where are all the mites?

Anyone having mite problems this year?I'm probably jinxing things but no mites so far.

I have wiped out a couple of platoons of them, but the others probably went for reinforcements.

kenanne

Bite your tongue Ted.. LOL

I'm betting, Ted, you're pretty much dripping there in Texas, aren't you? :)

This is the first year we have ever had spidermite problems with things. Did I say "ever?" It is usually so humid here, that if you talked about spidermites during the summer outside, people would look at you and ask what they are. This year, it has not been humid at all.

Even with watering and spraying my brugs religiously every single day, I still see them occasionally. Grrr!

yeah it is probably the rain keeping them away.

Ted,

Lucky you!!! So far I have no problems with spider mites, but the BANE of Brug growing, the broad/cyclamen type mites are a problem once again this year. Between my fatigue, time constraints and raining when I do have the time and feel up to spraying, it never seems to work out.

I have sprayed once this year and the broad mite population on the brugs are not as bad in the past, but they are on other plants that they like to feed on. Such as impatiens, bell peppers, sweet potato vine, etc.

Did a good search last night for predatory mites to control the broad/cyclamen type mites. I found a few sources for them, but they are kind of expensive. Here is a link to one of the sites that carry the pedatory mites. The species you need to control the broad/cyclamen mites are: N. californicus

I plan to incorporate these into my IPM program next year.

http://www.rinconvitova.com/predator%20mite%20bulletins.htm

"where are all the mites?" ~At my house :) Since its hot and dry here spider mites think it is a all year deli. I have had problems with them off and on since spring. Neem seems to work the best but they will be gone for about a month then come back. I even tried adding misters to increase humidity then ended up with fungal problems so had to quit that.

My first year with brugs., which was last year, was a nightmare because of mites. They were everywhere in the garden, and I believe the brugs. brought them in as I had never had a problem before. Only with the help of Forbid was I able to regain my garden but not before I lost 4 Dahlias. That loss got me busy looking for a solution, and when I learned about Forbid I quickly ordered it. Very expensive, for sure, but one application and the mites were gone for the remainder of the season. So far this summer I have only had to use Forbid once, which was early this spring, and they have not returned. :)

Tussee

So that's where mine come from, I am LOADED with them even after the oil spray guess becuse we need rain so bad

Doris, I think we Hoosiers need to make Ted take the spidermites back and give us some rain. :)

indiana, you are quite right, shame on him sending them ALL to us

Not to be fickle, but I think I've changed my mind about wanting some of the rain from Texas to get rid of the spidermites. I think I'd rather have the mites. This happened while I was at work yesterday. There was a storm with 70 mph winds and heavy rain. Poor Bradford Pear.... :(

This message was edited Jul 20, 2007 9:23 AM

Gosh, that's too bad. It's such a shame when it takes so many years to grow a tree, only to have it go down in seconds.
Iowa has many mites this year. I've been fighting them from the beginning of the season. We need rain badly here, not only to help with the mite population, but to keep our farmers and their crops going.

Oh, I know, this drought is horrible for the farmers all over, not to mention the fires.
There is always something to remind you that someone has it much worse than you, and to always count your blessings.

indiana that storm scared the begeezies out of me, I was just leaving Shelbyville to go home, had to stop with everyone else on the Interstate as we could not see, got almost to Greensburg and not one drop of rain.

Oh your mites are here. LOL Broad/cyclamen type mites are tearing the place up. My first year with these little beast. I took the leaves to the State lab to find out for sure and what will kill them. A hammer and blow torch come to mind. LOL They did recommend Avid and Forbid.

Betty

I do believe that all the mites in NC are in my back yard at the present! I am trying Neem right now. I am seriously considering the blow torch idea! LOL!!

It is surprising to me that some brugs are bothered so bad and the one next to it is beautiful. Guess which ones will make it through the winter.

Hammer and blow torch? Not so radical to me. I was ready to consider a small nuclear device I was so frustrated this past year. LOL I came to my senses (?) and used forbid. Next time I'll use Avid which I also have. Supposed to alternate so immunity won't build up. I've used neem when I catch it early, but I have a problem seeing them, so it's usually too late by the time I notice.

