Hi,

I visited Antonelli Bros. in Capitola, CA this weekend. They have an amazing selection of fuchsia (& begonia). Some of their plants are several years old with no evidence of gall mite (many are very susceptible varieties). I asked them how they protect against the mite and they spray with Ortho® Systemic Insect Killer once a month at a dilution of 3 Tbs. per gallon. I hate pesticides as much as the next person, but I don't think this one is too bad. As far as I can tell, there are 2 chemicals in this product. One, Acephate, biodegrades in soil to mainly CO2 and other non-harmful chemicals. The second, Fenbutatin Oxide, is used on fruit trees so it can't be all that bad. It is important to note here that the Ortho instructions say not to use this product on anything that you might eat! The Ortho website is: http://www.ortho.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=productGuide.productDetails&partnerId=100004&poeSiteId=10927&strCategoryId=23832&strProductId=101701&strAdditionalBrandId=&dsvs=6BEF1AF8-65BF-F00F-1692-7F23ABAA712C,x,x&CFID=3407719&CFTOKEN=60672481

I hope this is helpful to some of you. It certainly was to me.