wildflower, I am sorry that I have not gotten to respond to your post before now, but I have been trying to figure out how to post a picture or least a link to a picture in my post. Anyway, what you have posted a picture of is: the classic signs of broad and/or cyclamen mite damage. You notice how even the very small leaves at the tip are a brownish color and the plant is no longer growing at that tip? That is what the broad/cyclamen mites will do to a brug that they have infested. I am going to attempt to post a picture of one of my brugs that is suffering from the broad/cyclamen mite damage. The tips of my brug look almost identical to yours. Everyone has given you excellent advise from treating with heat, the polymers and the horticultural oils. I have been using the ultra fine oils to try to keep these critters under control. But it is a war in which they always come back. I spray with the oils at a heavier than recommended rate, it knocks them back for awhile, but they always come back. Now, if you want to treat a cutting with oil to totally wipe them out you can. You just have to dip or spray the cutting with the oil at full strength. Since a cutting normally does not have any leaves on it you don't have to worry about the oil damaging the leaves. And with the oil undiluted it will kill the mites and all their stages of development. But this is not an option when trying to treat a full grown plant. There are products out there to treat these mites like Forbid, Avid, etc., but they are very expensive and the mites will and are developing a resistance to these products. That is why I am so excited about the polymer products that Jim has discovered will work on mites. I will be getting a gallon of Anti-Stress 2000 to spray on my brugs and all other plants that will be coming in the house for the winter. These mites are not the same as spider mites that make a webbing. They are a different family of mites, they are in the tarsonemidae or tarsonemid family. There are also some predatory mites that will help control the tarsonemid mites and spider mites too. Well, I am going to try to include or link to my picture. Here is a link that might be useful:

Well, that's absurd. Wonder if they'll ever find someone crazy enough to pay that price. Most (if not all) of the Master Preserver info is available via the NCHFP and various food safety/food preservation sources. It does take a bit more searching, but it's there. Washington Extension lists Asian pears at 4.5-4.8 pH, so at best they're right on the edge for safe preserving via water bath without added acidification. Obviously, acidification provides the safety margin. The thing I think is a concern is lots of canners out there might hear the word "pears" and it never occurs to them that this fruit falls into a somewhat different category. Carol

OMG, evelyn, thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I must have been to every page BUT that one :) I love them; who would've thought they were made from paper bags? Thank you so much again!

Had somewhat the same issue--consistent handles throughout the home and one of the handles broke. The manufacturer had gone out of business, so I couldn't replace the broken one. I figured out which part was broken by searching around the internet and was able to buy the part at a local hardware store that had an inhouse locksmith, and fixed it myself. It wasn't difficult. Removed a set screw, the lever, and four plate screws, removed plate, pulled out the broken bit, put in the new bit, replaced the plate, lever, screws, done. They are not overly complicated.