Shamae, How big are the bugs? I know you posted a photo, but without something whose size is known (like, for example a dime or a penny or something) placed beside them to provide context, it is hard for us to understand what size your pests are. Spider mites are roughly the size of the dot over the letter "i". They are very hard to see with the naked eye and hard to view in a photo, though once you're used to seeing them, you can flip over a leaf and look at the underside of it and see the tiny mites on the plants then. Sometimes, folks new to spider mites aren't sure if they are seeing spider mites and we tell them to hold a clean white sheet of paper underneath a plant leaf and thump it. Tiny insects the size of a period will fall onto the paper and begin moving, and if that happens, they likely have spider mites. It actually is easier to identify mites on plants by the damage they do than by seeing the mites themselves. If you can tell us more about your pests, perhaps we can help you with an ID. If, by chance, they are the same size as spider mites, I'd suspect chiggers, but the pests in your photo look larger....more like the size of aphids? Not that I'm saying they are aphids, but rather that's just the size they are. Are you here in OK? Was your compost wet or was it dry? The more info you share, the better we might be able to help you figure out what it is that you're seeing. Or at least what it isn't. Dawn

Julie, Spider mites overwinter wherever and however they can, but generally in garden debris or mulch, fallen leaves, or places like crevices in bark. Their reproduction seems to be temperature-related in terms of when it starts and when it accelerates. Once really hot temperatures arrive you can get a new generation every 5 days. Yesterday I sprayed my poor brugs with a pyrethrin spray, though I normally avoid pyrethins because of their toxicity to felines. I chased the cats away from the brugs and made them stay away from the brugs for the rest of the day. I looked at the foliage today and could see no change. I've never had spider mites this bad on any plant this early in the year. With the hollies, if you could post a photo of the leaves, maybe we could have you figure out what is wrong. For the most part, hollies are very pest resistant so I'd be inclined to think browning leaves you're seeing now are not related to last year's spider mites. In future years, if you have spider mites on your hollies, you can spray them with dormant oil during the dormant season to smother any pests that are overwintering or any eggs. You also can use one of the superfine summerweight oils (they're lighter than the traditional dormant oils so less likely to damage foliage) during the growing season. The one I'm familiar with is called SunSpray but I am sure there are other brands. Read the label carefully of any dormant oil, whether it is the regular one or the superfine summerweight one, before using because many plants that have blueish foliage can be permanently damaged by dormant oil and it will cause their foliage to be emerald green instead of its usual blue-green hue. Chandra, There is no simple remedy that takes care of spider mites. When I was a kid, my dad used difocol (Kelthane) or liquid Sevin and every time he sprayed, the mites seemed to disappear, but then a few days later he had more of them than ever. The more he sprayed, the more mites he had in the long run. It took me a very long time to understand why this occurred. It occurred because the miticide (Kelthane) also was killing off the good bugs (predatory mites) that helped keep the spider mites under control. The Sevin killed off other beneficial insects that were doing the same thing. He finally stopped spraying for spider mites in the 1990s and had less trouble with them after that than back in the years when he sprayed. So, if you choose to use a miticide, be aware it also will kill the beneficial mites. If you choose to use a broad-spectrum pesticide, understand it could kill your beneficials. Also, read any product label carefully. Most insecticides do not kill spider mites because they are not insects, they are arachnids. I bet there are some multi-purpose pesticides out there that contain both an insecticide and a miticide, but that's just a "guess". I bet it is a good guess though. For ornamental plants, there is a product called Avid that you could use on anything that's not edible, as long as the Avid label doesn't specifically list the plant and state not to use it on that plant. It is a pretty pricey solution. For edibles, I try to start with the least toxic and least invasive remedy for spider mites, and work my way up. So, I usually go in this order: 1. Try hosing them off the undersides of the plants with a sharp stream of water. Do it once every 3 days until you've done it three times. If they are still there, move on to the next step. There's some water wands like Bug Blaster made specifically for this because they make it easier to direct the spray of the water up underneath the bottom of the leaves. You might want to google this method and see if scientific backs up its efficacy to your satisfaction. In my experience, it is most effective very early in the season most years, but not after that. This year, I tried it and it hasn't done a thing for my plants. It might knock off the mites, but they are back by the next day. 2. Try spraying the foliage with the least toxic spray you have handy--neem oil or insecticidal soap. 3. If those two methods don't work and if your lady bugs are not controlling the spider mites, try spraying with a pyrethrin spray. I use one that contains pyrethrin and neem oil. They's also one that contains pyrethrin and canola oil. 4. Try a botanical insecticide. (See linked page below because it features some of them.) 5. Try a superfine summerweight oil. Test on one plant of any given veggie or flower, wait 48 hours and check for damage, and then use on rest of plants if you do not see damage. These can cause damage if used on plants that are drought-stressed or if used at high temperatures (above 90 degrees). You also can try a wettable sulphur powder, but only in cool temps and only after testing it once on a plant and waiting 48 hours to see if damage appears. Sulphur can cause foliar burns pretty easily, so I generally don't use it, but it is an option. 6. In addition to the above, try a repellent spray. I have better luck with Hot Pepper Wax than with Garlic Barrier when it comes to spider mites. 7. The final thing I would try (and I am almost to this point) before resorting to the use of a stronger synthetic chemical would be a Spinosad spray. I haven't tried this and have no idea if it would work on spider mites, but in general, I have found Spinosad works well on a wide variety of insects although I have no idea if it works on mites. 8. A great potential solution on paper is to buy and release predatory mites that prey upon the spider mites. I haven't tried this. There's also a beetle (I think it is a beetle) called Spider Mite Destroyers. Both can be purchased and released. I haven't checked any published research to see how effective they are or aren't, and they are both pretty expensive. Of course, if they work, it is worth the price to save your plants. 9. Kelthane or any other miticide would be the next step. Be sure to do your research. I don't think I would resort to Kelthane because I saw it fail my dad many times. Also, I tend to avoid synthetic chemicals. 10. As a last resort, strip off the worst of the affected leaves, bag them in a zip lock bag, zip it shut, put it in the household trash, and dispose of them this way. That would reduce the number your plant had to deal with. After removing the most heavily infested foliage, spray the remaining with the spray of your choice from the above list. My personal opinion is that an individual's success in fighting spider mites will be highly variable depending on how many spider mites infest the property around them. If you're in a rural area surrounded by pastures, meadows or woodlands full of them, it is doubtful you'll ever really get rid of them. I speak from experience. I honestly don't have much faith in anything you do to fight spider mites if you're surrounded by acreage infested heavily with them. They are so bad here that they even infest the blades of bermuda grass and Johnson grass during hot, dry summers. This spring, we had them on our otherwise gorgeous winter rye grass. It is crazy. Part of the problem is they can produce a new generation every 5 days, so you have to be just as persistent in fighting them as they are persistent in reproducing. I'm linking the page form Planet Natural's website that deals with spider mite control. At the bottom of the page, they should have a listing of all the products they sell that may help control spider mites. They have pages like this for many pests and I generally find their info very helpful. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Spider Mite Control Tips From Planet Natural

