No matter what you do, you are going to have to keep reapplying or respraying in order to keep spider mites under control.

They reproduce at alarming rates and studies have shown that pesticides like rotenone and pyrthrin actually increase their reproduction rate. I don't have spider mite problems on my peppers but can't grow a tomato without having them all over the place.

I use a soap/oil/water mix that I spray about every 7-10 days throughout the season. I find that when it is cooler out, they slow down and I can spray less. When it is really hot, I spray more often.

The key to soap/oil/water mixes is keeping it constantly mixed up and only spraying at the end of the day when the sun is fully off the plants. Spray on a regular basis and you should be fine.

It may not kill them all but it certainly keeps them under control and I end up with plenty of fruit at the end of the season.

k

neem oil seems to be the best option for just about all plant problems.. insects, fungus/bacteria/mold and protects against many diseases in the garden. one thing to note is that it typically does not kill, it prevents things from continuing to "grow" out of control. ie it stops most insects from reproducing. it can be safely applied to leaves or in the soil (diluted if it's the pure neem oil extract) to get ride of soil insects (larve, etc).. i would recommend you buy the pure oil concentrate. it's 70% neem oil and 30% emulsifier. it's typically like 3 bucks more than the premix/diluted spray bottles. and you can make like 30 gallons of it and use it in a $6 hand sprayer.

the oil i have is 15 dollars at HD and brand is Bayer. it typically calls for 1 tbsp per gallon of water and iirc, the bottle is 26 oz.

Neem oil is great for alot of uses. I have seen pests become immune to it and had it stopped working for me. Sometimes the best method is a rotation of several different things.

I was using for inside plant pest control and eventually the pests one and the neem oil did not phase them. I, too, was buying the oil concentrate and diluting out.

Avid (abamectin) works well but is not labeled for food crops. The exact same chemical is sold under a different name for food crops. Connect the dots. See

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/161749542176?lpid=82&chn=ps

Cygon 2E was a systemic insecticide for food crops and it was somewhat effective against mites, but, I don't think it is still available.