that's what puzzled me. i have several phals in close proximity and none have it.

also the other leaves on plant do not have pitting like that.

but now i'll keep a closer look at them.

Keep it separated from the others as well...It takes a magnifier to see the damn things. I use a jewelers loop. If you see them it needs treatment. What I do is use gentle dish soap like ivory. Most have degreasers and is too harsh for orchids. Make sure all areas are soaked, especially the underside of the leaf. Redo in 7 days for the hatched eggs. And I do ti a third time as they are tenacious.

is spraying with neem ok? that's what i usually use on other tropicals for mites.

i have never had mites on orchids before, so don't know if neem is ok? i can rinse/spray 20min after treatment with water with a drop of soap so as not to leave any residue. they are indoors in part-sun western exposure.

Sun on the neem makes it too hot. Get gentle dish soap...

i can keep it away from the window or do it when we have a spell of sev gloomy days. it's always indoors - so it should be ok, especially with rinse after?

alternatively i usually spray with addition of 1tsp per quart of 3% peroxide + a bit of soap. it works on sensitive plants too, but i've never done it on orchids..

do you think it's ok?

The hydrogen peroxide solution should be fine. Spider mites can be very destructive, so be vigilant.

Good luck,

Bob

2 tea spoons of soap to a quart. Don't rinse.

>> 1 tsp/qt 3% Hydrogen Peroxide is doing nothing at all from a pest killing standpoint.

i beg to differ :). the eggs are glued so to speak to the leaf and plain water will not dislodge them. except if it's a very strong flush - so it's a mechanical removal.

ok, so for some plants i use a stronger solution (like 2 tsp per 24oz). it does help to dissolve the netting/glue for easier removal. and it also helps with bacterial/mildew/fungal issues too. i did not come up with it myself, you know.

i had a look at the roots, as the other leaves are limp and it has about 5 new 1" roots coming and 1 new firm leaf . AND it has a secondary spike with 5 buds (dropped one).

1/2 roots were rotten, so i cleaned it up and changed medium. it's in a weak state (it was doing fine a month ago when the spike started) and i will loose it most likely anyway, so i'll let it bloom if it will after this...

but i've been busy and neglected them a little and this one will be a goner most likely. i looked at others nearby and they are fine..but i do get spider mites on other plants (i have too many...150 at least going on 200), but they never attacked my phals. like in 15 years time that i've been growing them indoors :).

i'll take it into consideration. meanwhile since i keep over 150 plants indoors healthy (for most part ;))- i shall continue to do what i do that works for me. :)

but stay away from categorical advice - as i do not find it useful.

category this. It is OK to rinse after the soap has completely dried. Then it will reactivate the soap and you may contact a mite or 2. The killing of mites is making wet contact with the mite. And not like expensive poisons the mites do not get a immune to the soap.

:) consider it shelved ;)..

guys! i do take very good care of 150 indoor tropical plants. i understand the mechanics of most pests and treatments. i just have some questions about particular plants from time to time, as some of mine take offense to some treatments.

but i experiment and try to improve always :))). thanks. now i will not hesitate to increase the peroxide dosage. soap never scared me :), but i never used such a high dose either. CAN and WILL ;) up the ante!

for some mite magnets i dunk the whole plant pot and all into a tub, submerging for 30 min. it works like magic on ivies, African Masks calatheas and Crotons. nothing else works better. am trying Azamax, but only a soil drench, afraid to spray in the shower - i am in the apartment (no garage, no space to spare, small balcony stuffed with plants).

but i don't want to dunk phals..yet: they are 1:1:1: perlite cocochips and LF sphag so it will make them too wet for a long time...

Dunking orchids is the most effecient as long as there is no virus. But you never know for sure so the general rule is not to dunk orchids. If there is a virus, all that was dunked is infected...petrushka, get a magnifier or a jewelers loop to confirm that you have the damn mites.

:))). ok, m-m may be i can use a camcorder as a magnifyer ? for now? i don't have a loop! but i know i have them always anyway ;))) as they are everpresent in the same room on other plants: e.g stromanthe, Alo 'Poly', calatheas, etc. but other close to a 100 (just counted) plants are fine. so i control, but i can't be 100% free of them. shrug.

i keep a constant look out for problems. but it's like a greenhouse ..so some stuff happens. i neem spray, dunk, shower wash ...on rotation, use systemic on occasion.... Azamax is supposed to eradicate them with 1 spraying, but am afraid to spray 'cause label says full coverage and respirator (it's a super strong extract of neem that acts as systemic). so for now i started soil drenches with azamax (for other bacterial reasons) on some plants, but not orchids. i can include them in the treatment, of course.

honest, i never ever had an orchid problem with mites. root rot - check, scale - check. but not mites. i know how to fight them on other stuff, so i'll make it ..:).

mites are the most difficult to deal with. A magnifying glass is available at walgreens among many other places. Without one or a loop you will not know if you won the war or not. If you do not get rid of them they will kill all of your orchids. Not something to live with. Gentle dish soap is the answer. It took me a couple of years to realize this. It will not harm you or the plants and not like the poisons they cannot get immune to the soap.

hey, i'll get many more! that's what FL is for...buying orchids..

i sprayed a few offenders with soap solution yesterday.

a new phase in endless war ;). i do not expect to win :), just hold them off for a time!

