Very helpful article!

Thank you for sharing! Dr Windham’s advice has been so valuable to me.

the last part was cut off on my iPhone so resending see below.... I was very concerned over spreading mites with gloves.

It seems you are doing all that can be done. I would not worry about mites on clothes. If there are mites about, they will be more in the air than on your clothes. They do not have wings, so they can fly off of you if they land on you.

I hope you know that all rosarians appreciate the work you and others are doing in the fight to eliminate or control RRD in our gardens. Thank you for the kind words. All the best to you. MW

Thank you for sharing this. Was it his original suggestion to use Forbid?

Vap

Dr Windham did a 2 year trial on various remedies to see if they could prevent RRD on roses. Most of the trialed substances failed , including Neem, Avid, Floramite, most of the insecticides/miticides commonly used to day. Four substances succeeded, I could only locate two of them: FORBID (a targeted miticide ) and BiFenthrin (a broad spectrum knock out)

Austin, thank you for sharing this with us. Because of my recent RRD scare, I am interested in everything I can find on the subject. Mine looked bad, but because I twisted my knee and couldn't walk for a few days after discovering the telltale signs, it grew into a normal cane before I was able to remove the bush.

Do I understand that FORBID and BiFenthrin were successful in killing the mites? This is news worth celebrating. I assume success is only possible if used early enough before the mites spread.

Thank you so much for sharing this helpful information.

they do kill the mites. Forbid package says it last 21 days. BiFenthrin is broad spectrum meaning it will kill the good guys like ladybugs, so I personally do not use it because I seem to have a good balance in my garden. I still alternate with Forbid with Avid or Florimite to keep mites building a resistance. 2 years ago I had used Avid and Floramite and according to A&M my samples were mite free so one of the 2 killed them or maybe they died of old age🤠.

Even with mites dead you should still remove the bush because it is still diseased And can spread to your other bushes. I am no expert only as good as what I read and then can remember...

Thank you for that follow-up. If we're going to dig the bush up anyway, I'll just forget spraying unless it's totally safe for beneficials. Gotta keep it safe for the good guys in the garden. May we never see those thorny red canes again!!

Just my personal experience with BiFenthrin: Spider mites in general do develop resistance to it, and then they come back as vengeful super mites, weaving more webs than that pig rescue in Charlotte’s Web! I don’t doubt the research, but it could have been other non-RRD carrying mites that were spinning the webs, ruining leaves without spreading RRD.

I also alternate Avid with FORBID and use forced water spraying to keep away mites in general.

Dr Markham recommended BiFenthrin to me back in 2019 but I think that was because it was easier to get and less expensive. When I had diseased bushes in 2019 I sprayed everything before I disturbed or removed the diseased plants. I did not wants those mites to move beyond their current dining room. It seemed a better solution to me that the hair spray technique. Dead is best I figured.

I had used avid or Florimite because it was what I had. That is why I mentioned that A&M did not find any live mites on the samples I sent. So something worked I did not know about Forbid then. . This was from 5 bushes. I had spread the mites when clipping roses for house so I knew just which ones and when.. Not sure how it got to garden I think from my dog smelling a sick bush. I recalled pulling him aways from a sick Knock Out a couple of weeks before. Just a guess.

My Dobie used to help me garden. When I was working around a bush he was right in there beside me routing around it. He sometime dug up newly planted roses, then tried to put them back with his paws and nose when he saw the damage. It was so funny I couldnt fuss. He was pretty sure he was helping me.

Thank you for all your hard work researching this, Austin.I don't really know anything about RRD and I surely hope that I don't have to learn! But I am confused by his answer about mites on your clothes...

"I would not worry about mites on clothes. If there are mites about, they will be more in the air than on your clothes. They do not have wings, so they can fly off of you if they land on you."

So...if mites don't have wings, how do they get into the air? And how can they fly off of you if they land on you? I am missing something here. Perhaps it should say "so they cannot fly off of you?

But then if your dog could spread them from one bush to another, why can't your clothes or your gloves spread them? ...mumbling to myself...

AKBetty,

You have performed a great service to your Roses Forum friends. Thanks for sharing your communications with Dr. Windham. I have not yet dealt with RRV in my rose garden, thank God, but if I do, I know just what to do, thanks to you.

BTW, your Dobie is magnificent. What a great representative of 'Man's Best Friend.' I'm sure he loves you as much as you love him. My Rottie has been gone now for 13 yrs., and since I no longer can handle a large dog, or a small one for that matter, my life is a good bit less enriched without a dog in my home.

Moses

It was just my guess on the dog theory but I absolutely agree with you and also tried to read through possible typos. Still think my gloves would spread mites easier than clippers. I did not to bother him again. But your thoughts mimic my own.

Thanks Moses I lost that beautiful boy last year and still feel him around. He was my soul mate on 4 legs, a gift from my husband who died when Austin was less than a year. Austin (Dobie) aged out and I will probably age out of another dog when my current standard poodle goes, luckily he is still young. Austin trained him for me. I am a big dog person Auggie is 80 lbs and Austin was 87 lbs.
Thank you for your kind words, in North Texas RRD is a constant threat and if you grow roses you have to be informed. We have ti stick together and share experiences BenT us also very i formed, he told me about Forbid.

