Systemic miticide

[rcb]

Can anyone recommend a systemic miticide, that would be available to buy?

[Daethen]

No, but I sure would love to know, so I am tagging on.

[1joyceh]

I have had great luck with ...Azadirachtin, the brand I have used is azamax....I am trying the safer brand now...seems to be doing it's job...
I have heard excellent reports about using sm90 also...believe that is a coriander oil based product...
a place to start for you

[rcb]

Joyce, thanks, the Azamax is basically the same stuff as Neem oil. I'd really like to find a reasonably priced systemic.

I was hoping someone knew of one besides Avid.

[Brooke]

Renee here is the website for Rosemania and their miticide products.

Miticides

We've had success with Floramite - one treatment and the mites were eliminated. My fear is the mites will become immune to it because we will N E V E R use the entire amount.

I see a couple of newer insecticides available but be sure it also eliminates the eggs in one application so they don't hatch out again and require retreatment.

Brooke

[digitalgate]

Try carbofuran .. Very toxic beware .

[Bolero]

Wow by the time time I use systemic miticide, fungicide and insecticide I might have an early exit from plant earth.

I love the products but am starting to get worried about the long term use.

[Anton]

This is one I use that knocks their socks off.

There may be a product over your way with similar constituents. If you get it, I advise you to wear a mask so you don't inhale the fumes.

Generally I spray the whole inside of my GH, walls, floors, and potting mix with it and don't go in for a couple of days as the fumes will get what the spray doesn't.

I only use this sparingly as a last resort when every thing else has failed due to it's toxicity.

It will "sterilize" your growing area from nasties as it is a strong systemic killer. Once I use it, I have no mites, spiders, ants, fungus gnats, mosquitoes, slugs and snails or flies that sneak in when I open the door for quite a while.

I just shut the GH up, blinds and all for 2 days, then open it all up to let the residual odours out.

Don't know how far you want to go, but this is the ultimate product as far as I am concerned.

[Bolero]

Originally Posted by Anton

This is one I use that knocks their socks off.

There may be a product over your way with similar constituents. If you get it, I advise you to wear a mask so you don't inhale the fumes.

Generally I spray the whole inside of my GH, walls, floors, and potting mix with it and don't go in for a couple of days as the fumes will get what the spray doesn't.

I only use this sparingly as a last resort when every thing else has failed due to it's toxicity.

It will "sterilize" your growing area from nasties as it is a strong systemic killer. Once I use it, I have no mites, spiders, ants, fungus gnats, mosquitoes, slugs and snails or flies that sneak in when I open the door for quite a while.

I just shut the GH up, blinds and all for 2 days, then open it all up to let the residual odours out.

Don't know how far you want to go, but this is the ultimate product as far as I am concerned.

Agreed. But be careful when using of course. I have been using it as a first resort.

[rcb]

Thanks everyone.

I've always just managed the mites with neem, and it wasn't too bad cause they tended to stay on the Catasteums and thin leaved Dens. But they have moved to many of my Hoyas now too, and as neem only manages instead of eradicating, I've just got too many plants and not enough time so I'm thinking I need to step it up a bit.

Unfortunately my warm growers are inside now, at least they are not in the main living space, but on an enclosed porch, so I can seal it off.

We actually have a pretty good store here that sells to landscaping companies, but also sells directly to consumers, it's where I got the Turface from, so I'll run up there one day this week and see, but I wanted some recommendations before I go.

[Ray]

Just a couple of thoughts...

Do you really need a systemic? I don't like the idea of adding chemicals to my plants, and try to do so only when dealing with internal ailments, like bacterial or fungal rots in the rhizome. Most of the time, topical treatments, if applied properly, are sufficient.

I have heard that systemic insecticides and fungicides are less effective in orchids anyway. That is based upon the fact that the vascular fluids ("sap") are far more dilute than those of most terrestrial plants - on the order of 25% - maintained that way by the plant so that in times of drought, when the plant will lose water though normal transpiration processes any way, the concentration of solutes will not rise to dangerous levels. In other words, an evolutionary survival mechanism.

(Then again, I've heard others say the systemics are more effective, as there is more "room" for the chemicals in the sap.)

Renee, as your plants are indoors, you might want to consider something like SucraShield, as it is nontoxic, and quite effective on mites (and soft-bodied insects).

[digitalgate]

i did not get very good result with dimethoate. Mite is very much alive after spraying. Or may be it just that my spider mite is commando trained .

[rcb]

Ray, I understand your point, and funny enough I use no fungicides or bactericides at all. Never. Don't even have them here. If I get an issue that would need either of them, I use the old razor blade method.

I'm not liking that I may need a miticide (hazards and cost), but I've dealt with mites since I moved to NC in '04. Always managing them.

But now with the Hoyas, it is just overwhelming.

This past summer, I started rotating Sevin with the imidicloprid, and although it is an insecticide, I did see a reduction in mite population after using the Sevin. For whatever reason.

If I had a decent window, I would segregate the mite infested plants, and deal with them, but I don't.

Also, I want to add my enclosed porch, is segregated from the living space of the house. It doesn't even have a heating vent, so I can seal it off.

Also, I did spend almost 20 years in the chemical industry, polymers- but at least I do know how to read a MSDS, and as i have a parrot and children, I am aware of the issues.

