When owning indoor or outdoor plants, you may find tiny spiders on the underside of the leaves or even webbing.
These are spider mites, and throughout the life span of your fiddle leaf fig, you may find that spider mites are attracted to your tropical plant.
Spider mites are fast-producing pests and can quickly take over your fig tree. It could even happen before you notice spider mites on your plants.
If you are worried that your fiddle leaf fig has spider mites or want to prevent them, there are a few things you can do.
If you are dealing with an infestation, you can still save your plant from spider mites.
However, spider mites can kill your fiddle leaf fig, so it is important to get rid of them before it is too late.
Signs of Spider Mites on A Fiddle Leaf Fig
There are a couple of signs your plant may show so you can react sooner to the issue.
You See White Webbing
Since spider mites are a species of spider, you will find spider webs on your plants if it has spider mites.
You will see the spider mites on the plant’s stems, trunks, and undersides of the leaves.
If you see any webbing on your fiddle leaf fig, you probably see spider mites.
There Are Red Or Brown Dots On The Leaves
The spider mites are red and brown and look like dirt or small dots on the fiddle leaf fig leaves.
If you see clusters of them, these are the spider mites that have decided to live on your fiddle leaf fig.
How to Treat Spider Mites on A Fiddle Leaf Fig
If you see webbing and small clusters of dots moving around on your fiddle leaf fig, you have an infestation on your hands.
While treating your fiddle leaf fig, it is important to keep it away from other plants and immediately throw away any fallen leaves to control the infestation.
To treat your fiddle leaf fig, you can take a few steps to regain control of the situation.
Wash Your Fiddle Leaf Fig
You can spray your fiddle leaf fig with a hose as if bathing it. This will help drown and get rid of any spider mites. However, you must do this regularly.
You can also use a damp cloth to wipe down your plant to get rid of all the red spots and webbing effectively.
You must do this outside, away from any other plants that you could potentially infect.
When you are done washing your fiddle leaf fig, it is important to wash your hands thoroughly, so you do not mistakenly spread the spider mites to another plant.
Place Your Fiddle Leaf Fig In A Humid Location
Your fiddle leaf fig mustn’t be too dry, as a dry environment is ideal for spider mites.
By using a humidifier, your fiddle leaf fig will not be able to support the life of spider mites.
If you do not have access to a humidifier, you can also spray your fiddle leaf fig with a mister to create humidity yourself.
You should also move your fiddle leaf fig to a different spot in your house, so it is not near any sort of draft.
While this won’t eliminate the infestation, it will aid you while removing them so the spider mites do not come back.
Spray With Insecticide
Insecticide spray will always work when getting rid of any sort of pests, including spider mites. However, you must use them regularly, as the product states.
Like any other bug, spider mites can build immunity to insecticidal sprays. Because of this, it is important to change the spray you use to avoid this.
How Can I Avoid Getting Spider Mites on My Fiddle Leaf Fig?
To prevent spider mites on your fiddle leaf fig, you can do a few things to maintain its health.
- Do not overwater or underwater fiddle leaf figs. Overwatering or underwatering encourages pests to infest your plant.
- Keep your plant tidy and groomed. Removing dead leaves is important, so they do not attract spider mites.
- Always inspect your fiddle leaf fig. Keeping a close eye on your plant will help prevent any infestation, as you can take care of the pests before it becomes a problem.
While the spider mites cannot kill your fiddle leaf fig, an infestation will eventually harm and kill your plant at first sight.
To avoid this, it is important to get rid of the infestation and continue preventing them promptly.