Hi Dawna, Thanks for the kind words. I just wanted to put together a little info sheet for everyone because the pests are so bad this year, and everyone has had a lot of questions. It sure has been raining a lot up your way. I hope all is well there. At least we aren't having to worry about wildfires or a hay shortage this year. Flooding, however, may be this summer's big issue. Dawn

_addendum_ I have done some specific research on these mites, mainly because one correspondent mentioned they do not like watering/humidity; however using the same increases likelihood of fungal or mildew problems ... plus some solutions are not helpful for people living in flats/units. Spider Mites die-off or go dormant in winter, when rains are heavy and day time temperatures dip under 10' celcius (centigrade)or night time 4' c. Unfortunately that means moving you/your plants to Jandakot airport or Albany. The garden gnomes might like the holiday, but otherwise it is not practical. For indoor plants, you might try putting them outside at night, if the forecast minimums are around 5'~6' and/or rain. That will slow/retard the infestation. Better still (great idea), either: i). Make a space in your refrigerator and place the plant/pot in there for an hour or two (general space, not the freezer). The spider mites will never know what hit them, because the temperature drop - followed by rise once removed - will be too great for their metabolisms to handle; or, ii). Put your plant/plants immediately in front of the air conditioning outlet, or an air conditioner (not evaporative types). The chill factor at the outlet is usually around the 3'~ 5' mark, even if set for a (BTU) room temp around 20'. As the air stream is more general, you'll need to keep the plant/plants there for four or five hours, part rotating them (cover all sides/undersides) every hour or so. Credit (inspiration) for both these ideas should go to Mike (Trees). In his response he mentioned 'jet sprayers' - usually used on orchards (look a bit like a Bofors gun), or non aerial emergency crop spraying in the wheat belt. Fun to play with, but generate about 130 db (plus) and cost mega bucks. You won't find them at Coates Hire (not suitable for urban use). The inspiration was his comment about the jet-sprayer (watering with) being very effective, in part because it got under the leaves. I thought about it and realized the venturi effect (they are not just pumps spraying water, rather more genuine 'jets' or water turbines ... thus the noise they make) would also be chilling the spray, so both wetting the mites and chilling them at the same time. That made me think air conditioners would do the same trick, albeit without the need for water ... then I realised your refrigerator was the perfect 'reverse incubator', providing you can fit the plant/pot in ... plus have a fast get-away car - in case the better half catches you doing it. As a former PM once said (paraphrased): "life wasn't meant to be easy - for spider mites..." Fighting them requires risks (like getting caught by your spouse) ... but remember you're fighting the good fight. Anyway - its technically very environmentally friendly* and an option for flat/unit dwellers, with fast (over night) success likelihood. [*: Domestic bliss environment,...