighten unwanted guests, if they are on the garden. These flowers have certain properties that can repel ticks for a long time. They are very convenient to plant in the garden.

• Tansy ordinary. In appearance, this is a common roadside weed, but in reality it is the most effective protector against unwanted guests in your garden. This plant has found its place in the garden and dacha business. Clay soils are very favorable for it. Causes fear on ticks with its specific smell.

• Cat mint. Forty centimeters of this plant with its spreading stalks will be enough to get rid of ticks. Mint is able to decorate the garden from mid-summer to early autumn, scaring off insects with its smell. Unpretentious to the conditions of cultivation, will grow like weeds. But be careful, it attracts cats that can damage the crop.
• Lavender (narrow-leaved). It contains essential oil, which includes otsimen, camphor and other main opponents of the mite. The specific smell will help in the fight even with mosquitoes.
• Medicinal rosemary. It's all about the flavor. The pest just hates the smell. Medicinal bushes have healing properties and are able to scare away an unwanted guest. It grows better in the soil, but will not survive the winter, because it is afraid of low temperatures.
• Pyrethrum. It contains substances that can infect the nervous system of the tick. It blooms all summer, loves warm and fertile land.

These funds are considered the most effective, they are almost 100% free from parasites. Spraying will need to produce alternately, and different drugs, because the insect can easily adapt to the conditions of the lesion, and not respond to the tool. It is better to do spraying three times, every 7 days. Drugs such as Fitoverm and Akarin should be used in the amount of 20 ml per bucket of water. "Fufanon" and "Aktellik" are used in the dosage of 30 ml per 10 liters of water, and 15 ml per 10 liters of water.

Acaricides also help fight ticks. The composition of drugs of this type may include sulfur, chlorine, phosphorus. But they are not effective enough because they do not affect the laid eggs of the parasite. Be careful when using toxic chemicals! For example, the use of "Karbofos" is recommended only after picking berries, because due to the specific application of the solution on the back side of the leaf, the ingress of poison on the fruit becomes inevitable.

Folk remedies - a great alternative to harmful drugs, but they are not as effective.

• Tincture of onion peels. Apply this infusion three times - during the appearance of the first leaves, at the stage of bud formation, after the second harvest of berries. The recipe does not include anything convoluted. Two hundred grams of dry husk is added to water (10-14 liters), infused for 5 days. Then you can spray the plants.
• A decoction of tomatoes tops. To 1 kilogram of leaves, add water and let it brew for two hours. Then we boil the resulting infusion for about three hours, transfer it to another vessel, stirring it with water in the ratio 1: 2, it is also recommended to add 40 grams of laundry soap. When the mixture has cooled, it is treated with bushes.
• Garlic decoction. As a variety, you can use a decoction of garlic. Two hundred grams of garlic bred in a bucket of water, insist day. It is used at 0.5 liters per bush, and for best results, it is better to cover the strawberries with plastic wrap for several hours.

When flowering is a massive move, it is better to opt for biological means. These preparations are convenient because they can be used during ripening and harvesting.

One of the options for dealing with tick is heating the ground.If you decide to process this method, then you have to mow all the grass after harvesting. Then for a couple of days the earth must be left alone. After these manipulations, the garden needs to be treated with fire, and then pour water over the strawberries. Further care takes the standard form - it is feeding, weeding and preparation for the winter period.

Some forest berry lovers are not ready to endure all the insect care and scaring, so they prefer to plant those varieties that simply will not succumb to attacks. You should know that the sweeter the strawberries, the harder it is to resist insects. It's all about the high glucose content.

Of all the varieties can be distinguished partially resistant and completely resistant species.

• "Omsk Early" is partially sustainable.
• To the group of plants not fully susceptible to mites, such varieties as “Torpedo”, “Zarya”, “Vityaz”, “Zenga-Zengana” can be attributed.

There are many methods of prevention, which almost completely exclude the possible invasion of insects.

• Pay special attention to agricultural technology - pinch the antennae, loosen, remove weeds.
• Ensure proper watering. Strawberries are watered in several passes, otherwise the water turns into a film that evaporates, not having time to be absorbed into the ground.
• Do not plant bushes close - lack of circulation will be an invitation for fungus and insects.
• Prepare the ground before planting - burn it, remove old roots, add organic fertilizer.

Carefully read the rules for planting seedlings in the ground. Initially, young bushes need to be completely immersed in hot water for a quarter of an hour, then rinsed in room temperature water, and only then be immediately planted in the ground. It is necessary to do all this before August 15, so that good buds and strong roots will form before the winter. If you find a parasite, then immediately remove the already affected bushes.

Consider a few mistakes that novice gardeners can make.

• Not everyone who wants to engage in such a culture has large-scale lands in its use. Crop rotation rules are not taken into account, and this will definitely affect strawberries. The plant will be suitable for growth in the same place only after four years.
• If you used all methods to combat ticks, used the most expensive chemicals, you still should not be 100% sure of them. All drugs and chemicals have limitations and are unable to defeat the enemy once and for all.
• Processing in the spring - is not an indicator that the tick is defeated. Insects may well return if they do not comply with the rules of agricultural technology. Especially often they appear in places where there are a lot of weeds.

On how to deal with strawberry mite on strawberries, see the following video.