I have never used Wilt-Pruf, but here are two thoughts:

1) Spider mites thrive in dry conditions. Make sure to water the plant well. If you can also spray the leaves with water once a day, and keep the surrounding area moist, it should help.

2) I have noticed that the use of "chemical" fertilizers like Miracle-Gro for some reason encourages spider mite infestation. If you are using any of that stuff, discontinue it and go with an organic fertilizer or just compost.

thanks.
i only use rosetone this year. i am spraying them every day
and they seem to be getting better. but since the mites
like to suck the leaves, i wasn't sure if wilt-pruf would
make it a bit harder for them.

alida

What WP would do is smother and entangle them & perhaps keep the eggs from hatching, similar to an oil spray.

Nothing scientific about this but one of our posters noticed she has not had any return of RRD to her garden post the incorporation of wilt pruf into her spray program; thus, I followed the lead and have not had any to this point since my big "crop" of it 2-3 years ago. We have never been drier in our area than we are now and I am not having spider mites nearly as bad as I did in the past, but I have not sprayed anything but water and wilt pruf. We have the driest year in our area since the 19th century and yet not as many spider mites as in past years.

I also have been following the lead, and do not have that much trouble with spider mites. However I really haven't had as much trouble as some people since I watch my use of insecticides.

You say you spray every day. Is it with water?

Sammy

Sammy, yes with water, just trying to blast the buggers
off!
Thanks everyone, patricia, yes i remembered about the lady
who used wiltpruf and it did deter the mites that spread
RRD.
alida

How many roses have spider mites?
A few years ago I called Chamblees to ask what they do, and I spoke with Nay.She said to spray the tops and bottoms of every single leaf on the affected rose, and to do it three days in a row, then to use an insecticide that would work. I think I used Kelthane.

The three days you get them off, and you remove the eggs or whatever. After that you spray them once. I only had it on one or two roses, but I held up each section of the canes, and sprayed the bottom parts of the leaves. It worked.

Now I have been using Wilt Pruf for a long time, and have not noticed any spider mites. Right now we have had so much rain, that they may not be out until it is dry.

When I use the Wilt Pruf, I put 3/4 cup in a 3 gallon sprayer.

I hope this helps.

Sammy

Yes Sammy,
that was very helpful!

Thanks
alida

Reviving this thread again...with more questions.

Because of the draught, my area remains on severe watering restrictions. I am prohibited from using water to spray the leaves water often enough to keep the mites under control. Even though it is raining now, the water restrictions are still in effect, so it doesn't look as if I will be allowed to blast the little beasties off anytime soon. (I used to get great pleasure doing that too.) The most organic and natural method of control is now off-limits. Hmm...

So I tried other ideas. I used Wilt-Pruf (too late into the dry spell) and will continue using it, I think, but I'll start earlier. Question: Has anybody used predatory mites? Do they really work? Or should I just give up and use a miticide? Or both? Any suggestions?

Barb,

Per one of the nurseries I order from, they did end up
getting predatory mites to fight the spider mites.

They are seeing good results, and they got the mites
from Biocontrol Network in TN, 800 441-BUGS.

Alida

Predatory mites are effective enough that they are widely used by farmers and greenhouse operators. The busiest is the persimilis mite, but it has to be resupplied annually if you have a winter. There are naturally occurring predatory mites in all areas. Use of insecticides may harm the predators more than the TSM and start an outbreak. Or TSM may outbreed the predators (except maybe persimilis) in hot dry weather.

I've found oil sprays (any kind) effective against mites.

Thanks.

I am going to try predatory mites. Since purchasing mites isn't not cheap, I wanted to find out if they were useful for someone, somewhere. (I know that it's not a guarantee that they will work in my yard, but it makes it a better risk.) At least I do not have a winter that kills some of these mites off.

I am afraid that if I start using a miticide that I will have to continue using it...
really trying to avoid that.

Use need oil, it’s safe and smells good, too! It smothers the bugs