You will never be able to pinpoint the source of your spider mite problem....these pests are ubiquitous. Be sure to comment on the mite problem to someone at the nursery! May I ask what your 'typical remedies' have been? Maybe we can all put our heads together to help you manage the population. Spider mite numbers seem to explode when plants are over fertilized with nitrogen, are stressed by heat and insufficient water, or are growing in an inhospitable soil. The population will also dramatically increase after the use of such broad spectrum pesticides as Sevin, malathion, pyrethrins and others. This post was edited by rhizo_1 on Sat, Mar 30, 13 at 22:18

Initially I thought it was the roundup that my well intentioned friend sprayed along my fence line (same friend who raked through the pepper seeds I had just planted!), but after seeing the little red bugs and reading up on the damage they do to tomato plants, I kind of let him off the hook and settled on the aphids being to blame. I tried to enlarge the pics, but it wouldn't let me save it "big." They have antenae, which the spider mites don't have, so I guess they must be aphids. The twisty growth is terrible, the leaves are now tight little balls on most of my plants. I have had blossom end rot on one plant, so I applied lime, but that hasn't solved the aphid problem, nor has it done anything to prevent new growth from curling up. I have recently applied a soapy mixture of insecticide, but have not reapplied the sevin dust. I am now in the process of "pruning" the twisty leaves off, but the plants I've done this to look like little spindly green sticks in the dirt. What now?!!! Do I dig them up and throw them out or wait, pray, and hope for the best? Thank you sooo much!!!

The picture is far to blurry for me to even want to guess. But there are aphids with red bodies and black legs, as well as the nymphs of leaf-footed bugs and assassin bugs......both of which are red with black stockings. Wait! I think I spy a blurry clue! Does anybody see what I see? It leads me to think in terms of leaf-footed bugs. Karl, it is highly possible to have an assortment of critters on the same plant, too bad we can't see an improved image.

Personally I kind of thought the reason most sites say to discard the plant is their way of trying to contain/control the spread. Totally just my thoughts on it, but it makes sense to me if a person isn't going to stay on top of or treat the plant as necessary then the pest, will spread or worse if not treated properly like most pest become a super mutation that is not controlled through current methods. Anyway I probably shouldn't share my theories until I have facts, and all I know is animals. One more opinion these guys are not necessarily deemed beautiful by the average person, it is a beauty is in the eye of the beholder kinda plant! Only its owner could love it! Now that I have one I feel safe saying that ;) lol! I know you love your mesembs and I am guessing you don't truly want to dump him! I agree with the others give him a gangster name and enjoy please don't ever think that I am feeling knowledgeable I just enjoy conversations that don't involve Disney or toys ;) I crave conversations with others unrelated to Mickey or Frozen! Hope to see "Capone or Scarface" around a few months from now. Also hope my humor translates. Blessings