Plants and pests go together like macaroni and cheese – if you have one, the other is bound to make an appearance. My friend presented me with a sickly-looking Lucky Bamboo leaf and I knew right away what it was. As long as I was helping her out, I thought I’d share this with you too. Here’s the scoop on Lucky Bamboo and spider mites – how to prevent them as well as how to treat them.
Lucky Bamboo care is very popular on our blog so I want to do a couple more posts on this fascinating plant. Yours might get spider mites at some point so it’s best to be prepared. My friend’s plant is badly infested and at this point, I’m not quite sure it’ll recover. It’s fairly common for houseplants to get an infestation, especially in the fall when the heat goes on. Oh, how spider mites love that dry heat – they seem to appear out of nowhere!
Some Of Our General Houseplant Guides For Your Reference:
- Beginner’s Guide To Repotting Plants
- 3 Ways To Successfully Fertilize Indoor Plants
- How to Clean Houseplants
- Winter Houseplant Care Guide
- Plant Humidity: How I Increase Humidity For Houseplants
- Buying Houseplants: 14 Tips For Indoor Gardening Newbies
- 11 Pet-Friendly Houseplants
How to Prevent Spider Mites from Infesting Lucky Bamboo
It’s super easy to prevent spider mites from feasting on & taking over your Lucky Bamboo.
How to Treat Spider Mites
Lay the Lucky Bamboo stalks (or arrangement) down in the sink. You can do this in the shower too.
Completely spray, using a bit of force but not a fire hose blast, the undersides of the leaves. Make sure you do this thoroughly because the spider mites & their eggs hang out here where it’s more protected. I spray the stalks too in case any are creeping downwards.
Spray the upper sides of the leaves making sure the nodes are sprayed out too.
Spider mites are teeny tiny & aren’t visible to the eye so I do this simple preventative treatment every month. Plus, the Lucky Bamboo seems to enjoy the monthly spa treatment!
Spider mites are hard to identify until the damage is already done because they’re so minuscule. These pests are difficult to see without a magnifying glass but can be red, greenish or light brown. If you think your plant is infested with them, just put a piece of light colored paper under the leaf and tap, tap, tap.
Giving my Lucky Bamboo a good spray down in the kitchen sink.
