Re: [Aroid-l] Spider Mites

I'm from Canada, so I don't know about the product names in the USA.  There are few products that really do work with mites.  Insecticides don't work as they're not insects, they are separate....  I have not found anything to work in the natural cure realm... like soaps, oils...  I've grown orchids for years and two spotted spider mites are a real bane and can quickly destroy a collection.  You need a specific miticide.  Some you (in Canada at least) need a license to buy.  First on my list is AVID (very expensive, but most effective).  Next would be Pentac - slower, but also effective.  Last would be an old product called kelthane.  This is a nasty one and mites may have built up resistance.  I say nasty as it does not break down quickly in the environment.  The AVID may be expensive but a very little bit goes a very, very long way.  One litre would last several people with greenhouses a lifetime I would think.  Mites also reproduce quickly, so you have to have something that will have some residual effect and you have to repeat spray.  It's also good to do prophylactic sprays several times a year.  I hope this is helpful.
 
Allan

"D. Christopher Rogers" <crogers@ecoanalysts.com> wrote:
Howdy,
 
Anyone have a good method for dealing with spider mites? The keep popping up in my friend?fs greenhouse. They really seem to like Amorphophallus, Xanthosoma, Alocasia, and Colocasia, ignoring everything else. He has been using neem oil, but it seems to kill off leaves. He went to a weaker concentration, which knocks down the mites immediately and saves the leaves, but even after spraying twice a day for two weeks, they just pop right back up. They appear to be the two-spotted spider mite.
 
Thank you in advance,
Christopher
 
D. Christopher Rogers
Invertebrate Ecologist/Taxonomist
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