RE: "Maybe a cure for mites!!!"

Over the past few years mites, whether they are spider, two spotted, broad or cyclamen mites, they have seemed to become as a plague for those of us growing brugmansia. And since that the broad/cyclamen type mites, (which I consider the worst of all) have infested my brugs, impatiens, peppers, begonias, etc., I have spent many hours doing research on how to deal with these pest.

There have been many discussions about the subject, and most of the time the conclusion is that products such as; Forbid, Avid and the newer products for mites are the best products to control the mites. Some people like myself, cannot afford the very high price for these products, therefore they are not in my arsenal of products to fight against the mites. As noted in many post about this subject, although these products are very effective against mites, the mites can and are quickly building a resistant to the products.

So, I have been trying to control my broad/cyclamen mite outbreak using organic methods and products. I use various types of horticultural oils to smother the mites and all stages of their growth. Using the oils can be effective, but you must be VERY thorough when spraying, making sure that every square inch of leaf surface is covered. A couple of negatives of using the oils are, you cannot use them when the temperature is 90 F or higher and the oil will sometimes damage the leaves. However, a very big plus for the oils is that NO insect has ever developed immunity to them. In a post about mites here at DG awhile back I mentioned that I planned on using predatory mites to help control the bad mites. This was my planned course of action until a read a post at another brug forum about mites.

This person tried a product that is sold for a different use other than controlling mites and has reported basically a 100% effectiveness of this product against the mites. The product, Anti-Stress 2000, also it is the same thing as Wilt-Proof. These are anti-transpirants to keep plants from drying out. Normally it is used for evergreens in the winter to keep them from drying out in the cold, dry winter winds.

I have permission from the author of this post to use his words at any website, so the word can be spread about this possible cure for mites. I have to bring my plants in for the winter in just a few short weeks, so I am not going to spray before then. But after I strip all the leaves off the plants, (they are going to fall off anyway) I plan to thoroughly spray all my plants that will be brought indoors for the winter. Hopefully this will take care of any mites that plan to have a warm, cozy place to live until next spring. On another note, these products will more than likely help out in the heat of summer and keep the brugs from drying out too bad and wilting. Below is the person's post at another brug forum, it includes links to places that carry these products should you not be able to find it locally.

I truly hope that this product works the way that is reported, it would be a God send to all of us. Hope this helps you'll in the battle against mites.

David





"Maybe a cure for mites !!!!!!

September 5 2007 at 3:35 AM
Just thought I would share what I have been researching.

Ok, worst care scenario an anti-transpirant and then rain for a month. The sun came out and everything bounced back. Now I have 8-10 plants blooming. I had been battling mites all year long. I saw where roses that were sprayed with it did not get mites. So the quest was on. I still have close to 75 out of 100 plants. They were constantly dropping leaves and had mites. I had tried everything.

Well we are 2 months and have not even seen 1 mite. The polymer film sprayed on the plant may have done what I was hoping for. It made a barrier that the tiny mites could not penetrate. It made my plants hold their leaves and did not harm them in any way.

http://www.wilt-pruf.com/

http://www.polymerag.com/

I used anti stress 2000, I am sure they are all good but the 2000 went a lot further and was in stock locally. I have used 1/2 quart and sprayed everything on my growing area from vegetables to brugs with no ill effects. I did spray a few plants with mites when I started using it. It stopped them in their tracks and had no further infestation to date. None of the commercial sprays from systemic to Neem oil has done even 1/10 as good. I am still going on the original sprays.

If mites got you down give it a try and let us know the results. Hopefully it will solve the problem of the number 1 enemy of brugs.

Jim"

Now, David that is just FACINATING! Thank you for sharing this...It is soooo interesting to me that this product, Wiltpruf, has come up TWICE this week in people telling me about new and different ways to use it to help us with our plants. Just 4 days ago, I was pointed to a thread on the web where someone dipped the top half of their rose cuttings in wiltpruf before potting in soiless mix to root. They were reportedly having phenomenal success as the wiltpruf supposedly suppresses the development of fungal disease (and apparently rot). I was also told to spray it on any leaves on my roses that had blackspot and it would STOP the disease in its tracks. I did this 4 days ago on a rose that had 7-8 leaves beginning to show symptoms..so far, so good, no further spread. I also used the above mentioned method to start 4 rose cuttings..can't report on that yet..but I will let you know. You could really be on to something here and NOTHING would delight me more than a more reasonably priced method for controlling those blasted mites!!! Now I gotta run and buy the biggest bottle I can find before the demand drives the price up to that of Forbid! LOL

Interesting, I have been spraying with seaweed extract about every 2 to 3 weeks and no mites. Should this treatment stop working I will try the wiltpruf method it makes sense it would work. I bought a bottle of this stuff a couple of years ago cant remember why now,I think maybe it was to help cuttings from drying out.

