Hello Joe, You have Erinose Mite. Sad news that it is in Hawaii. It will devastate all forms of Rosa Sinesis that are not looked after. By that I mean, street plantings and gardens with poor soil and not fed or pruned and therefore not actively growing. Good quality soils and regular food and water are said to keep it at bay.

It would have been brought in via infected wood or on clothing at some stage in the past and then blows around in the wind.

It can be a seasonal/yearly problem, but at times will be with you year round.

Treatment is to feed well with a food high in nitrogen, water well after the cooler weather has gone, then a few weeks later prune hard, ensuring all branches and leaves are removed and either burn the lot or dump at the tip, hoping they are covered up soon. Some say put all prunings in a plastic bag, tie up and leave in the sun for a few days, then bin for the tip.

If you want to ensure the plants are free of mites, a treatment of some chemical is recommended. We in Australia have no Miticide to treat Erinose, but I use a Lawn Grub poison with Endosulphan as active constituent. Spray once after pruning, then again a month later. Be vigilant, as the mite only comes to a bush the first time on a leaf or two, and if you get to the leaf before the mites set up camp, you can physically get rid of them. Once the bush has been hit, it will spread all over in a month or two, so get to it quickly.

The problem now is that your neighbours and others in the suburb will not be treating their mite problem, so mites will be blowing in often. We find the coastal south easters are worst, but for some reason, the mite does not go too far inland. Maybe "Hairy Nose" (our term for Erinose) likes the coastal humidity.

Therefore to stay on top of it, feed well, water/mulch, prune and be vigilant and you may not have to spray.

Good luck, Brian Kerr.