unknown pest or desease?

ninilie · September 14, 2013

First I found my potato plant covered in what looked like spider webs. I sprayed it with water but the next day the plant still died. Next I noticed it on a tomato plant, same thing looked like it was covered in spider webs. The fruit of the plant got spotted and the they never ripened and the plant died soon after. The fruit stayed small and became kind of hard. Now several of my tom plants have this web on them. Anyone ever had anything like this happen? I do not see any bugs on the plants at all. Also it has been super hot here like in the 100's for two or more weeks.

Heritage · September 18, 2013

ninilie,

It sounds like you have a bad infestation of spider mites. To identify the small insects you will need a hand lens to examine the underside of the leaves. The weather we have been having lately is ideal for spider mites. It is extremely difficult to get rid of spider mites when they have progressed to the the stage your plants are showing - it is best to learn to identify the stippling of leaves indicating an early infestation.

Here are some links to other threads at Tomatoville that discuss spider mites:
http://www.google.com/search?&q=site...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
(ignore the ads at the top of page)

Good luck!
Steve

ninilie · September 19, 2013

Steve,

Thank you for the great info. If it has not been the heat this year it has been something else. This is my first year for bug problems. I had aphids too but I got rid of them. I did not notice the spider webs until it was too late. I have not had a lot of time to spend looking at my plants as I would like. The good thing about gardening is that there is always next year.

September 14, 2013	#1
ninilie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 26	unknown pest or desease? First I found my potato plant covered in what looked like spider webs. I sprayed it with water but the next day the plant still died. Next I noticed it on a tomato plant, same thing looked like it was covered in spider webs. The fruit of the plant got spotted and the they never ripened and the plant died soon after. The fruit stayed small and became kind of hard. Now several of my tom plants have this web on them. Anyone ever had anything like this happen? I do not see any bugs on the plants at all. Also it has been super hot here like in the 100's for two or more weeks.

September 18, 2013	#2
Heritage Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: San Diego Posts: 1,255	ninilie, It sounds like you have a bad infestation of spider mites. To identify the small insects you will need a hand lens to examine the underside of the leaves. The weather we have been having lately is ideal for spider mites. It is extremely difficult to get rid of spider mites when they have progressed to the the stage your plants are showing - it is best to learn to identify the stippling of leaves indicating an early infestation. Here are some links to other threads at Tomatoville that discuss spider mites: http://www.google.com/search?&q=site...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8 (ignore the ads at the top of page) Good luck! Steve

September 19, 2013	#3
ninilie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 26	Steve, Thank you for the great info. If it has not been the heat this year it has been something else. This is my first year for bug problems. I had aphids too but I got rid of them. I did not notice the spider webs until it was too late. I have not had a lot of time to spend looking at my plants as I would like. The good thing about gardening is that there is always next year.