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Re: spider mites

I have just posted advice concerning spider mites. Have you read it? I sent
it late last night. There is something that can be done so don't worry. I
have experienced this and could have lost 5 plants to them but saved them
all. My plants were so badly infested they leaves were all yeloow or spotted
and oa lot of them had fallen off. Normally I would ask you to e-mail me if
you have read my advice I had posted but since spider mites is an important
problem that only gets worse every hour, I'll repeat myself. I know how
frustrating these pests can be, I have tried many brands of insecticides,
don't go out and buy any. Lots of them are toxic if inhaled and are very
expensive and just aren't worth the bother. Step 1: put the plant in
quarantine area where it will stay for the next week or so.
Step 2: do the same with all plants that have been in contact with the
infested specimen, even if they don't show sign of spider mites yet
Step 3: Place all your quarantine plants far apart from each other for some
will respond to the treatment better then others and you do not want to keep
re-infesting saved plants
Step 4: take your plant out of it's pot and rince root ball carefully to
get  as much of the dirt out as possible
Step 5: wash the plant itself in running water to get rid of the webs and
some of the mites
Step 6: cover both your hands with dishsoap and cover the entire plant with
dishsoap (top and bottom of leaves and stems)
Step 7: let rest for a couple of minutes with the soap while you wash the
pot carefully removing all traces of dirt (clay pots should soak 24 hours in
water before re-use or just soak in boiling water for awhile)
Step 8: romove all traces of soap from plant and repot in new soil
Step 9: keep soil moist as spider mites love dry soil and observe your plant
during the next week
Step 10: if red spider mited still existe: repeat soap treatment but without
removing the plant from it's pot----IF red spider mites seem gone: redo
treatment anyways, just to be on safe side.
Step 11: keep plant another week in quarantine and under observation, if
alll seems good after second treatment return it to it's normal spot and
treat as usual----if plant still has mites you can repeat the treatment up
to 4 times at one week interval.

*NOTE: this worked after the first treatment for me but I did a second just
in case
              My plants were pretty far gone....I thought I would lose them
all but I didn't
              This treatment advice was given to me by a professional
florist whom I admire
               very much. He wanted me to bring my plants in for him to do
the treatment
              for free! Nice guy. I did it myself though. I know the
treatment can be long to do
              especially if the plant is big and has a lot of leaves but if
you've had this plant
              for a long time, you don't want to lose it to those annoying
little mites.

I wish you all the luck. Be patient and as I said before in my last spider
mite advice post, your plants will get a good bath and will benefit from it.
Mine did! The yellow and wilted leaves are pretty much lost but just cut 'em
off and new growths will appear soon enough.
Helga

Caron Ann Rifici wrote:

> Hi-
> I'm new to this group and wondered if any of you could help me. I have
> never, never had problems with spider mites before and have already lost
>
> a huge 10 year old palm.  It looks like my Elephant Ears is also  now
> infested
> despite being in a seperate room.  I have repeatedly sprayed (every few
> days)
> for weeks and repotted (sterile soil and clean pots), but no luck.
> I have been told that there is no way to get rid of spider mites once
> you have them-you can only struggle to keep them under control.
> Is this true? Any suggestions?  I really don't want to loose another
> plant.
> Thanks in advance
> Caron  8,000' on the Side of Pikes Peak Colorado
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