Does any know how to make a soap spray to get rid of the spiders? I bought some but now and I am out. It did not seem to harm the papaya at all. After starting from a seed 5 yrs ago I have several papayas.
Spiders on Papaya
If it's spiders (not spider mites, those are a different story!) they are beneficial...they won't eat your plants but they will eat nasty bugs that might, so I'd leave them alone.
It is spider mites. The leaves curl up and die
If it's spider mites then I usually start by tipping the pot over and giving the undersides of the leaves a good hosing off. Once the plant is dry again, then I spray the undersides of the leaves with something that's labeled that it kills mites (sometimes if it's not a horrible infestation and if it's a plant with tough leaves, I'll just use the garden hose and repeat the hosing every day for a few days). For the sprays there are any number of choices...I have Safer soap and also Safer or Garden Safe brand with neem as the active, both of those are labeled that they kill mites. There are other brands and also there are non-organic options available too, the key thing is to check the label and make sure it says it kills mites since not everything does. You'll probably have to repeat the treatment a few times over the next couple weeks to make sure you got them all. Some people make their own dish soap solutions to kill aphids, but spider mites are tougher to kill and more damaging for the plant so I'd recommend buying a product that says on the label it'll kill them rather than trying to make your own.
Thanks I will get my husband to help me since my plants are atleast 10 ft tall.
You don't necessarily need to tip them over, I couldn't tell from the pic how tall the plant was. I find it easier to tip it over because it gives easy access to the undersides of the leaves (and probably one of the more common reasons people fail on their attempts to get rid of SM's is that they don't do a good enough job getting the underside of the leaves). But if you can stand underneath it and get the undersides that way it could work fine too. Although I guess you'll have to get a ladder or something for applying the spray!