Attack of the Mites

Just throwing it out there, it has been unseasonably warm here in the Heart of Dixie and the mites are loving it.
I had noticed that my serissas had started to decline and I attributed it to my total lack of care over the past couple of years, but upon further investigation, I found them to be infested with rust mites. This particular mite injects a toxin into the plant, and as an immune response, the plant makes galls. I had to remove a tone of branches to eliminate the galls. Also, my junipers are infested with spider mites, including the ones in the landscape. I have decided to go nuclear on them, I have ordered Avid, Forbid 4F, and Floramite; and will use them in a rotation. I know there are less invasive ways to control them but since it is so early, I feel I need to get them under control---NOW. So, check your trees, something may be eating them.

I took these pictures using the microscope at work

Rust mites on Serissa flower bud




Close up of the gall and mite eggs on serissa





Another shot of the bud



Serissa branch infested with rust mites

Another gall



Another branch



Spider mite damage to juniper. I tried to get a shot of the adults, but they were quite excited by the light from the scope and quickly hid.



Immature mites eating on juniper foliage. Some much so, they are green

Nuke the little bastards. DRT ( dead right there)

John, I hope your plant pulls through. Because of the early spring we've had, I didn't get a chance to treat my bonsai with lime sulfur. Just this week, I found a huge spider mite infestation on a large shimpaku being grown out. I've had the occasional spider mite outbreak, but typically it's in the middle of summer.

I'm using Sultan this year on my junipers. It's a miticide that is supposed to work on their eggs, nymphs and adults. It was pricey, but if it works it's worth it.