AS works great for SM. Its the broad mites now that I am after. Leaf curl and stem die back. When it is sprayed the leaves start to go normal but will go back to a curl on new leaves. Grrrrrrrrrr. I get tired of spraying. If I do nothing I can track their progression across the yard. They also are wind riders. I am going to try some horticultural oils mixed in between AS and spray everything including the neighbors yard. That is where they are coming from. I am a miteaphobe and have 0 tolerance for them. "- No highly effective miticides appear to be available, with horticultural oil the primary material present. Some combination products with acephate contain fenbutatin-oxide and can be used on outdoor ornamentals. A bit of dicofol/Kelthane remains on shelves. However, overall there remains a paucity of effective materials to control mites" "- A new systemic insecticide, dinotefuran, was found for the first time in two products. This is only the second neonicotinoid insecticide sold in this market, following imidacloprid" Imidacloprid will wack everything else but mites and good. Neonicotinoid, we banned nicotine but now make synthetic. Go figure. It is very good even on mealy bugs,and white flies so I hear. Now we are down to Oils or coatings AS and the new family of mectins the mother of the current $300.00 a pint miticides. Now that is way too expensive for commercial ventures and farming. The item designed as a wormer is the current hope on the horizon. The mectin patent has expired and now is generic. The Avids and Forbids are patented. Be so very careful if you use them. They have the capability to wipe out entire colonies of bee's and such. It is not a contact killer. Anything that touches can transmit enough of a dosage to kill an entire colony by casual contact over time. My vote is with the mechanical barriers and small amounts of oil. The oils are supposed to work on the soft body insects like mealy bugs and white flies. I have never used oil but it is already purchased. Any of you with oil experience fill me in. I am going by pure research. I would like to try some oil with AS in our winter months to see if it will combined work on broad mites.

Are we talking browning on new growth or old growth? Now is the time for old growth to yellow and brown. Usually sooner than later for recent transplants. Did you really find "1"? I wouldn't think twice about protecting plants with any sprays of any sort unless I had a major infestation.

If you are a fruit fly mom and recently saw female parasite wasps nearby. http://sorendreier.com/what-can-we-learn-from-natures-self-medicators/ "Insects have been found to be prolific self-medicators, too. Take the arresting case of the fruit fly Drosophilia melanogaster, which uses alcohol to protect itself against parasitic wasps. The wasps lay their eggs in the fruit fly larvae; the developing wasp grubs will eventually eat the flies from the inside out and burst forth from their dead bodies. Larvae that consume high doses of alcohol from fermented fruits, however, are less likely to be infected��"and if they are, the invading wasp grubs die quite nastily with their internal organs being ejected out of their anus. Moreover, fruit fly mothers who see female parasite wasps nearby will give their young instant protection by laying their eggs in alcohol-soaked environments��"which means they see and remember their nemesis. âÂÂNot a bad defense,â says Hunter, adding that this demonstrates the idea that âÂÂthe cost weâÂÂre willing to pay for a medicine depends on the consequences of not using it.â While the alcohol isnâÂÂt necessarily good for the flies (though some species of Drosophilia melanogaster show a resistance to its ill effects), the flies will die if parasitized. âÂÂThe alcohol has worse effects on the parasites than it does on them. So itâÂÂs worth laying your eggs in a high-alcohol environment if it will save your offspring,â he says." Perhaps keeping the greens or grains not producing alcohol might keep down fruit fly populations.

Totoro: Thank you for that fantastic link. Read through that and I agree with the poster that CHEMICAL NITROGEN fertilizer DO ATTRACT PESTS such as spider mites. I only had one experience with spider-mites: that's when I bought a tiny own-root (Austin Eglantyne). It came in the mail WITH SPIDER MITES. I sprayed with water, that didn't help. WHAT I SHOULD HAD DONE WAS TO DUNK THE ENTIRE PLANT IN A BUCKET OF WATER to drown the spider mites, before planting. Eglantyne has a wimpy reputation as own-root so I tried to force it to grow with MG-SOLUBLE-Fertilizer, that WORSENED SPIDER MITES. What helped was to move it from a hot brick-border, into a cool & partial shade northern location. Then I wiped the stems with alcohol, and it recuperated. Owner of Rose Unlimited also recommended NOT planting roses near HOT BRICK border, the reflected heat attracts spider mites. Spider mites like it hot & dry. Except for that singular Eglantyne, I never see spider mites on other roses NOR marigolds (despite planting marigolds next to hot-brick-border) every year for over a decade. That spider-mite infested Eglantyne died after that winter. So I bought a second own-root Eglantyne, but I used blood-meal NPK 12-0-0, NO spider mites whatsoever. I also made the soil more alkaline & loamy for faster water-uptake. Info. from below link, which lists Dill and Chrysanthemums as effective against spider-mites. Yes, I do have a large patch of dill in my garden, and I plant Chrysanthemums in the fall. https://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/stories/12-plants-that-repel-unwanted-insects Other herbs Bay leaves: Repel flies. Chives: Repel carrot flies, Japanese beetle and aphids. Dill: Repels aphids, squash bugs, spider mites, cabbage loopers and tomato hornworms. Fennel: Repels aphids, slugs and snails. Lemon balm: Repels mosquitoes. Oregano: Repels many pests Parsley: Repels asparagus beetles. Thyme: Repels whiteflies, cabbage loopers, cabbage maggots, corn earworms, whiteflies, tomato hornworms and small whites. Alliums Plants in the Allium family, such as the dramatic Allium giganteum whose purple flower heads adorn stalks up to 6 feet tall, are regarded as a broad-spectrum natural insecticide. They repel numerous insects that plague vegetable gardens, including slugs, aphids, carrot flies and cabbage worms. They also will keep aphids off rose bushes. Alliums include small-growing herbs such as chives and garlic chives, leeks and shallots. Chrysanthemums Repel roaches, ants, Japanese beetles, ticks, silverfish, lice, fleas, bedbugs, spider mites, harlequin bugs and root-knot nematodes. The ingredient in chrysanthemums that makes them so effective as an insect-repelling companion plant is pyrethrum. Pyrethrum can be carcinogenic to humans and care should be taken in using them in this form. Marigolds Aphids, mosquitoes and even rabbits don't like the smell of marigolds. The scent from various types of marigolds repels aphids, mosquitoes and even rabbits. The roots of marigolds are well-known among farmers to repel nematodes, though those qualities require a year to take effect. Nasturtiums Nasturtiums release an airborne chemical that repels insects. Repel whiteflies, squash bugs, aphids, many beetles and cabbage loopers. Nasturtiums do not repel the all-important pollinator — the bumblebee. Petunias Repel aphids, tomato hornworms, asparagus beetles, leafhoppers and squash bugs. Some people think of petunias as nature’s pesticide. Other ornamental flowers Common lantanas: Repel mosquitoes. Four o’clocks: Attract but poison Japanese beetle. Geraniums: Repel leafhoppers. Narcissus: Repel moles.