Red Spider Mites have been the nemesis of my tomato plants for over 20 years and for all those years I controlled them with Kelthane, until now... I have enough Kelthane for one more good spray but this year I opted to try other measures first. When the spider mites showed up at the end of May just as they usually do, I decided to try blasting them off with a spray from the garden hose. I'll admit that I was sceptical of the water blast treatment and my first attempt was rather wimpy as I was afraid of damaging my plants with too much force. I did notice some improvement though, but within a week or so they were making a strong comeback. I was this close to using the Kelthane or even concocting a homemade solution with Canola Oil and Dawn detergent with Zylene(an ingredient of Kelthane). I decided to try the water blast again. This time I blasted with a spray nozzle and used more pressure, blasting all of the underneath from several angles then coming back across the tops from above. This time showed more improvement and with new grow on top staying happy and green. I noticed that for the most part the heirloom plants didn't have near the problem with spider mites as the hybrids with the exception of my Black Cherry plants. Celebrity had the least problem of the hybrids with big problems on the Superfantastic's and Betterboy's. 4th of July's had some problem and they are planted next to the Black Cherry's which had the worst problem of all. I blasted 4 times so far with the last time about a month ago. On the final blast, I opened up the hose full force and blasted with Hurricane force so much so that there was some small damage to the plants from whipping about so violently. I have still had some sign of spider mites, but not infestations that will suck a plant dry and burn it up by the middle of July. I suspect the good mites that Dawn talks about are helping to keep the bad ones in check along with the Marigold plants I planted down one row when the mites first showed up in May. I expected the Marigold's to be a trap crop, but so far they have grown lush with no spider mites at all. Perhaps just the smell they give off is a deterrent to the spider mites. Most of all those years that I used Kelthane, one good drink when the mites showed up would control them all year with sometimes another application in July being necessary. Usually by September they would be showing up but not enough to be concerned with. Every year the old woman across the fence would plant her tomatoes not 30 feet from mine and every year they would be burnt up with mites by the middle of July. Next year I plan on planting the row of Marigold's much thicker at the same time I set out my tomato transplants and not be such a sissy about blasting with full force when the spider mites first show up. While I'm glad that I've found an organic method of treatment, I would still use Kelthane if it was still available. I do recommend the water blast treatment, it has to be started soon after mites show up. If you wait until you have a severe infestation, I doubt the blast treatment will have any effect at all and your plants will soon be deader than Bin Laden.... Keith

Hi Jeff! I really enjoyed your post... Most of us can understand what you are going through, so no worries. It just makes us feel better knowing we have others that truly understand the addiction and the many hoops we will go through for our trees. The fight with spider mites is a constant battle this time of year, so don't think you are the only one. I would agree with K... My choice for spider mites is also the Bayer 3 In 1 for mites. Just sprayed last night and will set off spray bombs in the greenhouse again in a few days. Merry Christmas to you and your family and to ALL of the family here on the Plumeria Forum!!! Take care, Laura

Harry...I recently tried spraying full strenght rubbing alcohol on some that are on my plumeria. They never batted an eye! I've tried nearly everything on the market, within reasonable costs, and home made crap as well. You also have to rotate the products you use or the pests will soon shrug it off. I thought mites were tough. I don't believe there is any pest more tough and adaptable than thrips. It's a battle that will go on forever. Even the big money pesticides($200+)/pint have no guarantees of cleaning them out. If a plant is not too large and you have the time and the patience...get a bucket of soapy water and a wash cloth and start cleaning the leaves by hand...even branches. I've done this more times than I care to remember and it is the only way I've found to get rid of a particular outbreak. It's only a break in their cycle though. Most of these pests go thru several cycles and can be found in your soil, mulch, gravel/dirt on the floor, and on the plant itself. Not all methods work on all cycles. It's brutal and they have the upper hand. Systemics don't even always work and growing fruit trees, you need to be careful what you use and when...and there's still a doubt whether it is safe or not, a few claim they are...or whether it will kill the mites. I used a good systemic on the plumeria and it didn't slow them down a bit. Where do you draw the line in the sand? I had them on my bananas in the greenhouse one year. I purchased Cali predator mites and they pretty much irradicated the mites on the nanas. There was no evidence of them on the plumeria all this summer. Why now? How now? Beats the he!! out of me. Humidity? Forget it. You've all heard how high I keep my humidity in the greenhouse. No affect at all on mites. The only thing neem has done for me is to make every object and surface around the plant a sticky mess. Hort oils were not much better. So what to do? Try everything and rotate them. Make sure whatever you use can penetrate their little webbing. Blast your plants with the hose before bringing them indoors. Try beneficial nematodes. Forget ladybugs and green lacewing larvae...waste of time and money. The predator mites may benefit but you have to look at their environmental requirements. You could look into one of the more nasty fogger type pesticides. Pop that off and shut up your garage and turn off all fans. Your garage is not attached to the house so you don't have to worry about anything making it inside. You need to make a stand before the population gets out of control and spreads to other plants. Try to keep plants from touching in the mean time...hard to do I know. Sorry to have rambled on guys but this has become a personal war for me...and I can't stand losing. I will never win this war...I just need to keep at the rebels long enough to wear them down some.

Unless you can find directions for applying as a drench somewhere on that label, you can't use it in that manner. This formulation contains three very agressive active ingredients....you should look up each one to see how they work. It's different than other imidacloprid formulations. The primary issue with this product is that you are clearly and specifically warned against using it when your plant is flowering. Not just when bees are foraging but when your plants are flowering! The label cautionary statements also clearly warn about avoiding run-off and any contact with surface waters. I used to teach landscape and horticultural professionals to properly use pesticides. The first step is to carefully read the label to evaluate whether or not the product is suitable for the required use. This chemical doesn't pass, does it? It's not our job to try to find ways to go off label and then justify it but to use good, common sense and information gathering to come up with safe, effective, and appropriate methods of control.