I don't believe that Spinosad is very effective against mites.

... for ornamentals and to provide some miticidal and general ovicidal action I would mix in some highly refined parafin based horticultural oil at half the label strength and would make sure to spray in late evening after the leaves had a chance to cool off. A good quality summer oil used like this has much less chance of causing tissue burn than neem oil concoctions.

Thanks Nic. It looks like I will have to wait until tomorrow to spray. A tremendously strong wind just popped up. I sure hope we don't have a fire.

Lisa, I hope you have better luck than I had with spinosad, which was totally ineffective here. Let us know what your results are. Have you tried the blue cups? On the rose forum, a number of members are having great luck with those. Diane

Because you mix the solution in the tank, pump sprayers deliver a more accurate mixture than hose end sprayers. Based on what I have read, hose end sprayers tend to be somewhat variable.

As for spinosad, for many insect species it is only effective in the larval stage, though in other species it can kill adults. Over time you should see a general reduction in the insect population. You will not see all insects gone from your garden.

And in fact that would be a very bad thing. Anything that wipes out all insects would be far too toxic. You do not want to wipe out all insects. You have a lot of predator insects that are your allies. If they go, the boomerang effect will be far worse than the present situation. Bees are not the only good guys in the garden. Sometimes when we see insect damage it is easy to forget this. I personally get very frustrated when I see rose slug damage.

I would not expect spinosad to have any effect on mites.

Thanks guys. I really hope I have some improvement from the spinosad. I hate to imagine all that work for nothing! I have not done it yet. Yesterday I did as much watering as I could, and was picking roses in the dark. I finally quit when I got dangerously close to cutting into a clematis vine near the bottom of my Mary Rose. I couldn't see well enough anymore.

I just opened my new pump sprayer a few minutes ago. I'm going to use it. It has a black top, rather than a green one. The box has the orange letters "HDX" on it. It was the least expensive one HD had, $9.97. I don't plan to do this often, so I hope it will be good enough. I'm sure I should have done this months ago, but I hoped picking and water spraying would be enough.

As for mites, I only see evidence of spider mites on a potted hydrangea, so hopefully spinosad will be enough for the most obvious problems.( worms, thrips, rose slugs) I have never seen a "good quality, highly refined, paraffin based, summer oil". Do you use a specific brand Nic? I know you are in Australia, so I don't know if we have the same brands in the US or California. I would like to know where to get some.

I did finally find blue cups on Friday. I plan to put them up after the spinosad session. I didn't want them covered with Spinosad. I found the spray can of canola oil at the Dollar store. Great help found on this forum about the blue cup thing! I'm bookmarking it.

I am just dreading this whole spraying business. I'm pretty tired by the time evening rolls around. I sure prefer sitting on the patio and going on the Rose forums when it cools down in the evening. I'm also a terrible procrastinator. That's probably what led to things getting to this point....... Lisa

Well I'm not in Aus but you're right, I'm across the pond and then some so I have no clue about horticultural oil brands available in the US. Make a search for 'summer horticultural oil' and take it from there.

Sorry Nic! Obviously I should have looked again at your user name. nicthegreek, can't get much clearer than that! lol

You can find Jojoba oil, Ultra Fine Parafinic oil, Neem Oil and several others. I sincerely doubt you will have success using ANY oil in Zone 10a at this time of year. Oils seal the stomata, the pores on the foliage. Even if you wash it off with water, oils stick (put some on your hand and TRY rinsing it off with water!). When the heat and/or hot sun hit that foliage, the water expands and the oils easily inhibit the ability of the stomata to release the expanding water, effectively "cooking" the foliage. I would try cleaning up all the affected blooms, as has been advised, then definitely put out the blue cups, but I honestly think you will have better success with any oil product once the temperatures remain less than seventy degrees. I've used every kind available in Southern California, at the beach and in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys (Zones 9a and 10a) over thirty-plus years of rose growing. I could get away with using them at the beach as long as I stopped using them six to eight weeks before the temps in the 80s and above arrived. Any foliage still having any oil residue on it once that level of heat arrived, burned. In the inland valleys, I could ONLY use oils over winter. "Spring" often delivered hot, dry, brilliantly sunny days and they always fried the foliage, no matter how much water they received. I am a stickler for reading instructions and never using more than suggested, usually much less whenever possible. It's always easier to use more than it is to remove some.

I've used highly refined paraffinic oils in day temps up to 90 - 93F with no issues when used as suggested above (application under dark 5ml / liter which is 5:1000 dilution rate). Such oils did not exist or where hard to find 30 years ago. I would never use a vegetable oil under such conditions. Good light oils EVAPORATE, they don't stay on the leaf for too long. I'm sure one can use them at even higher temperature in a somewhat humid or foggy climate where atmospheric humidity is relatively high (in contrast to a med type climate where typically the heat is dry resulting in typically higher temps under the sun). Too much humidity is no good as it prohibits oil evaporation. The zone system is useless with regards to this issue as it refers to average low temps. In any case, never use anything without experimenting first. No two oils are the same, no two plants are the same either. My citrus can take much more than many of my roses.

I have some gorgeous, well established roses and have dealt with those doggone bugs for years! My husband heard about Milky Spore last year and you put it right into the ground because that's where those bugs live. The nice thing is that is continues to spread itself every year. I'm afraid to say it out loud but I haven't seen a single bug on my roses this summer. They're gorgeous! I also bury coffee grounds and banana peels in the area around them. Bone meal and liquid fish fertilizer is also a MUST! Hope this helps.

Thanks Nic and Roseseek. I feel pretty hesitant to use oil, even in winter, after reading roseseeks post. I don't think we EVER have a 6-8 week period in winter where a few days dont jump up to 80F. I have Neem oil spray purchased for winter and thinking about returning it. I'm afraid to risk it. I will look into the other oil sprays. My roses never go dormant and never defoliate in winter.

Oh, and thanks Cynthia. The milky spore sounds like a great idea. But, where are you located? I've heard or read somewhere in the past that it doesn't work nearly as well, if at all, in a climate that is so hot and dry. My roses,( a lot of them anyway) hang over my dry dead lawn. We are in a drought and my water rations go to my roses and not the grass. Some places in the back yard have actually turned into bare, hard packed dirt. ( this is also why I don't post full garden photos. I wish I could, but some areas look awful.) Are you in an area that gets plenty of rain? Anyone had success with milky spore in dry S CA? Lisa

It is my understanding that milky spore is for Japanese beetle grubs, and for no other insects of any kind. Unless that is what is causing your problem, it would be a waste of your time and money. It certainly won't do a thing for thrips, rose slugs, mites, or any beetles other than the iridescent copper colored Japanese kind

That's good to know RosefollyI. I have never seen a Japanese beetle in my life! Knock on wood! Lisa

Lisa I wonder if you had any luck with spinosaud for your thrips problem. Funny my Joanne Fontaine has the exact same problem! it's horrible! Most of my roses are also suffering from slugs. it pains me! I just sprayed today so hopefully it will make a difference soon

I've had thrips on a few of my roses over the years, and I haven't had any luck with spinosad, I hate to say. Annie, I hope your luck is better than mine. Diane