Treating Pests: Spider Mites

Pests are a natural part of Gardyning. Despite your best prevention efforts, pests can happen, but it’s okay! If you or Kelby have identified spider mites on your Gardyn, keep reading for our recommended treatment plans based on your infestation level.

Not sure what infestation level you have? Compare what you see to the table here.

Not sure you have spider mites? Review our pest identification guide here, or take our pest ID quiz!

• Harvest as much as you can to increase airflow and give the pests fewer hiding spots.

• Rinse your plants off in the sink or outside with a high-pressure hose to knock the pests off your plants. Watch the video below to learn how!

• Conduct a Castile Soap Dunk every 4-5 days for a total of at least 4 dunks to disrupt the pests’ life cycle at every stage on every plant.

• Consider trying your hand at using beneficial insects to help beat your pests using nature!

• Remove any of the plants on this list that are known to attract pests more than other varieties. This will save you time and effort as you begin treatment. 

• Trim away leaves with heavy pest populations, or heavy signs of their damage, to immediately reduce the pest population, increase air flow, and provide fewer hiding spots for pests.

• Rinse your plants off in the sink or outside with a high-pressure hose to knock the pests off your plants. Watch the video below to learn how!

• Conduct a Castile Soap Dunk every 4-5 days for a total of at least 6 dunks to disrupt the pests’ life cycle at every stage on every plant.

• Consider trying your hand at using beneficial insects to help beat your pests using nature!

• Move any yCubes germinating nearby (such as in a Nursery on your Gardyn’s lid) and treat them as if they have pests, then continue germinating them away from your Gardyn to avoid cross-contamination while you’re still fighting pests.

• Always harvest and trim plants before rinsing or dunking them to make the tasks easier and provide fewer hiding spots for the pest.

• Trimming/harvesting, rinsing in the sink, and doing a Castile soap dunk is the most effective treatment combination with the best chance of successfully ending your infestation.

• If you are deciding between rinsing or doing the Castile soap dunk, choose the Castile soak dunk (but remember that the combination is even better!).

• If you don’t immediately have Castile soap on hand, start with the sink spray (after trimming and harvesting).

• If you ordered beneficial insects and are waiting for them to arrive, start with the sink spray and soap dunk (after trimming and harvesting) until your beneficials arrive. Once your sachets arrive and you hang them, do not rinse, dunk, or apply any additional sprays to protect the beneficials and let them do their job.

• Review and begin/continue implementing our prevention methods to help lower your risk of an increased pest infestation and avoid introducing new pests while fighting the existing infestation.

• Remove any of the plants on this list that are known to attract pests more than other varieties. This will save you time and effort as you begin treatment. 

• Dispose of the most infested plants. Depending on where you live, transplanting infested plants outside can be a great way to remove the plants from your Gardyn while also letting the outdoor ecosystem naturally fight the pests. If you take this route, do not bring these plants back inside, even if the infestation appears to resolve.

• On remaining plants, trim away leaves with heavy pest populations, or heavy signs of their damage, to immediately reduce the pest population, increase air flow, and provide fewer hiding spots for pests.

• Complete a Castile soap dunk every 4-5 days for a total of at least 4 dunks (this will take a little over 2 weeks) to disrupt the life cycle of pests on every plant.

• Move any yCubes germinating nearby (such as in a Nursery on your Gardyn’s lid) and treat them as if they have pests, then continue germinating them away from your Gardyn to avoid cross-contamination while you’re still fighting pests.

• Always harvest and trim plants before dunking them to make the task easier and provide fewer hiding spots for the pest.

• If you don’t immediately have Castile soap on hand, start with a sink spray (after trimming and harvesting). Watch the video below to learn how!

• Review and begin/continue implementing our prevention methods to help lower your risk of an increased pest infestation and avoid introducing new pests while fighting the existing infestation.

• Dispose of all your plants and immediately conduct a light cleaning on your Gardyn.

• After cleaning (not before!) let your Gardyn sit empty for 3-4 weeks to ensure the life cycle of any pest has reached completion and the pest has expired. 

• To minimize your wait time, you can start new seedlings in another location (such as in a clean and sanitized Nursery, but not on your Gardyn while it’s sitting empty) 2 weeks before you plan to get your Gardyn running again. Otherwise, you can germinate directly on your Gardyn following the clean and break.

• Restart your Gardyn and implement early prevention methods, including choosing pest-resistant plants if you like!

While starting fresh after pests may feel like a hurdle, we encourage you to see it as an opportunity. Now is the time you can totally redesign your Gardyn exactly as you like it!

Try something new from our always-expanding plant portfolio, or pick a theme and run with it. Starting fresh is the perfect time to germinate stored yCubes or shop for new ones with your credits. Then, enjoy getting to re-experience your whole Gardyn growing up and flourishing at once. 

Questions? Reach us at support@mygardyn.com, or chat with us! We're here to help.