Thanks. Can I rid my apartment of the infestation of the mites if I get rid of the 2 pepper plants? They are my only indoor plants now, but I want to start a ton of vegetables and flowers indoors next month. It sounds like getting rid of the pepper plants is the best option? I really like how pretty one of them is, but I don't even like it's peppers. I would really like to ensure no spider mites for the new peppers even if it means getting rid of the old ones. What do I need to do to get rid of spider mites in my apartment? Is dusting and vacuuming enough if I get rid of the pepper plants? What can I do to avoid a spider mite infestation in the future? Last summer was my first attempt to grow anything from seed, so this is all a big learning experience for me. Thanks!

Not much except caterpillars bother brugs that are outside during the growing season. Spider mites and aphids are normally just an issue inside or in a greenhouse. You can try Neem or one of the insecticidal soaps. I control infestations on most plants with a strong blast of water from a hose. The only thing I treat with an insecticide are Broad mites. For those I use Forbid and/or Fluromite which are miticides and only effective against mites and white fly.

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

Both powdery mildew and spider mites are problems of hot, dry weather. So they are rarely major problems in the northeast. Last year, I'd believe it. This year, I am very, very dubious, particularly about the spider mites. The usual way they bring attention to themselves is by making a stippling pattern on rose leaves, not by leaving webs. The mites are small enough that their webs are tiny