Flaring Spider Mites In Cotton: Rating Your Chances

Entomologists frequently warn against using hard chemistry that might flare spider mites, an admonition we're hearing quite a bit this summer. With all the heat, spider mites are present on a wide basis and hitting treatment levels in portions of both the Delta and Southeast.

Phillip Roberts, Georgia Extension Entomologist, delved into spider mites in this week's Georgia Cotton Pest Management Newsletter. In his discussion, he touched on the subject of flaring and also included a chart that rates the potential flaring effects of various chemistries.

"Recently, 22 cotton entomologist representing 14 states across the cotton belt responded to a survey on insecticide performance in cotton," Roberts said, explaining the origin of the chart. "In addition to rating efficacy on of insecticides on individual pests, entomologists were asked to rate the risk of flaring spider mites."

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