SPIDERS

[MelaQuin]

Can anyone recommend a product that you can spray or dust on bonsai to kill the spiders in the foliage and taking advantage of hidey holes in training pot drain holes. I am sick of my benches being connected by spider webs. They can construct anywhere in the garden as long as it is not on my trees or in my pathways.

Product recommendation.... PLEASE

[Beano]

But they eat bad bugs

[Rory]

I have to admit, I wouldn't rush out to remove spiders. Often a house of spiders has no cockroaches. I leave a great big few fellas who put up their web each night and take out a stack of bugs, but the little spiders that nest in an occasional leaf often help the tree with their hungry habits. Of course, spider mite are bad, but actual spiders like the size of 5mm or bigger are generally good for bonsai. It is often a case of 'better the devil you know', rather than removing them and letting the nasties multiply.

[Phoenix238]

Yeah, I usually tell the kids not to squash spiders in the garden. I don't mind having a couple of daddy long legs in the bathroom either, much to my partners disgust lol. Anything else inside gets the boot though. If they're getting a bit out of control I'd probably flush them out with the hose and step on some of the bigger ones. Especially those big nasty looking black ones

[wattynine]

I don't necessarily go hunting the spiders out of my bonsai for reasons already mentioned here, you do probably want to get rid of nasty ones if they should begin to take over, for the sake of accidental bites as you clean or defoliate.
I do find that a systematic spraying of Pyrethrum keeps them and other bugs in check without unbalancing the natural eco.
Watty

[Wayne R]

There are spiders, and then there are SPIDERS. The former are cute little jumping dudes that seem very protective of "their tree" and chase off (eat?) any other bug looking for permanent residency. I'd recommend keeping these guys. The latter are a worry and should be seen off with any of the pyrethrum based products or a low orbit tactical nuclear weapon... which ever is more convenient. Yeah, I hate spiders!

[shibui]

There are spiders, and then there are SPIDERS. The former are cute little jumping dudes that seem very protective of "their tree" and chase off (eat?) any other bug looking for permanent residency. I'd recommend keeping these guys. The latter are a worry and should be seen off with any of the pyrethrum based products or a low orbit tactical nuclear weapon... which ever is more convenient.

I do find that a systematic spraying of Pyrethrum keeps them and other bugs in check without unbalancing the natural eco.

The trouble with pyrethrum or any other insecticide for that matter is that it will not distinguish between 'good' ones and 'THE OTHERS'. It will kill whatever insect it hits so I'm not sure how that could possibly keep some bugs in check without unbalancing the eco. Just because it is a plant based product does not mean it is harmless. Pyrethrum is a non selective insecticide. It will kill most insects and is quite toxic to fish. On the plus side it takes much higher doses to affect mammals and it breaks down relatively quickly in sunlight (so you may need to use it more often leading to more unintended loss of non target species?)

The other problem with pyrethrum (or the synthetic pyrethroids) is that it is a contact pesticide. You actually have to get enough onto the bug to kill it. Any that are hiding or that you miss with the spray will survive to keep causing problems.


As far as I know there is nothing that will target just spiders, let alone just 'bad' spiders so if Mela really wants to get rid of her webs she might as well go for broke and spray the benches with a residual or barrier spray that will kill anything that walks across it for several weeks (months? years?) - look for any outdoor barrier spray in the nursery section or supermarket or get the pest controller to spray the bonsai area next time they are in to do around the house. Certainly not my cup of tea. Like the others, I'd rather have the spiders than the toxic residual chemicals but the option is there for those who want it.

Spiders breed relatively slowly so the best non toxic solution would be to seek out individual spiders and squash them.

[treeman]

Permathrin (ant spider and cockroacch killer) for the benches etc. and soapy water for the trees.

[Phoenix238]

On a related note, the other problem with spraying broad-spectrum insecticide is that predator insects usually breed much slower than other insects, so it can really upset the balance in the long run ie. You end up with more bugs chewing on your plants.

That being said, I spray all around our house every 3 months with a barrier spray, and if you can spray some inside their hidey holes that should ruin their day

[MelaQuin]

No, don't want to kill the good bugs... I adore praying mantis. I'll keep water jetting them out of the leaves. Only problem is... several years ago I used 3 fingers of a double fist to squash a spider on a tree and ended on on two courses of a very strong anti-B as I could watch the blisters enlarging and creeping across my skin - literally. Very scary. White tail spider.... I'm very circumspect about hand killing spiders since then.

[Phoenix238]

Oh yeah, white tails are nasty business. I'm a fan of praying mantis too, keep trying to find a big one to keep but to no avail - yet

[shibui]

Oh yeah, white tails are nasty business

I believe it is not the spider that causes the problems but the bacteria on its mouth that causes any nasty problems and that can come from any spider bite and even bites of other insects.
Now, whenever someone has a bad reaction they blame white tail spider whether they have seen it or not.
I was bitten on the neck by a white tail spider one evening and apart from some localised pain around the site for an hour or so no adverse reaction and all gone the following day.

[Rory]

Yeah, I never noticed anything horribly wrong. My whole arm went numb and I just had a sore finger from where it bit me, but no other problems. I actually laughed at it, because I kept pretending to be a zombie to my son, saying my arm was not working. It was the weirdest feeling, like you'd slept on your arm the wrong way all night. It lasted about 16 hours and the next day I'd forgotten about it

[Guy]

apart from the bugs that are directly detrimental to the plant ,I try to keep as much of the' menagerie' alive as possible--including the brown snakes that occasionally wander through.