I can't 'like' this comment, but I think you've asked some really good questions for anybody coming back from a vacation.

Alarming.

Or, as is said here on gardenweb rose forum: scary!

Once home: Take everyone outside - at least 200 yards downwind from your garden. Put on KC and the Sunshine Band. Volume up to max ( as you are outdoors), and shake shake shake.

I wonder if I may have brought RRD mites from a bush I would walk by once a week. Maybe you change your clothes at a pit stop and put the clothes in a bag and wash your clothes and hair as soon as possible. As for your car, maybe hose it down when you get home?

I have my DH and kids with me, cant even convince DH to shower again after we get back, but am going to lay down the law! Everyone gets a shower and car will get hosed down...that is about what I can do..

You can report the siting to the following Report RRD

Just found out that RRD was found in the county below mine. UGH!

Reported...told my cousin and explained as much as I could, but its it's hard for people who are not familiar to get it.

In looking at the map that is provided on this website, I see that RRD has been identified in Bakersfield (first contemporary landscape in California that has RRD) as well as Tulare County. Also positive in Tulare County positive ID of RRD in Tulare County, but no mites present. The cultivar was Caramba.

The first report in Bakersfield is about 20 miles away from the rose fields in Wasco where Weeks is located. I have no idea where the rose plant that was found with the disease (and I presume mites since it didn't state that they were not on there), was originally grown.

Don't mean to hijack your thread Rekha, but this area of California is a huge rose production area. Very, very scary. I wish they had stated what the cultivar was that the disease was found on in Bakersfield. Would love to know if it was the cultivar of the rose was and where it was purchased.

Since the mites are carried by the wind, I wonder if covering the roses (just an attempt to save them) would help against not only the wind but those blasted leaf blowers. I hate those things and refuse to have them in my yard, but my neighbors gardeners blow things around like there is no tomorrow.

Sorry but I just think it’s overkill to worry about transporting mites on your vehicle, etc. RRD has been identified in Houston, it’s not like you are traveling back into an area that’s “clean”. Life is too short :).

Thanks, it may be overkill, but I work in Houston and live in a county south of Houston and while I am aware that there has been a couple of reports of RRD in Houston, I have never seen one. I see many hundreds of Rose's daily, the landscaping knockouts are everywhere, but did not notice any issues here. But the area I visited in Austin was different with rampant spread.

My concern was not for my garden, I just started planting recently and dont have anything irreplaceable or so established that I would lose sleep over it. But since I have not seen anything in this area and it was so bad there, I did not want to be the one spreading ut!!

And I dont think anyone is aware of the issue. I explained to the best of my ability, but as we were leaving, I think they were talking about cutting the stems off. I attribute this to my ignorance and my laclack of communication skill than them. I was hoping that someone on this forum can point me to a simple guide that I can forward on...

Here’s some info:
RRD