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Unknown pest on new leaves of different plants

daniel.myattdaniel.myatt Posts: 6
edited June 2018 in Problem solving
I'm trying to identify what I assume is a tiny pest that has been ruining my plants.

I first noticed the new leaves of my sunflowers were coming out deformed, with tiny brown dots on them. Over the past week the problem has started to affect the majority of my plants, new shoots on my Dahlias, Hydrangeas, Fuchsias, Rudbeckia, and a few of my shrubs (of which i can't remember the names) are deformed with brown dots on them.

I've sprayed the damaged plants in the hope that it solves the problem, but I'd quite like to know what the problem is, especially as it's covering such a wide variety of plants. I've attached a few photos, any ideas?





Posts

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    edited June 2018
    Might have been a good idea to have found out first what the problem was before killing every bee, hover fly ladybird and every other insect in your garden. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    It looks like spider mite damage.  They are very tiny and usually on the underside of leaves.  Put a piece of white paper underneath it and shake gently. If what looks like specks of pepper fall off, they are spider mites. The have to be sprayed with an oil such as diluted neem oil as they are resistant to most pesticides. Ladybird larvae will eat them.
  • daniel.myattdaniel.myatt Posts: 6
    fidgetbones said:
    It looks like spider mite damage.  They are very tiny and usually on the underside of leaves.  Put a piece of white paper underneath it and shake gently. If what looks like specks of pepper fall off, they are spider mites. The have to be sprayed with an oil such as diluted neem oil as they are resistant to most pesticides. Ladybird larvae will eat them.
    Thanks!
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Unfortunately ladybird larvae will not eat them.  They’ve all been sprayed.
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • daniel.myattdaniel.myatt Posts: 6
    The stuff I used is called Bug Free by Bayer, got it at homebase. It says it should work against spider mites... Here's hoping.

    Apparently it's organic and not harmful to bees. Turns out I'm not a bee and ladybird murderer afterall, Lyn.

    Thanks for the help fidgetbones.
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