Wow, this sounds like a miracle cure for a lot of things! I am running out and buying it today!!!! Well I guess I am not... I just called and HD and lowes do not carry it. HMMM guess I will have to pay shipping and wait... LOL

Dave, thanks so much for the information. I have been fighting mites and broad mites all summer, as I normally do. I just placed an order for this product and will let everyone know if it works for me. I swear I live in the broad mite capital of the world so by the end of summer, I am willing to try anything, but like you I can't really afford to buy all those expensive miticides out there.

Hay I'll try just about anything under $50! I just placed an order we'll see how it goes. Thanks for posting this the info Dave!
Caren

I'm with Heavinscent, my order is placed.

I just ordered some also... talked to the owner.. they have sold the business and it is changing hands in 12 days. He said everything is supposed to stay the same though. They are in their 70's and are no longer wanting to run a full time business. They are the manufacturers of the product. They are officially unable to make any claims about its ability to kill any type of insects or other plant diseases but many do buy it for this purpose... "we don't charge extra for those added benefits"

Tammie

I am going to try wilt-proof but I wonder if you can also drench the soil and by how much. I have about 100 fragrant plants to bring in, and mites (spiders) are a big problem every year. I would appreciate any help. Also can you use it on any house plants? Thanks.

Barbara

Thanks for the information!
Is there any information on how it performs on Adeniums and succulents?

David,
I'm wondering if those 2 products are similar to Cloud Cover, which is an antiperspirant (sp?).
Thanks for the info!!

Now, I think I might see if I can buy stock in these companies, it they work on mites every one will buy it.


I will by the product too, Thanks David!

I ordered it today also. i am so excited I think I will spray everything with it! I wonder about chewing insects also as they are eating holes in everything! Except the leaves with mites LOL

TeresaInCal, yes these two products are like Cloud Cover. But from what I have been reading the better of all the products is the Anti-Stress 2000.

Learned something else about these products this evening too. They will help protect plants from low temperatures (frost/freezing) , giving them anywhere from 2 degrees or so for the Cloud Cover, up to 8 degrees for the Anti-Stress 2000.

If I can go back and find the picture of a plant that half was treated and the other half of the plant not treated I'll post a link. You would not believe the difference!!!

Ok, I found the web page. There are a lot of comparision photos, but scroll down to the one that says "Anti-Stress Proves Effective on Tropical Plants in Low Temperatures" and check out that picture.

http://www.polymerag.com/tests.htm

This message was edited Sep 12, 2007 11:49 PM

I saw that! This product is like a plant miracle in a bottle! I am so excited I can't wait till it comes! Also since it protects from wilting it protects flowers from wilting too! I am anxious to try it on the leaves of cuttings that are rooting.

I am going to call for the Anti-stress today...can one of you give me an idea of what they are charging for shipping the gallon size? Are they in California? I would be shipping it across the country so I just want to be prepared for what that might cost before I call them..

Diane

I don't know about the gallon. I ordered the quartand I am in Texas. Shipping was $6.95 I think

Gallon from Cal. to Ohio was $9.59 to ship.

okay...I just ordered 2 gallons of the concentrate...yeah, I know...I go whole hog when I try somethin..tee hee.. anyway..to ship the 2 gallons clear across the country was not bad at all....$17.05. That is very reasonable UPS shipping IMO. Can't wait to try this for mite control, frost protection, disease control (have terrible problems with mildew on my phlox and zinnias which I understand this helps prevent).

Thanks again, sooo much, David for the heads up.

diane

Did anyone have trouble with the 800 #? I cant seem to get anyone.

Which place are you calling?

was using # from polymeray.

It doesn't take long to get it. I called and placed my order and he said it would be shipped the same day. It came Monday.

Brugie, what # did you use?

I bought the anti stress 2000 since that is what Jim used before he wrote what he did about the products. He wrote me this summer, about at his wits end over the mite situation, and I was having the same problem. I'm glad he investigated this product. I haven't used it yet because it seemed that my bug blaster and three days of rain took care of the mites here, but I'm armed and ready for next summer.

If you use it in a GH will it bother the interior of a Rion GH?

I have no idea...I would contact the seller and ask, tho.

My bottle says to quickly remove from glass and other surfaces with warm water. I'm assuming as it drys it will leave a film??

I got mine, now just need a nice day so I can get started.

I've got "Cloud Cover", along the same lines that our local Gardening Guru on TV has recommended for helping prevent damage from frost. Maybe I'll try it early because we have mites year round. Sure would be cool if it worked for mites and I can forget about the Avid or Forbid .... and the joy of wearing the costume that goes along with spraying that stuff. LOL

I'd like to order some! Do you know if they ship to Canada???