TED, TAKE A GOOD LOOK this is where your MITES are, just about all of mine are loaded

I have some at my house.... I wondered where they came from! I've had a little Alex Brug fighting with me against them most of the summer... Alex and a Colocasia coffee cups... I've sprayed with some kind of mite spray and peroxide/water/dishsoap combo all summer, but resorted to systematic last week.... Such frustration. I guess if those are the only 2 plants that are appetizing to them then great, there is so much more on the menu they could have chosen as well! I had a broadmite issue a year or two ago, I ended up trash bagging the plant, dirt and all. That was worse than spidermites in my opinion. It really made the plant ugly and I kept it far away from my other brugs.

I have gone totally organic this year no synthetic fertilizers I think they actually stress the plants somehow and I bought one of those 4 gallon rechargable sprayers an spray them at least every 2 weeks with seaweed,and horticulture molasses. I like to think that is what is keeping the mites away. But it is probably the monsoon rains we are having it has rained almost every day,

I hate em I didnt even know what a mite was untill last year when I started (collecting) brugs even all last winter in my greenhouse they kept flaring up I tried everything except forbid and avid as I didnt feel I could afford it. I started listening to an organic gardening radio show and they swore mites would only attack a stressed plant and that non organic fertilizers although would make a plant look healthy it actually caused plants to grow too fast and weakened th plant tissue that a mite feeds on. They claim the seaweed and molasses treatments act to toughen up the plant leaves so the mites cant find a vulnerable spot to suck on. I figured I had nothing to lose but spider mites at that point and it is working. my brugs are doing as well or better than ever without the chemicals so is my garden I dont have any intentions of ever going back to conventional gardening techniques. Unless the mites come back in full force of course.

Tell Us more about the Molasses and seaweed.
Funny that you mention that, I just remembered going to a favorite Garden center about a month ago when the mites first broke out. There was an old man (I have to watch how I say that, LOL He isn't a lot older than me. LOL) I am not sure what his background is but he has developed a lot of formulas for plant care that I have used over the years. I asked him about the forbid and Avid and said I really can't afford them.

He laughed and said to use one of his old formulas that uses sea weed and some other stuff (I'll look it up if anyone wants it.) He said to up root the plant, if it is in a pot, trash the old soil, strip any sick roots and soak the roots in his formula for several hours. Trim off any sickly leaves and trash them, then wash the plant with hot soapy water then spray with his formula. Follow up with a systemic spray that has a miteacide. He said that I would be amazed at the results. He laughed the entire time that he was telling me like it was just a joke and I thought my poor friend has inhaled to much seaweed over the years. Well I used the spray with the miteacide but not the rest of his advice. After reading that you have no mites yet. I think I'll try his idea tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.
Betty

I like organic. Never heard of horticulture molasses, what is it? Ooey gooey like molasses for gingersnaps? I want to try it. The seaweed is liquid, right?

Mites thrive in hot dry conditions. With my poor eyesight, I have never seen spider mites, only the damage they do. So by the time I know they are there, it's too late. I have misters on my sensitive babiez and it helps. I've found that when they decide to come to dinner there is no stopping them unless ya have the "big guns" Forbid or Avid. Yes, it was super expensive, but well worth it in the long run.
Last year I fought them with Neem and backed it up with 2 in 1, but it was a non stop battle all season.

Now to find something to keep caterpillars away BEFORE they make swiss cheese out of the new growth!

Can someone tell me how to do the water dunk method for broad mites? I read you are supposed to dunk the plant in 110 degree water for 10-15 minutes and it kills all the broad mites... Well I tried this once and what a mess lol!!! Is there a way to keep all the soil from going everywhere? And what about larger plants~ is it really necessary to dunk the pot, soil and the whole plant? I would be grateful if anyone could elaborate on this. TIA

This works pretty well for small plants and pots. You can just put a bag around the pot and tie it to the stem to keep the dirt from coming out. I don't know how I would do it if it were a big plant. Lots of spray, I guess. Dunking would require a bathtub and even that wouldn't get it all on some of my plants. Maybe you could remove the plant from the soil and then pour a bunch of boiling water over the soil and let it sit until cool. Soak the plant and then re-pot. That's just a maybe. The easiest thing to do would be to take cuttings in the fall, soak them in the hot water mentioned and then root them in sterile pots and soil. Living in Arizona, the broad mites may never leave. They can go from one plant to another in the wind or on you just from you brushing up against a plant with them. Could be a long fight.

horticulture molasses is a unrefined molasses almost the same as what we eat except it is not food grade and aparently contains many micronutrients as well as sugars for feeding beneficial bacteria yes the seaweed is liquid.

Thanks Ted.