I bet you still have mites. I had them and got the same distorted growth. I would trim back and get new growth but it would be distorted. Mine were too small to be seen with the naked eye. Get a magnifier and look for tiny dots that move. Safers will not kill them. a very difficult problem. I had some success with neem oil.

john

Aboot the bug problem. I just purchased some house plant bug keller. ONE application and all the bug seem to have died! And to think I wasted all that time doing all these ideas listed on here, like the mild soap, spraying leaves off with a hose, etc..... Wish I had this junk months ago, my other three plants may still be alive or at least show some kind of life.

I'm a little short on funds right now. The only other insecticide I have on hand is Sevin dust...would that work? If not, I'll probably have to chuck this plant and start from seed again this spring.

web of hair> of course a general bug spray would work, I think the point with the other "wastes of time" that you mentioned was the overall greater degree of safety for you and other living beings around you. Plus if you had fruit on the plants at the time you probably would not be able to eat that fruit.
just my opinion, could be wrong.....
frankly, in my experience, once the infestation is bad enough the soap and wiping with water sprays will probably not work and you will have to use something stronger. But depending on the ingredient in the product you may not be able to eat the fruit from the plant. Sevin dust will probably work, you might google it to get more details since I have never used it, I couldn't tell you for sure.

kendra

If it's spidermites just give them a good shower a few times a week. If you have a detachable hose/shower head it will be easier to get to the undersides of the leaves and avoid over-watering. Try to improve humidity since these guys thrive in warm temps and low humidity.
Spidermites also cause stippling (tiny chlorotic dotting) that is viewed from the upper-surface and webbing under leaves and leaf axils. Thrips are good ones for causing puckering/rolling of of leaves (especially tender new growth) and a chlorotic blotchy appearance...

Here is a link that might be useful: Thrips

Vera, my DH took a pic of my plant with the digital camera and when I zoomed in on it, I saw all the webbing from the mites. I've been having a problem with them on my houseplants too, and have been packing them into the shower on a (semi) regular basis to spray them down with water and the Safer soap. I haven't had trouble with any other critters(indoors,anyway). It is difficult to increase the humidity in our apartment as it is very small and most of my plants are crowded around the one big window(which is directly above the baseboard heater)or on shelves above our computers which also give off heat and also next to lamps for supplemental lighting. It is difficult to keep plants happy in this apartment but we're stuck here for a while.
I went ahead and dusted my pepper plant with Sevin BEFORE reading that it might increase the mite population(I thought it would kill them because it kills spiders and ticks), so I guess it's back to the shower to hose the Sevin off for now. I should be able to shop for some miticide in a week or so. Thank you for responding, everyone!

Ahh! Could you try placing a few water filled dishes among the plants or placing plants on marble filled sausers filled with water?
I've had luck on regular houseplants by using a few drops of dishsoap to a regular spray bottle. Spray on, let air dry and wash away. I also used to swipe my Deffenbachia (horrid for SM's in winter) with a slighty soapy rinsed out washcloth.

Good luck!

Vera