Well, I don't know about the mites yet but I can say that Wilt Pruf is true to its name. My brugs always wilt down in the heat of the day wether in pots or in ground. I got the bottle 2 days ago I sprayed a few plants that wilt the worst. I can really tell the difference in the treated plants. Almost no wilting at all! When it heats up again today I will take some pics.

That is encouraging! I can't wait to see your pics! Did you spray it on the blooms also?
I am wondering about that as my blooms always wilt so fast. They only last in the open stage 1 day and sometimes they are wilted before they open

Teresa, I'm sure they ship to Canada, just proceed with an order I bet there's an option in there to choose your country. I have to admit, I was skeptical when I first started reading this thread, (most humans dont like change, you know) but I was discussing it with DiamondD and I'm going to have to try it. Still going to mix in worm castings, just as a back up for the mite issue, I know they work to ward of the buggers. We were wondering about the blooms too, but wondered if it would spot them. I'm dealing with white flies, right now. Had to get out the Safers Bioneem, cause H2O2 didn't even phase them. I really don't like using insecticides, it's my last resort. I should order the wilt proof or anti stress 2000. Am I understanding that it's pretty much the same product?

Well here's my pic. The wilted plant is CG all other plants (brugs) around it were treated. Some wilted worse than others before treatment but really almost no wilt on the treated plants. I didn't use it on the blooms but I will mix up some more in a day or so just to test it out.
It says to spray the plants in the sun light but I still waited till evening when the sun wasn't so harsh. I sprayed my Brugs and one Plumie with no damage or burning but some over spray did get on one of my Elephant Ear plants and gave it a pretty good burning on one of the leaves. I would defiantly test it on one leaf before you use it on a plant your not sure about.
Even if it doesn't keep the mites away I'm sold!
Thanks!
Caren

did you spray the CG too?

No, CG is the only untreated plant in the pic.

That is amazing! I can't want til mine gets here. Let us know about the blooms. I wonder why it hurt the elephant ear... Did you spray your caladiums?

has anyone besides me tried the seaweed. I know this isnt the proper post but it has sure worked for me. all the other so called mitecides only made them breed faster. Except I didnt try forbid or avid it is too expensive for my budget and I have went completely crazy organic. plus I believe wilt pruf etc etc are considered organic I may be wrong but it seems I had read this in the past I will check.

Teresa - BC, they do not ship Wilt-Proof to Canada, look on the front page at the bottom and you will see they only ship to the 48 mainland states. The makers of Anti-Stress 2000 does not note on their website if they ship outside of the US or not. I guess that you would have to call to find out.

This evening I had a lengthy conversation with the gentleman that developed the Anti-Stress 2000 product. He was a former college professor. He developed the product for large scale agricultural use; to not only help keep plants from becoming water stressed, but to also give the treated crops a significant degree of frost protection.

He told me that when they were in the development stage for this product that; they dipped the leaves of tender tropical houseplants into the product undiluted with no ill affects whatsoever.

In their research to determine if that the product would give plants frost protection, they sprayed apple trees in full bloom, I think he said this research was done in Washington State. It did give the blooms frost protection, and it did not damage the blooms in any way, and it did not interfere with pollination either. He told me the bees would not attempt to pollinate while the blooms were wet but after it dried they went back to pollinating the blooms. Not only do they use it on apples, but almonds, peaches, etc. with no damage to the blossoms.

So I would have to say that, if this product does not damage the blooms of fruit trees that are thin and delicate, that brug blooms should not see any bad effects. Especially since that they are thicker and have much more substance to them.

He also explained to me that the product would cause plants to have accelerated growth. In their studies, tomatoes and melons were market ready 7 - 10 days earlier because the plants were not under the "normal" stresses that they would experience in the field. On the (Tests) page of the website look at "England’s Fruit Growing Area Has Amazing Yields With Anti-Stress" about the tremendous increase in productivity when using this product on their orchards.

Last thing about our conversation this evening. I asked him about Wilt-Proof vs. his product Anti-Stress 2000. He told me that the Wilt-Proof product is quite different than the Anti-Stress 2000 that you have to be careful with the dilution rates. He said that Wilt-Proof could possibly damage the foliage, but that could just be "Sales Talk". However, he was very cordial and more than willing to answer any questions about his product.

I told him that I would keep him updated on how the product performed for me. I know that Caren used the Wilt-Proof with good results so far. So, if everyone does not mind to do so, please post their results here. That way we can have an easy reference to see how these products work for us, ESPECIALLY when it concerns our battle with the mites.

Oh yeah, shipping & handling on a gallon to my zip code (24868) was $10.49, not that bad in my opinion.