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The Fuchsia Gall Mite (Aculops fuchsiae) is a microscopic sapsucking mite of Fuchsia plants grown outdoors and in greenhouses. This mite may have been imported into the U.K. from the U.S.A. by accident and is now an increasingly common and damaging pest of Fuchsia plants.
The mite is very difficult to identify without a microscope, so it is more the damage symptoms of your Fuchsias that will indicate its presence. Growth at the shoot tips of Fuchsias are often swollen and distorted and may look yellowish and reddish. Flowers may also become deformed and in some cases may even fail to develop. The Fuchsia Gall Mite is a sapsucker and it is the chemicals they secrete that will cause the galling, distortion and yellowing of your Fuchsias.
If you suspect you have Fuchsia Gall Mite on your Fuchsias, prune the ends of the plants to remove the mites. For very heavily infested plants it may be better to remove and destroy them to prevent the spread of infestation to your healthy plants. There are no garden insecticides that can be applied to treat Fuchsia Gall Mite.
There is, however, a biological control available with the predator Amblyseius andersoni supplied in our Fuchsia Gall Mite Killer bottles. This predatory mite can be applied to Fuchsias to feed on and consume the gall mite. Simply sprinkle the predators and carrier material over the Fuchsias, this will release a large amount of predators immediately over the plant to seek out the gall mites. Repeat treatment may be required to maintain predator numbers.
Amblyseius andersoni Sachets can also be hung onto infested Fuchsias, releasing the predatory mites more slowly but over a more sustained period for up to 4 weeks. This ensures a continual presence of the pest on the plants, acting as an insurance policy against new or small scale infestations.
