Sometimes it's more a matter of what I have time to do.

I like to begin with a fairly forceful spray of water on all the plants first -- it helps remove spiders, ants, loose leaves, and whatever. Then maybe the next day I'll systematically go through and spray with a combo of Rose spray (pesticide) and horticultural oil -- spraying the tops and undersides of leaves, as well as twigs. Avoiding fruit if possible. If I can, I like to repeat that application in a week or so.

Fortunately, citrus can be left outside as the nights get cooler -- as opposed to the über-tropicals which absolutely must be brought in before a light frost -- usually in a panic and usually after a hard rain when everything is muddy and saturated.

I just give 2 or 3 good applications of hort oil during the week before they come inside and then a light application once they get inside.

Yes please, I would like to hear all methods of pest control especially indoors because I'm growing citrus indoors only. Preventatives as well as ways to massacre pest populations.

MeyerMike - I'm curious what you mean by this:

I soak all my pots in warm soapy water for 30 minutes and then I bring them inside.

So the whole pot is submerged? How do you keep the soil from floating around? What kind of soap?

Last year I waited till near December before bringing them in and they all saw hard frosts in the mid to lower 20'sF. No insects. During march I dragged my trees outside to kill insects with cold and spray.. Any of my trees with fresh growth came in before frosts.

Steve

I spray with cold pressed neem oil mixed with Safers insecticidal soap as an emulsifier.

I do not soak the pot in soapy water. Mike, why do you do that? What pests are there in the soil?

Mine never go outside, but indoors if I ever have pests show up, depending on the pest, I give my plants a dusting of diatomaceous earth, spray with a horticultural oil, or I soak them. (Soaking is really only good for the smaller ones, though it usally kills most pests). I've found some varieties of spidermite will hide in the soil when you spray or treat the plant and then climb back into the tree once safe, so soaking kills them. Other crawlers. Worked well for millipedes, etc.

Annieplantsny, usually when you soak a plant you cover the pot as well as you can with a mesh to keep in the soil and then submerge the plant.

Hi Vladimir, yes, what Bonsai said and I never risk bringing root mealy bugs inside. I hate those. They can kill a plant secretly before you know it( I have had ants, slugs and other bugs float to the top too.

Annie, I use a nylon stocking and wrap it around the top of the pot, or towel paper and use and elastic to hold the mix in place. It prevents the soil from spilling out although on some pots some does spill out and I just fill it back)

Hi Mike - I'm back (pneumonia isn't any fun!). I've been checking my GH these last few days, but too tired to do anything about the colonies of ants which have moved into the hoya pots. I think there's a bazillion less three if I'm not mistaken! Next month I'll start a regime of bayer 3in and neem oil. I'll be drenching the leaves and soaking the mix on everything. Last year I had ants inside one of my philodendrons, and even spraying every day, they lasted the entire winter season. I must have killed hundreds of thousands of them yet each morning there would be several thousand more dead around (I was using raid to treat the surrounding area to stop the squirters). I'm curious to see what others use.

BTW - thanks for starting this thread as I'm sure we're all going to learn something from it.

Mike - here's a picture of the mock orange you convinced me to purchase. It's grown a least 18" since I bought it a couple months ago. It gets full sun every day. today I checked it and it looked like a limp dishrag! The soil had totally dried out in this heat! I gave it a good soaking and misted down the leaves so I think it will recover by this evening. I couldn't get over how quickly it dried. Now I know. Looking to getting some blooms over the winter if I'm lucky.

I love reading what everyone is doing to keep pests at bay. I'm spraying all Adeniums, Pachypodiums, and Citrus with a miticide and may treat all plants with Bonide tree & shrub. I have done this the last couple of years (after discovering a root mealie invasion in spring of '19).

Wendy, that is great stuff. It prevents many of my plants from getting infested with those darn root mealy, the worst. They have killed many of my succulents and hoya in the past until I have treated for them as a preventative. I lost the only hoya plant that would reliably flower for me . I was so mad. Never again with those. They also attack many succulents, but not any more.

As for the citrus, it has always been Horticultural Oil all year long, even in winter to prevent scale, mites and mealy. Never an issue any more, same goes for my orchids.

I can't see how anyone can never have a problem with pests on their plants if they keep them outside. Good for them.

Not once have I ever been able to just stick them outside for the summer with pest issues if not treated,

Bill. I am so happy you are doing better. It is the worst and I sure and breathing roughly has to me so hard on you. Was worried about you for a bit and so glad you are getting stronger my friend.

