Persistent Spider Mites

August44

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I just purchased some TELSTAR per attached pictures. I have read the directions and, for the life of me can't figure out the amount per gallon that is recommended. Why do they have to make that so difficult? Can someone help me with that? I did notice that this product has similar properties as ORTHO HOME DEFENSE that one sprays around the foundation and other areas on homes that might have bugs traveling over them. I have used home defense and it does work as long as water does not wash it off. I have heard that bugs/spiders etc crawl through it and then lick their legs and then that kills them.
 

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Dav4

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I just purchased some TELSTAR per attached pictures. I have read the directions and, for the life of me can't figure out the amount per gallon that is recommended. Why do they have to make that so difficult? Can someone help me with that? I did notice that this product has similar properties as ORTHO HOME DEFENSE that one sprays around the foundation and other areas on homes that might have bugs traveling over them. I have used home defense and it does work as long as water does not wash it off. I have heard that bugs/spiders etc crawl through it and then lick their legs and then that kills them.
Based on the labeled dilution instructions for treatment of spider mites- http://www.fmcprosolutions.com/Portals/pest/Content/Docs/Labels/Talstar P Professional 03-22-2017 Clean Comm.pdf, you need to mix 0.5 oz to 1 oz to 1 gallon of water, or 15 to 30 milliliters per gallon, or approximately 4-8 milliliter per quart.
 
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August44

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Thanks Dave! When I start reading stuff on a label like that, I get unraveled and my mind no longer works. I'm sure it has nothing to do with my mind;)
 

Japonicus

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I could move them to shade but I'd rather not. Should I just use something like Bonide Pyrethrin instead?
I would, rotating the neem in as you prep for Winter through dormancy.
If they aint gone by then, they are scientifically genetically altered to be super bugs :)
Really though, by the second or third rotation to come (sprayings) they should not be around at all.
@Japonicus, which insecticidal soap do you use?

Or maybe I should just leave well enough alone? I was reading that ladybugs eat them and I've been seeing more and more ladybugs on my plants.
Lady bugs are good, your threads' title, rather answers that question.
DSC_3458.JPG
Concern. 29.9% Potassium salts of fatty acids 3.5 Oz/g. or 2TBSp/Qt. of soft water.
For use on woody landscape shrubs and trees including fir trees and evergreens.
 
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Not the OP but figured id post on this thread since its the first one up when i did a search on "spider mites". This is my first year encountering them, i noticed a little shimpaku was slightly discolored this morning, so I did a paper test.

Normally, this little guy is a deep, rich green. Seems like just overnight it took an ashy tone to the foliage (I check my trees daily).

IMG_20190818_075906.jpg
IMG_20190818_075915.jpg

My immediate thought was spider mites, but Id never had them before. Made sense though, as due to fungal issues in my area I dont top water anything and its been very dry the last few weeks. I did the paper test:
IMG_20190818_075940.jpg

IMG_20190818_075948.jpg

Yep, spider mites. So I tested my other trees, which all still look very healthy, but they all have some mites just not as bad as this one yet, so I guess this one is ground zero.

I quarantined all junipers I found with the mites, thankfully saw no signs of them on any deciduous or pines, and gave them all some long blasts of the fan setting on my hose. Once they dried out a little, I applied Neem oil throughout the foliage and moved them to the north side of my potting shed to keep them out of direct sun.

I know that one treatment likely wont do the job do my plan is to water blast them again in 3 days and reapply Neem next Sunday. Hopefully that takes care of the issue without stepping up to another miticide.
 

Forsoothe!

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Spider mites are endemic, everywhere. They like dry foliage so any tree in full sun can be sprayed from the underside of the tree as I do every day as I water them. I may be wrong, but I think all you can do is keep the population ~under control~ by wetting the foliage regularly. In my case, especially junipers.
 

PiñonJ

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I could move them to shade but I'd rather not. Should I just use something like Bonide Pyrethrin instead?

The bloody mites came on some plants I bought and I want to be sure the infestation doesn't spread so I'll probably spray everything. We're talking junipers (pro nana, blue chip, san jose, shimpaku, holger), azaleas, buckeye, mugo pine, jap maple, boxwoods, serissa, larch, beech, rain tree, white pine, trident maple, japanese holly, chinese elm, burning bush, dawn redwood, and hemlock.

In some of the reviews I read it said pyrethrin can damage foliage as well. I'm planning to sell most of the junipers in a few months so I can't do that!

@Japonicus, which insecticidal soap do you use?

Or maybe I should just leave well enough alone? I was reading that ladybugs eat them and I've been seeing more and more ladybugs on my plants.
I used Bonide’s synthetic pyrethrin, lambda-halothrin, on my juniper. It persists longer than pyrethrin and was very effective, with no damage to foliage.
 

Jzack605

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I just purchased some TELSTAR per attached pictures. I have read the directions and, for the life of me can't figure out the amount per gallon that is recommended. Why do they have to make that so difficult? Can someone help me with that? I did notice that this product has similar properties as ORTHO HOME DEFENSE that one sprays around the foundation and other areas on homes that might have bugs traveling over them. I have used home defense and it does work as long as water does not wash it off. I have heard that bugs/spiders etc crawl through it and then lick their legs and then that kills them.
For a general insecticide spray I do 11oz per 100. This is based on the lab I work with recommendation. The multiplier is .11; so 5g of spray the equation is .11x5=.55oz of talstar. That’ll kill nearly anything. We go to 33.3oz per 100 for mosquito control, so you could go higher if you really wanted to (I don’t see a need to). Talstar, while not my favorite insecticide to work with, works very well and is less risk of damage in hot temperatures.
 

