I hate red spider mites. They are the worst pest of indoor plants. I don’t know where they come from, and after I get rid of them I don’t know where they go. They are so small you can hardly see them, yet they can suck all the juice out of a houseplant and start to kill it before you even notice.
If a plant does get red spider mites, you have to get rid of them immediately. By the time you notice, it’s almost too late. The best method I’ve used is to spray the plant with water. Red spider mites hate water. When they get wet, they go to wherever red spider mites go when they’re not on your houseplants. It can be a wet job to rinse all the leaves on a plant, so I often take the plant with me into the shower. When the plants are big, it makes me feel like I’m showering in a rainforest, except the water is warm and I’m not standing in mud. And there are no bugs. Or monkeys.
If there was enough room in my tub, I would just maybe keep a big plant in there all the time. But no mud or bugs. Or monkeys.
There are so many things to respond to in this post!
First of all: I am impressed that you are able to get into a shower – willingly – with tiny, unseen bugs. *shudder*
Second: I can’t believe that you get into a shower with bugs that after they are wet – you don’t know where they have gone. *shudder*
Third: did you know that there are bugs in your shower?
Huh. I guess there are bugs in my shower. But at least there aren’t any spiders. Wait… I guess there are red spider mites, but they aren’t really spiders. They’re plant-sucking arachnids. And really, they’re so small, you can’t see them. Besides, the shower is by definition self-cleaning, right?
I was actually thinking, man, no monkies in Brad’s shower…bummer.
Shower Monkey, you’re the one,
You make bathtime lots of fun,
Shower Monkey, I’m awfully fond of you;
Woo woo be doo
Shower Monkey, joy of joys,
When I squeeze you, you make noise!
Shower Monkey, you’re my very best friend, it’s true!
Doo doo doo doo, doo doo
Every day when I
Make my way to the shower
I find a little fella who’s
Cute and brown-and a howler
show-a-dow-a-dower!
Shower Monkey, you’re so fine
And I’m lucky you’re illegally mine
Shower Monkey, I’m awfully fond of you.
Every day when I
Make my way to the shower
I find a little fella who’s
Cute and brown-and a howler
Shower Monkey, you’re so fine
And I’m lucky you’re illegally mine
Shower Monkey, I’d like to whoop -
Shower Monkey, I’d like a whole troope -
Shower Monkey, I’d like to whoop for you!
Doo doo, be doo
How zoned out were you, and for how long, as you composed those lyrics?
Dang it! This was stuck in my head all afternoon. Now I made the mistake of looking at it this morning again.
Lauren–my thoughts exactly!!! Except I never knew Brad had a yearning to be Tarzan (I had a “what no Jane in the shower comment”, but I’ll be good). Instead I’ll go with “George, George of the Jungle, strong as he can be …. awww–awwwoawwaww!)
Your tub porcelain is as clean as your sister’s toilet porcelain……AND, I had red spider mites this winter. They came in with my fresh cut Christmas tree! By the second week, I didn’t need to wrap garland around my tree, the spiders had whispy, billowing white webs wrapped around the tree.
My poinsetta plants aren’t doing so hot! I thought they were poisonous??!!! Apparently not to mites!
I think it wouldn’t be too fun to take a shower with a Christmas tree, but you could wash the Poinsettias pretty easily. The sap on broken leaves makes some people itch though, so on second thought maybe you don’t want to shower with them either.