Cyclamen mites

[Michael]

Any eficcient cure fot those pests?  They killed my african violets and weakened my other gesneriads in general... They also attack many other kinds of plants
I am afraid of growing Cyclamen, because they say it's the plant who is more prone of being attacked...

[Maggi Young]

Mike, there are biological controls, which, if you could source them, would probaly work well with high humidity in your conditions, or, to start with, why not try immersing infested plants (pot and all) into water heated to 43° C for 15 minutes -  kills cyclamen mites without harming most plants.
There are chemical remedies which are difficult to find and  highly toxic. It's a tough problem.

[Michael]

Thanks! I will try that one! And about those chemicals, what are they called? I have tried few kinds of insecticide with no luck.

[Maggi Young]

I think those miticides made with oil are best for cyclamen mites, but I do not know the names... Brand names in the UK would be different, anyway and I'm not sure of the chemical components. Try a "miticide" search on Google.

[Diane Clement]

Thanks! I will try that one! And about those chemicals, what are they called? I have tried few kinds of insecticide with no luck.

Normal insecticides will not work with mites, as mites are not insects.  Some of my Cyclamen purpurasens had an infestation last year which I thought was Cyclamen mite, but the experts at Wisley said that it was Bryobia mite which thrives in warm dry conditions (not usual in the UK, but last summer under glass created ideal conditions). 

I was advised to use any treatment containing Bifenthrin (in the UK, the aerosol version of Provado contains this, but not the trigger bottle or the concentrate version).   I am not sure whether this would be effective for cyclamen mite.  And it depends what chemicals you have available for you, Mike.  Take a look at the Cyclamen Society website   www.cyclamen.org   and go to the Pests and Diseases link for more information.   

[Thomas Huber]

May the ignoramus ask:
What the hell are MITES 

I've googled for it but found many different things - can you give a latin name, please?

[Gerdk]

Thomas,  mites are 'Milben'.
Gerd

[Thomas Huber]

Thanks for the help, Gerd! Are this "Spinnmilben"?

[Gerdk]

Thomas,
No, Cyclamenmites (Tarsonemus pallidus) are ' Weichhautmilben ' in German. Not all mites spin.
Gerd

[Hans J]

Thomas,
No, Cyclamenmites (Tarsonemus pallidus) are ' Weichhautmilben ' in German. Not all mites spin.
Gerd

Hi Gerd ,

Thank you for this information -I  never had mites on my Cyclamen so I dont know this animals .
After some search I can say ( for Germany ) the only good working praeparates are :
Kiron (  actice is Fenpyroimat )
Vertimec ( active is Abamectin )
The last one is in Germany not aviable for privat gardeners -but I dont know the situation in UK or Madeira
Imidacloprid ( thats the active of Provado ) works not for this animals.

I hope this helps a bit
Hans

[Michael]

I had never had a Cyclamen infected, but they love to attack african violets and the leaves start to curl and get very brittle. The older leaves are not affected, but the plant cannot continue growing and the flowers (if there are any) get deformed. But i will search for those chemicals on stores. I also have heard about Difocol...