I had no idea bleach corrodes pruners! I've been dipping mine in bleach water between roses and this explains why they're degrading so quickly. Luckily they're cheap so I can just buy new ones.

I managed to buy some sort of disinfectant spray so I'll switch to using that on my scissors and pruners.

Thank you very much for posting this! RRD is also all around my garden so keeping up with the latest information is so good.

That is just the cutest Ben! What breed is Elon? it looks a bit like a Basenji. I doubt he will cause much damage to that beautiful garden of yours unless he entices Sukie to take a romp.

Our dogs are so important to our lives. Austin took care of me like a seeing eye after my husband died. He protected me from all sort of harm as I walked about in that after-death daze. They call Dobies velcro dogs because they have to be touching their owner at all times. Not a dog for those that like their space. They dedicate themselves to their person, that person becoming their reason to exist; they do not transition well from the loss of their person. I felt my next dog would probably outlive me so a few years back when adding to my pack I did not choose a another Doberman. My identity photo here is Austin's badge shot from Baylor Hospital where he visited as therapy dog. Their first Doberman and a big hit once they figured out we weren't with security. . He and I would walk into a waiting room where he guided us intuitively to the person who was sad or anxious. He would walk quietly up and rest his head on their lap or lay at their feet waiting, just being present not asking for attention. It was special to see. He was referred as the nurse dog by many who knew him. He took much of my heart with him when he left, I was given the gift his total devotion.

My Elon is very attached to me like your Austin was to you. If I move a few inches, he will crawl himself over to make sure we are touching, no matter how sleepy he is. He’s a little chihuahua...his parents were only 3-4 lbs, so he’ll remain a tiny guy.

You have a gift- a dog always and if we are lucky our parents or a spouse are the ones in our lives who usually offer such unconditional love and devotion. God gave dogs His name and I do not think that was an accident but an intention; to show us what is possible when we leave our egos and just love.

I am not sure anyone knows yet whether RRD can be spread with pruners. I think it's possible so I play it safe and do a lot of sterilizing. I haven't seen any RRD in two years either. Sometimes I wonder if the Bayer spray I use for blackspot makes the roses unappealing to the mites. Not saying that's so, but I wonder. I have not been spraying miticide but it's good to know about Forbid.

I'm sorry to hear about your losses, Austin. That's hard. I lost my dear dog several years ago. I did a lot of looking at pictures of Dobermans when I wanted to get a new dog. Austin is so beautiful, and I think Doberman's are just beautiful. I heard they are devoted and are velcro dogs. But one breeder said you have to be very firm with a Doberman and be an alpha with them, or they might be unmanageable. What do you think of that?

Your little Elon is very cute, Ben. I ended up getting three Manchester Terriers that look like little Dobermans. They are also velcro dogs, very people oriented. I think I do better with small dogs. If they act up, I can just pick them up. They do act up! One time they got into a box of cake flour and got it all over.

You can see that walking them all together is a little tricky.

We also have a tiny Miniature Pinscher who is about 17 years old.

Here is a painting my son gave me of the dog we lost. He was 13, died of cancer. I named a rose seedling after him. Jack Daniel.

From this photo

He was lightening fast. Loved to get outside and take off like a streak down the street. In this picture he was running free. Happy. You couldn't catch him but if you called out , " cheese" you could often get him to come in and we'd give him a mozzarella stick. Neighbors called out " cheese" also. We got a little gate to put in front of the front door that helped to keep him from slipping out. But he was a runner, beautiful when running.

Jack Daniel rose

Erasmus, I often admired that rose and see it's aptly named for a beautiful free spirit. I love the cheese story. Your newbies are super charming and look like they're a handful! : ))

Erasmus that is my sons drink of choice so Of course I love your rose. Yep seeing those precious pups “walking you” brings a smile. I had these 75 yr old hands full walking my big guys.
I love your pictures, you can see how special he was by the look in those eyes, it comes across. it is aways hard to lose them but having a dog for 17 yrs is a lifetime. ..Tough...
My experience with Dobies is that they are born wanting to please. What gets in the way is their high intelligence and a stubborn nature that usually thinks they are right or entitled. I am a push over as an owner but not as a master. Like children they need reasonable boundaries but then granted freedom behind those boundaries. The right breeder matter and I have a great one in California that I use who only does one at the mist two litters a year. He raises Arabian horses so his puppies are exposed to many things and are housebroken by the time they arrive at 12 wks.

Thank you , Vaporvac and Austin. Now I know where your name came from , Austin. I thought you lived in Austin.

It's good to hear more about life with a Dobie. Yours sounds very caring. I told my daughter about how your Austin would reach out to the patients . She has had an interest in having a Doberman. Sounds like you did find a good breeder. My little rascals really are a handful but so much fun, and so sweet. They are just funny and have their own personalities and rituals.

My husband has become more of a cat person than he used to be. A feral cat had kittens here and we now have two of them as adults, and my husband has just taken to those cats. Thinks they're so pretty.

What sweet looking dogs , Erasmus. They look so fashionable in their jackets. Dogs are the best distraction when you have to deal with life’s problems, like RRD.

Yay Dallas got a cool front only 95