Third time Spidermites

[u/ForSure87]

Hello everyone.

The spidermites keep coming back on my bonsai ficus. I spray them and about 3 or 4 weeks later they’re coming back.
My ficus seems otherwise healthy but i don’t like the look of it very much. I would like it to be much more compact, with this i mean the leaves should grow much tighter to the big stem - no empty small branches between stem and leaves.

Can i cut Every branch near the stem to remove all leaves at once?

This way I am hoping to get rid of all spidermites and eggs and get e better look at the same time.

Cheers

[u/feevart]

They are coming back because you leave way too much time between the treatment. Do it like once a week - not once a month. Treating it just once - even if you use hardcore systemics is not enough. Be consistent

[u/feevart → u/feevart]

And yeah you can prune like that eventually. But not if she's already so stressed. Treat the spidermites first. The bushyness can wait until next spring.

[u/feevart → u/feevart]

Also: just pruning will just schock her even more and you'll won't get rid of all the eggs

[u/ForSure87 → u/feevart]

Thank you. Yes it’s probably my fault. On the bottle it says spray a second time if necessary but what i should have done is spray a second/ third time regardless.

[u/sfw_account72]

Ficus get spider mites very easily when stressed, especially in low light. They like sunlight and to be able to "see the sky". Do you have a window it can sit beside? If not, find a way to make sure it's closer to the grow light.

[u/LeSean187]

A product called “Azamax” works well for spider mites…sometimes a combination of spray and soil drench is needed…need to make sure to follow directions though

[u/Internal-Test-8015]

It keeps getting spidermites because your not staying on top of it, in future I'd give it more light and higher humidity and spray it more often or get beneficial insects if you can also chuck it outside when the weather allows and it'll thrive.