Jzack605

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ABAMECTIN Is a very successful AI found in some insecticides, such as Lucid, I only use on badly infested trees. 4oz per 100g. It’s systemic and it’s pretty toxic stuff. I wear a respirator along with my regular PPE of long chemical gloves, long sleeve shirt, neck protection and face shield.
 

August44

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Sorry, but I don't understand something...when you say 4oz per 100g, what does the G stand for? when you say 11oz per 100...100 what? I put Telstar on a dahlia bush that was infested and turning. Sprayed under and over and sprayed heavy @1oz/ gallon per directions. I did not top water either. 3 days later more mites again. Dahlia now resides it trash can
 
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3 days later more mites again.

I think most mites have a 3 day egg cycle. I did a blast of water every couple days for a week or so and saw the numbers reduce dramatically and yesterday i hit all of my trees with a dose of sultan. Ill check again in 3 days and if i see them back ill rotate in another miticide.
 

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Sorry, but I don't understand something...when you say 4oz per 100g, what does the G stand for? when you say 11oz per 100...100 what? I put Telstar on a dahlia bush that was infested and turning. Sprayed under and over and sprayed heavy @1oz/ gallon per directions. I did not top water either. 3 days later more mites again. Dahlia now resides it trash can

Miticides will only kill the adult mites. The eggs will not be affected. When they hatch, you’ll have a new population. This is a process - you’ll have to spray multiple times to eliminate the mites. The length of time from egg to adult varies greatly depending on temperature. Under optimum conditions (approximately 80ºF or 27ºC ), spider mites complete their development in five days or so. But there are millions of them, some just about to hatch. So you’ll have a large population again in just a few days. You’ll need to spray again before they mature into adults - so less than 5 days after the first application. You’ll need to repeat several times before you’ve got the problem under control.

S
 

August44

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So 4 oz per 100 gallon? That does not seem right. When I say I did not top water, that means I did not water from the top down, I just watered the base so as to not wash off the spray on the plant leaves etc. I did not realize that one has to spray Telstar every 3 days or so.

Is there a systemic out there that will keep killing them. I read above where ABAMECTIN might do that.
 
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So 4 oz per 100 gallon? That does not seem right

I ran into this problem using sultan. The labels assume you are using a big ag sprayer. So you do a little math for your hand sprayer. If its 4oz per 100 gallons and you just want to mix 1 gallon, move the decimal over to the hundredths place. 4oz then turns into .04oz which when converted to teaspoons comes out to a quarter teaspoon per gallon. (1fl oz = 6 us teaspoons). If you spray every three to five days most miticide suggests you rotate to a different one on subsequent sprayings.
 

Jzack605

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4oz per 100 gallon is correct. The multiplier is .04 as stated above. I usually add Hort oil at a rate of .05 (.005 multiplier) as a sticking agent. It shouldn’t matter what kind of sprayer is used.
 

Forsoothe!

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I spent my life in the plastics business and measuring liquids by any method other than weighing in grams for small volumes is problematic. I have an Ohaus triple beam gram scale, but you can buy a little scale from Harbor Freight. You'll need some paper cups, waxed or hot cups are best, that you put ~50 or 100 grams of water in and then pour whatever pesticide you're using into the water. You want to disperse it in water to avoid TARE loss, that's what you lose because it clings to the walls of the vessel your are using. When you are only using 5 or 10 grams of an active agent, losing 2 or 3 grams as TARE loss is significant. I use ordinary quart big box sprayers and have some dedicated to insecticides or fertilizers or herbicides. I don't use them for cross purposes and never try to clean them and use them for something different. I do everything in grams per quart. Here are some useful conversions: Tsp = 14.2g; Tbsp = 28.4g; Cup = 227.3g; oz = 28.35g; Qt = 946g; lb = 454g
 

Japonicus

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Tsp = 14.2g; Tbsp = 28.4g;
?? Should be 3x not 2x (42.6g)?
When I say I did not top water, that means I did not water from the top down, I just watered the base so as to not wash off the spray
😴 I was still sleep walking, no java. Of course, I was trying to see top off but wasn't there :)
Bayer 3 in 1 is systemic but really, lets not throw the whole kitchen sink in there too.
Follow @markyscott lead here. I didn't know the life cycle, good info.
Again, I suggest to also treat the whole area, not just individual plants.

EDIT: I would treat this issue as"one insult per season" meaning sure a systemic is ok
but let the plants recover before you add another type of "poison", but keep up the fight.
 

Forsoothe!

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?? Should be 3x not 2x (42.6g)?

😴 I was still sleep walking, no java. Of course, I was trying to see top off but wasn't there :)
Bayer 3 in 1 is systemic but really, lets not throw the whole kitchen sink in there too.
Follow @markyscott lead here. I didn't know the life cycle, good info.
Again, I suggest to also treat the whole area, not just individual plants.

EDIT: I would treat this issue as"one insult per season" meaning sure a systemic is ok
but let the plants recover before you add another type of "poison", but keep up the fight.
Thank you for catching my error: 1 tsp = 4.76g; 1 tbsp = 14.3g
 
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