Yes, this thread should help a lot of folks. I know there are many that are caught of guard with pests and don't even have a clue what is happening the whole winter while they populate until it's too late. Many do not even know what to look for. Been there done that. .

If anything , this will make many aware of what could happen if they are not watchful or aware of why their plants decline in winter.

Just like brushing our teeth to prevent cavities, we should be treating our plants as summer goes by to prevent certain demise in my opinion and in my experience.

Bill. can you take a close up of those leaves? It looks different than mine buddy. Please, take a pic for me again. Do you still have the label? Does it say Murraya piniculata?

https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tLP1TcwKssxqyoyYPQSyi0tKkqsTFQoSMzLTC7NSSxJBACpWQsW&q=murraya+paniculata&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS964US964&oq=murraya+pinucal&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j46i13j0i13i457j0i13l6.10683j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Thank you.

Mike, I'll go out tomorrow morning and take a couple pics. I have the label, so I'll photo that too.

It recovered from drying out earlier today, and the leaves are huge now!

Mike, here are the pictures I took this morning. Some are of the Mock Orange, some of the jasmine and two gratuitous pictures of a miniature orchid I mounted to some cork bark and is finally blooming this season.

The leaves on this have grown huge over the summer!

When I bought it it was maybe 8 or so inches tall!

My Jasmine, which is beginning to show new growth already

Some mini's blooming

When one of you does do the Bonide tree & shrub, could you give me some details. I have read the product instructions and they are all directed to tree / shrub sizes so I can never figure out the proper formula for houseplants. But I would really like to! Thanks!

I used to have hibiscus trees that I kept outside in the Summer and brought inside in the winter. I used the Bayer Advanced capsules that you push into the soil. They worked well. But they also contain fertilizer and are not really appropriate for smaller plants.

Thank you for starting this thread. I need it!

Nice looking. Wow

Bill that Ponderosa Lemon tree has grown a lot in those top pics))

That 'mock orange' will all of a sudden take off once the root settle in that pot. Mines was a slow grower for the first summer then poof, it took off the next. The on I will take a pic of for you was a tall as yours last year buddy. I will show you a full pic of the second season one and the one I just got this past spring. I can not wait until you get a first bloom. Everyone that visits me can't believe how awesome it smells. Better than anything I have ever grown.

That orchid like you. Very nice.

I'll bet you are very grateful for the greenhouse too)

Mike - yes, the GH really helps. It's so old that it needs the panels replaced, they're polycarbonate. I built it myself from a kit many centuries ago. This spring I priced out replacement polycarbonate - the panels are so expensive that just a few now are more than I paid for the entire GH! I'm just going to have to see how long I can continue using it as is.

The ponderosa is getting humongous! I have a nice sunny spot picked out for it when it comes inside for the winter. Hopefully I'll get a few blooms, just for the fragrance. The mock orange too, a nice sunny spot. I also have a bird of paradise that I purchased from HD or some such place when it was maybe 8" to a foot tall. Now it's over 1o' tall! It's the white BoP, which I didn't realize at the time, thinking is was the orange which it was labeled as. The orange remains small while the white just continues to grow until the FAA makes me put a warning beacon on it or it's clipped by a plane. I think I may have to sacrifice it to the winter because I don't have any place for it this winter. I hate to do it but that, and a monstera which could hide a small army in, have grown beyond my ability to provide for them.

Bill, I never heard of a white flowering bird of paradise. It must be beautiful. Letting go of a plant is a terrible feeling. Hate plants that get so big there is no room for them anymore. Makes you wish you had a huge greenhouse. I hear you about the panels. I have a few hanging around. If they were the same that you needed I would let you have them.

If you have the time post a pic of them. I like just about everything that grows in a container. They are probably beautiful..

I am going to do another All Seasons Horticulture Spray tomorrow. I did sprinkle some systemic on most and then once I spray that, some of my plants will come inside to their growing spot. It will be a sad day for those.

I've got zillions of ants, which have taken up residence in several of my pots. There are entire caravans carrying eggs and larvae into multiple pots. I was going to start spraying this week. I need the pots of the hoyas to dry out some before I drench them. The other plants I'll just drench and they'll be fine, but the hoyas as you know, can't remain wet. Damp is OK I found when it's hot out, but now that the weather is finally cooling off, I have to be careful.

What is the general arsenal of products one should own when growing citrus?

Personally I have:

cold pressed neem oil

Dr Bronner's soap

hydrogen peroxide

rubbing alcohol 70 and 90%

human grade diatomaceous earth

Sounds like horticultural oil should be my next purchase, but I thought I read somewhere that mineral oil is the same thing? Like the kind they sell in pharmacies?

