Spider mites on tomatos

I think I have spider mites on my tomatos. The leaves are curling on the edges, they are kind of mottled in color. There are little specks and webs on the inside of the curled up leaves. I have had this problem on some of my salvias and used soapy water. Is it OK to use soapy water on the tomato leaves. They are fuzzy and I know some fuzzy leaves don't like soap. Any suggestions?

If only a few leaves are affected, you can remove the curled leaves and toss them into the trash.

My first and last attempt at using soapy water (many, many moons ago) I ended up with dead plants! So be careful with it.

Too many leaves involved. We were out of town and my son was watering things for us. I had noticed a few curled leaves before we left, but assumed that I wasn't watering enough and we've had a lot of really ot weather. By the time i realized it was more than the heat, the insects were "fully involved". Any ideas? I've got a lot of tomatos on this bush and others.

The best thing I have found for spider mites which are a universal pest in Tx., is Neem oil. Removing the dead leaves won't help you need to kill the mites. I use Neem Oil it's the only thing I that have found that does the job . If you are already seeing webbing the infestation is pretty bad so it more take more frequent applications for a longer period of time. A word of caution don't apply it in the heat of the day or in direct sunshine. It is an oil and will cook your plants. I apply in the evening so it has all night to work. SM also love cucumbers and beans but will infest any plant if given the chance. They thrive in hot dry conditions.

Thanks, 1lisac, appreciate it. Did ya'll manage to get any rain awhile back? Either way, hope that you get some soon.

Yes, we got some rain but it came in with a bang. Tore the top off one of my tomatoes : (. You've been really hot up there haven't you! Please let us knowhow your SM saga goes this is going to be a bad year for them hot and dry.

Will do.

Spider Mites are a plague! Unless they build up to massive numbers the least toxic approach is to blast them off with a strong stream of water - hard to do with a hose or pump up sprayer. Help is on the way - a gardening friend of mine's brother has developed a mite blasting water wand, it should be in production soon. I'll post a notice with ordering details when it's released.
Some years back I had a similar wand, which I just loved, but it "disappeared" - strangely at the time my hubby was cleaning out the shed taking "junk" to the landfill...
Ms. Tommie

My only problem with the water blast method is the spread of disease. Last year I tried it I lost a bunch of plants to a fungal disease.

just buy a good miteaside and spry them down.

Miticides will kill spider mites, but some of them cannot be used on vegetables, only ornamentals - so please carefully read the labels. :) You don't want to poison yourselves!

Systemic miticides are for ornamentals
Non-systemic miticides are for vegetables

Although I have never used it, here's a non-systemic that will kill spider mites:

http://www.treatingyourself.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=36475

Last year the County Extension Agent told me any insecticide with Bifenthrin will work on mites. The products I have seen were approved for veggies but it's not organic. Just follow the instructions on how long after application you can harvest.

Thanks, guys!