Hi Marie,

Sorry to hear about your situation. I guess since you burnt the plant you probably will need to wipe down the leaves. Not sure if most of the damage isn't done already though. That is if you wipe down the rest of the leaves, will you save them.

The mites that remain, are they still moving? If they are give it some time. Also you will need to think about the eggs. The miticide will not kill eggs. The eggs will be hatching over the next several days to weeks from now. You will need to spray them (or drench them with a lot weaker solution) three times a week for four weeks to make sure that you get rid of all of the hatched ones before the hatchlings lay more eggs.

Good luck!

Larry

And all I want to know is.....you did take the plants outside before applying the pesticide, right?

Just asking. It was a commonly used miticide that sent me to the emergency room in an ambulance some years ago. I don't remember much of that trip, careening through the streets of Charleston, SC, since they were fighting to keep me alive the whole way.

It was two weeks before I got the feeling back in my fingers and my mouth stayed numb for many days. Could barely speak or eat. Some ten years after that incident, I continued to have abnormal liver function tests. It's still touch and go regarding the liver.

I've battled a myriad of physical issues that stem from that very simple exposure to a very small amount of diluted pesticide. It's been over 25 years.

By the way, I don't think that anyone hates ivy. We hate the mites that are absolutely inevitable when we try to grow them inside. You are bringing the mites in with new plants.

Good point rhizo! Always use pesticides outdoors and follow the label directions on the container! Use protective clothing as well. Like rubber gloves and a long sleeved shirt. Wash your cloths and shower afterwards. Don't let the stuff touch you and don't breath the stuff. I know it sounds drastic, but you never know if you are going to have a bad reaction to a pesticide like rhizo did until it happens.

With the thought in mind that a large part of a plant's ability to resist pests is linked directly to its vitality level, I think I'd follow this course:

I would use a pair of scissors to unceremoniously prune the ivy back to lengths equal to the outside dimensions of the container. IOW, run my scissors around the outside of the container, using it as a guide for where to snip. If the plants are root bound in any way, which includes being root bound in the original root ball, I would correct that condition and repot into a well-aerated, free-draining soil that you'll be able to water correctly for the winter without having to worry about the soil remaining soggy so long that root rot or suppressed root function rising up as a limiting factor. For now, I would site the plant outdoors in open shade to take advantage of better light and air movement, higher humidity (if you have air conditioning), and insects that make mites their prey; OR, I would use applications of pure, cold-pressed neem oil at 2 week intervals. If you start neem applications now, you should be rid of the infestation before it's necessary to bring the planting indoors. Then, every 2 weeks I would include a spritz of the plant's foliage with a neem oil/rubbing alcohol/insecticidal soap (very safe) solution, and I would continue to use that strategy prophylactically, simply because of the plants bent toward being a mite magnet.

Every time I used soap it worked right away. Never had to even think about buying anything to treat plants.