I wish there was a way to pin certain topics to the top. I think it could really cut down on people asking the same questions. Topics like this one and Bonsai’s indoor growing guides are very helpful.

Hort oil is all I use, 99% mineral oil does the job.....that and drowning the ants.

I use purchased horticultural oil spray (not that expensive). You can also buy concentrate and mix it yourself (even less expensive).

I treated about half my plants with imidicloprid a few days ago. Going to treat the other half next week. I hate doing this. I just have too too many plants, lol.

Wendy , lol. I hear you. Where do you get the product ? Is it a soak or topical?
I always have to remember that some do not treat spider mites do that is where the oil comes in. This way I prevent most infestations. What a pain but well worth the effort.

Wendy, I just drenched all my plants with Bayer 3 in 1 insecticide. Hopefully that will get the ants. I walked into the GH this morning a a bunch of sparrows flew out! They were eating ant caravans going from one pot to the next. I sure don't want a repeat of last year in my house. The ants are one thing, but the constant singing, in these tiny high pitched voices, "hi Ho, hi Ho, it's off to work we go, from 9 to 3 its misery hi ho, hi ho hi ho..." is really unnerving. I sprayed and drenched, then left before all the screaming and groaning starts! If I start to see little ambulances showing up I'm outta here! 🤣

Mike, i use Bonide tree and shrub. My husband picked it up at a hardware store in Southwick, MA when he went up there to play golf. Can't get it in Conn. anymore. I mix it in water and drench my plants. Decided to do the rest of my plants this morning. Going to move them in this afternoon before all the rain from remnants of the hurricane hits. Fun times.

So I need to spray for spider mites on my indoor citrus. I got horticultural oil, can I safely spray them in a bathtub? How long before it’s safe to enter the bathroom again, I read that the oil fumes are not good to breathe in.

Then I should keep them out of direct light but for how long? A few days? I plan to spray weekly or bimonthly as a preventative, but you don’t have to rinse this off like neem oil, is that right? Sorry, lots of questions here. Kind of mad at myself because I check my trees a few times a day but only just noticed some tiny webs.

annieplantsny - I use neem oil when my plants are indoors. I've used it all throughout the winter with no ill effects (other than growing another ear and a third eye too!). Seriously, mix up some neem oil and spray your plants down. It does have an odor, but it quickly dissipates and since it's totally organic it's not going to harm you if you get it on you or breath it in. Due to my medical condition, I am extremely susceptible to lung infections (I just got over three months of pneumonia) and the neem oil has zero effect on my lungs or overall health. It breaks down quickly, so a once a month spray is advised, but it does work. I try to stay away from the chemicals (since my condition is due to Agent Orange from my time in Nam) and the neem does everything it's supposed to without affecting our blood chemistry.

Hope this info helps....

Horticultural oil is just mineral oil, it's perfectly safe to use. Spray in the evening and turn the lights back on in the morning.

Bill, really nice dendrobium there. I feel truly the laziest person on this thread. I just bring them in! I don't have too many succulents, cacti , hoya or citrus so I guess it is a bit different. It is too early to think of the great move indoors around these parts luckily and I am bummed y'all have to start doing it already. I had a bad experience spraying soap on a nicely blooming dipladenia vine that I sprayed throughly and moved indoors. It promptly died on me. I guess I may have been a little too enthusiastic. I do have some outbreaks of aphids or an occasional thrips infestation(only on a dipladenia I have now had for almost 3 years, it took me a while to figure out it were thrips that were largely preventing blooms). Soap appears to do little for aphids. Eventually it bayer 3 in 1 or just live with it. I am lucky to not have too many mite issues, currently they just bleach the leaves on a nobile orchid. I bring in several jasmines, chrysanthemums, an avocado, some peppers and chillies, mint, pentas, snapdragons, verbena, penstemons, rozanne (perhaps I should leave the last two outdoors), kalanchoe, thanksgiving cactii, butterfly pea and my favorite purslane (they are excellent workhorses and overwinter nicely and even bloom most of the time. I have kept my orchids indoors except miltoniposis (which like it too cool for summer indoors) after some diastrous losses to bacterial and fungal infections this and previous summers.

Thanks Bill and Ken. Bill, I’m sorry to hear that about your lungs but I’m glad that neem oil hasn’t presented any issues for you. I do have neem oil, the concentrated kind I have to dilute with water. Since I don’t have many plants (husband would disagree) and the neem oil mixture is only good for a few days, I thought I would give the horticultural oil a try.

Having said that, the oil did irritate my throat and burn my nose a little so I think I will only resort to that if I feel like the neem & soap mix is not working.