Shavedmonkey, I have one new phal that has those buggers, they were on the roots. I am wondering do you spray on the dish soap? I'm in battle mode, I got rid of the old substrate & washed with a peroxide mixture then dusted with diotemacous earth. My next move was going to be cinnamon but it sounds like the dish soap is a good idea.

Yes, spray the GENTLE ONLY soap like ivory, especially under the leaves. and do it 7 days later and examine carefully 7 days later. If still there do it again until gone.

Spider mites are nasty little buggers, they hitch rides on anything (people included) and then infest leafy plants that they/you contact. If you have them in more than one area, you have a pretty serious infestation that needs to be treated with seriousness IMO. If you want to get rid of spider mites quickly, take a look at AVID 0.15 EC Miticide. It's expensive, but extremely effective. Follow label directions closely and use outdoors or in a very well ventilated room. I've used it twice in the last 4 years, of the 8oz bottle I purchased @4 years ago I've used less than 1/2oz. My problem was generated from houseplants that moved inside/outside over the seasons, the mites spread to the orchids (via me!) once everything was inside for winter. As a result, I now treat my houseplants the same as my orchids before bringing them in for winter. I use a Bayer's Rose and Flower Care Systemic treatment 3x over a 3-4 week period in the fall. I should be starting this routine in the next week or so.

Also, I'm not sure spider mites infest root systems, but I may be wrong. I thought they did all of their living and breeding on exposed plant/leaves in the fine webs they produce.

Bob

AVID is on my next list. they say Azamax is just as good , but the label says - do not spray where it can enter into drainage or sewer systems. but's supposed to be safe for veggies up to sev hours to harvest.it's considered organic...if they spray it in the fields, can i spray it in the shower? with respirator and arms covered, of course (warnings again).

anybody ever used it ? it's supposed to be safe for indoors too. but most people spray outdoors. one spray is sufficient before bringing plants indoors for winter (which i do from the balcony) and lasts the whole season. that would be very nice !

i'll be processing mine soon (systemic + neem sprays + dunking for some).

i'm sure it's not as toxic as AVID, but i'm still hesitant.. my balcony is windy - so spraying there is much worse then spraying in shower.

I'm not familiar with Azamax, but looking online it seems the indoor pot growers swear by it for spider mites and they know their stuff when it comes to growing 'leafy' plants indoors. I got a lot of my LED light info/knowledge from those type of sites :)

Once when it was below zero outside, I used AVID in a small not often used shower which had a ventilation fan. During and after spraying I ran the fan for @12 hours, plus I didn't run water in the shower and kept the room door closed for several days. The second time I used it I was able to spray everything outside on a nice calm morning. Both times I wore long sleeves but not a respirator, I just watched my breathing and spray direction when I was spraying. Between my arm length and sprayer hose/wand length I had at least 6' of clearance, ultimately I felt safe. For us small hobby growers, I think as long as you don't pour any extra/unused portions down the drains, we aren't being that harmful to the water supply. Make a little and try to use it all is my advice when using AVID. I usually try to do most of my spray treatments in the very early mornings when the wind is generally calm here in western Ohio to prevent any unwanted 'drift'.

I'm not sure it has been mentioned, but spider mites usually occur when things are very dry so keeping humidity high seems to help prevent them. Hard to do indoors when heating during the winters though.

Good luck,

Bob

Hi Bob,

I have used AVID and other expensive poisons for mites and was disappointed. It was difficult to mix as it was very concentrated. All remedies are contact killers. Meaning that the bug must come in contact with the liquid before it dries. And the mites become immune to the poison after 2 applications. If the mixture is a little to strong it will harm your plants. And it is not friendly to us humans.

Then there is gentle dish soap. Any bug will die from contact with wet dish soap. It is contact either way. And the bugs never get immune to the soap. And humans are not harmed. And it is a large savings. I cannot find one good reason to use any contact poison for bug when soap is equally affective.

I do use orthene a systemic poison. It does kill on contact and also gets into the plant. I use it for mealy bugs, scale, thrips etc It stays with the plant for about 2 or 3 weeks.

Harvey,

Understood. I didn't use the soapy water treatments when I had mites 4 years ago, all of my treatments back then never eradicated them. I fought them for 4-6 months until I finally went with the AVID. Stopped them in 1 treatment.

Next time, and I'm sure there will be a next time :), I may try the soapy water treatments if it occurs during winter.

Bob

For me it is the worst problem. It is so important to use the gentle soap like ivory. The others have degreasers and harm plants. And of all the other choices I have tried the most effective, lowest cost, and safest is soap. Usually in life there are sacrifices in choice. Not here.