See the problem here is that when you apply a topical, and reapply, and reapply, you can get rid of them, but just temporarily, a month or two later they are back. And since the warm growers are inside, and I will admit, way too close together, the mites are just running wild.

And the information that mites don't do well in high humidity is crap, my humidity on the porch these days runs from 70 - 80%, the mites really don't care.

I'll think on this a little more, but I will still run up the store and see what they have at least.

Digi- thanks, will keep that in mind.

[Cym Ladye]

With the exception of Ray's suggested post of the proposed solutions to this problem, the truly potent ones mostly appear to all be non-USA available. Locally in California, I have had success with the granular, slow release, Bayer 3 in 1 on Cymbidums. It will take a little while to see clean leaves as they develop, but the mites on the old leaves are dead. This also works for scale and mealy bug. I can only speak for Cyms but small 8" seedlings were not damaged.

Cym Ladye

[Ray]

Renee, I an surprised to hear about imidicloprid helping. As you said, it is not a miticide, and more-often-than-not I have heard that it actually exacerbates the problem by killing insects that are mite predators, so after its use, the mite problem just explodes.

I recommended SucraShield, as - in addition to the safety aspect of indoor use - it is effective on adults, pupae, larvae and eggs, while most other topical treatments are effective on adults only.

[plucker]

well mites are not necessary all the same. Some are stubbon to remove.

I tried rogor on the last batch I had and they ate it up and multiplied.
I tried everything else too, but had to settle for really hazardous miticide products and whammo they went.

Still dont like the toxic stuff but it worked. Um name was kelthane.

Just a tip, if it kills mites it will kill you so be precautious and cover up.

The other option is to use biological warfare by using predatory mites. They eat them up and breed up until they run out of food. Then they starve or leave. I have been eyeing off the lady beetles around the yard and have tried to bring them onto my chilli plants as a trial. - different mite there too.

[digitalgate]

Horticultural oil work most of the time . So I don't really recommend toxic stuff . Since u ask for systemic , the only thing work well is carbofuran .

[NievesOrchids]

Rcb

I will let you about my problem. I have been battling mites this whole year now on my hibiscus. These are delicate so I try to not use pesticides that are toxic. I live in an apt so it hard for me to get rid of them they way I normally do which is to just hose your plants down when you water them. This is the easiest thing to do and you will be mite free. You have to lay plants on their side and spray the underside of the leaves as well. 80% of my collection is at my bf's house. He uses a spray nozzle on them. They are 100% mite free while the ones in my apt suffer....

It really is a PITA. I am using dawn dish soap with water and it does kill them you just have to be persistent with it ( I would lay plants on side so the soap will not get to the roots not sure how orchids would take it ) When its time to water my plants I been using my shower head to blast the SOBs off. The problem I have is my hibiscus do not like wet wet soil. They like to dry out like some orchids so if I shower them too much they will get wilt disease and die. So I can not shower them every few days.


Also there are predatory mites you can buy and they should kill all the pest mites. ( another option I can not do atm )
I have avid but I am too scared to use it , I also bought this stuff called dr dooms knock out spray. I never use that either after reading the caution label lol. Today I am going to the grocery store to buy some habenaro peppers and chop them up along with garlic cloves. I will let the mixture sit in water for a day or so then put the solution in spray bottle . ( I have read that it works wonders) I will do some test patches on my plants first before spraying them all.

[NievesOrchids]

O Ps they also have predatory mites and they will kill the pest mites. You can order them online. I would buy some if I was in a house and my plants where outside.

[Daethen]

Nieves, let me know how your pepper solution works for you. I am still dealing with the little creeps and I have the peppers on hand to make this. Started growing them to make this to keep the rabbits away from outdoor plants and kept growing them for home made salsa.

[NievesOrchids]

Originally Posted by Daethen

Nieves, let me know how your pepper solution works for you. I am still dealing with the little creeps and I have the peppers on hand to make this. Started growing them to make this to keep the rabbits away from outdoor plants and kept growing them for home made salsa.

I will keep you updated

[NievesOrchids]

Daethen, I mixed 6 ghost chillies and about 6 garlic cloves in my blender. I then put them in 1 gallon of water ( I should have made it more concentrated) But ghost chillies are the hottest. I tasted the ghost chilli in one gallon of water and it stung my tongue.

I just sprayed one of my hibiscus to see how it will react. I have a bad infestation of fungus gnats. I researched all over to see how I can kill them. I found lots of info about diatomaceous earth to kill all kinds of insects. I just bought it and it should come in the mail next week. I will dust my hibiscus with it and add it to soil. Some have said it kills spider mites as well. Again we will see I guess lol. I will give these 2 remedies about 2 weeks. I should be able to tell if they are gone by them.

[Daethen]

Hey, thanks for the update. I am working with Bayer 3-n-1 and lots of spraying down the leaves to try and make it so they don't want to stay. I added spraying Physan 20 on occasion to my routine to try and stop any possible fungal or rot issues.

[plantloverlisa]

I have purchased fly predators from this company and they were great to deal with. They have a large selection of predatory mites also. Organic Gardening Supplies and Biological Pest Control Products from ARBICO

[berkeleysgr8]

Nieves, be super careful with that mixture... it sounds like homemade pepper spray! I am interested to see how well it works for you though. Good luck!

[Daethen]

It pretty much is homemade pepper spray. It works to keep rabbits from chewing on young bushes!