I have a small palm tree and a Devil's Ivy (Pothos) that have spider mites. I'd say that the palm is infested, with the spider mites persisting on the plant for the past two months despite regular misting with water, wipes with rubbing alcohol + water. As for the pothos, I've just noticed the spider mites recently. I've been reading a lot about controlling spider mites, and various sources suggest 1. spraying with water, 2. insecticides, or 3. horticultural oils. I understand that I need to both attack the adult mites (using a miticide) and the eggs (using an ovicide). I purchased horticultural oil, which I understand to be an ovicide. I'm not entirely sure, however, whether I need to use an insecticide or not. For one, spider mites aren't insects, and from what I've read an insecticide is not very effective on mites. Has anyone used an insecticide on spider mites with sucess? The other question is whether the horticultural oil will kill the adult spider mites, or will it just damage the eggs. And do spider mites lay eggs in the soil of the plant, or on the leaves? I haven't read anything about applying the oil directly to the soil of the plant, just the leaves. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
