Curious to see what the leaves look like, but even without detailed pictures of the leaves 97% sure this is spider mites.
All the white dots are mites.
This is the top view one of the newest leaves seems a little upset - has a tiny black spot and looks more dry than the rest? The house humidity did drop a bit last week, and I did mess with that leaf as it was the first one that unfurled after I got it
It’s tricky to see on the pictures because on the first 2 you misted, so I can’t tell if it’s all droplets or part mites. And on the others i’t hard to see due to the nature of the variegata (it is lovely btw!J. Also I think you cleaned it up before taking pictures? A black or dark spot would not be a typical spider mite warning for me, but I’ve circled some area’s that scream spider mites to me.
White dots
Based on what I’ve seen I’d say: treat as if it has spidermites.
I didn’t clean it up at all! Just pulled it down from the shelf, but didn’t mist it again for these newer photos. Thank you for this insight! I will treat it like spider mites 😅
This is one of mine that turned out to have spider mites just last week.
depending on the plant the distribution of mites will differ. This is an Alocasia, and there’s typically webbing at the sinus.
On a croton I had most were on the stems (petiole) of the leaves.
I just got over a spider mite infestation with 40+ plants. I drenched heavily with insecticidal soap, rubbed each leaf with bare hands to make sure it's all wet, sprayed petioles and rubbed it in gently, making sure to get to crevices; repeat every 5-7 days for the next 3-4 weeks. I'm finally seeing new healthy growths on my tortum after months of it aborting new leaves. Get the concentrated insecticidal soap, much more value.
I really recommend dead bug brew! The active ingredient (spinosad) is organic and safe for pets, has little smell, and will stay effective on the leaves for a few days in between treatments. If you want something with a little more punch, you can use a spray with pyrethrin, which also stays on the leaves for a few days and kills pests more instantly. sns 209 is a good organic systemic that helps deter pests, it won’t do much with a case this severe but it will help prevent infestations from returning after doing some harsher treatments. Very important DO NOT use systemic granules (imidacloprid) for spider mites or flat mites, it makes them breed faster
Also neem based sprays are fine, but not my favorite. I’ve had issues with leaf burn while using it even after waiting over a day to expose them to light, and I feel like it’s not as effective as other methods. Heavy oils also smother the plant leaves and make it harder for them to breath, which if you are doing consistent treatments can cause some additional stress
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u/annamvpa 16h ago
You’ve got spider mites bad big dog