[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Sorry for this repeated post, but I really think this needs to be added to the sticky for mites. If you read this on the other thread, this is identical with nothing added or changed:

I have changed my technique for mites and for neem oil. I am pretty much convinced, but time will tell, that neem oil is stressful for many orchids, and the problems that arise, mottled foliage, leaf death for some plants, may not be caused by the neem oil directly, but that the stressed condition of the plants leaves them vulnerable to fungi and bacterial. I have been treating all plants getting neem oil with a systemic fungicide (and bacteriocide for Phyton 27) immediately before I use neem oil, and for several times over the next few weeks, to protect the weakened plants. I no longer use neem on everything when I find spider mites. I use a jewelers loupe to inspect each plant, and only treat the plants with mites. With over 700 plants in my greenhouse, this may seem an impossible task, but I have just completely eliminated a very extensive infestation of spider mites this way. It turns out that spider mites don't like an awful lot of plants. Catts, Phal, and the Phal type Dens (and the tough leaved Australian Dens) seem to be unacceptable to spider mites, so after a while I stoped checking these. However, they love most other Dens, Cymbidiums, Sobralias, and a lot of odds and ends. Those that showed mites got a certain colored tag. So now I know to keep rechecking these, and anything else that seems to be having any kind of trouble. The real trick to this is to have a really good system of 'seeing' these mites, so you know for sure which plants really need work. I can't emphasize enough the need to be able to 'see' these bugs. Treating plants that are free of mites is unnecessary and tough on the plants. Phal/flat/red mites are larger than spider mites, and should be even easier to see, which is good, because the spidermites are sometimes only seen as easily as they are because they are very active, and their movement helps. Flat mites just sit there doing nothing but sucking on plant juices. I have yet to see how extensive the tastes are for flat mites and if they are found more uniformly on the plants, or are limited to the plants they like as spidermites are.

I have been buying jewelers loupes, the kind that lodge in your eye, from surplus shed. $1.25 each, and a flat $5 for shipping, so look over their catalog, everything is cheap. I keep misplacing the loupes, so I bought a half dozen. One for the GH, one for my outdoor potting bench, one for my window sill where I occasionally keep plants, one for my light garden I have started, and a couple to use when I misplace one of the others

NEW: My current recommendation for mites is "Bayer Advanced 3 in 1". Make sure it is the "3 in 1", as none of the others have a miticide in them. Spraying the entire collection with this product apears to be the best method. Repeat the spraying once to be sure you have eliminated all the mites.