Spider mites

[parvae_arbores]

I watched a really good video yesterday with Ryan Neil where he talked about a three chemical rotation for dealing with mites. The idea is if you use a rotation of chemicals targeting different parts of the mite life cycle as a rotation to avoid resistance and allow you to mitigate the problem on trees where you have an infestation. I have some pretty heavy mite infestation right now and I need to move to a chemical rotation. The problem is it seems like labelling for killing mites on these products is not accurate and figuring out which chemical in the active ingredients is impacting which part of the mite lifecycle is guesswork at best. I wanted to reach out to the community to see which chemicals (active ingredients) people been successful with, bonus points if you know how the chemistry works and which part of the mite lifecycle it impacts.

Here are the chemicals I was thinking of using:
Bayer 3-in-1; Active Ingredients: 0.47% Imidacloprid; 0.61% Tau-fluvalinate; 0.65% Tebuconazole.

Ortho 3-in-1; Active Ingredients: 0.20% Sulfur, 0.01% Pyrethrins

Captain Jack's Dead Bug Brew; Active Ingredients: spinosad 0.5%

PS: I was unable to find a pest control category in the forum list, this seems like a pretty common question maybe one can be added?

 

[cbroad]

I've heard using imidacloprid will cause a spider mite population explosion. I wouldn't chance it.

I've been successful using Jack's Dead Bug (spinosad A and spinosad B), and I add 1ml of hort. oil per 32ozs of solution to help coat and smother. I had mites that I couldn't get rid of with oil; Jack's had them dead within a few hours.

I sprayed THOROUGHLY every five days for three applications (these were mostly ficus indoors under lights). They haven't been back since.

I now quarantine anything coming into my garden first...

 

[Bonsai Nut]

PS: I was unable to find a pest control category in the forum list, this seems like a pretty common question maybe one can be added?

You're right! I just updated the soil and fertilizer forum to include insecticides and fungicides.

Here are the chemicals I was thinking of using:
Bayer 3-in-1; Active Ingredients: 0.47% Imidacloprid; 0.61% Tau-fluvalinate; 0.65% Tebuconazole.

Ortho 3-in-1; Active Ingredients: 0.20% Sulfur, 0.01% Pyrethrins

Captain Jack's Dead Bug Brew; Active Ingredients: spinosad 0.5%

Insecticides:
Imidacloprid - a systemic, synthetic version of nicotine
Tau-fluvalinate - a systemic, synthetic version of pyrethrins
Pyrethrins - an organic insecticide made from chrysanthemum seeds
Spinosad - a natural insecticide made by soil bacterium

I happen to use neem oil for spider mites, but have also had extensive experience with pyrethrins on citrus trees. Due to the citrus trees bearing fruit that I was going to eat, I avoided systemics, and only used organic insecticides to control aphids and psyllids. Good news is that all the insecticides on your list are not the hard core synthetic "poisons" that don't occur in nature. They are either natural compounds, or synthetic versions of natural compounds that were tweaked to reduce toxicity in mammals (in the case of imidacloprid) or to kill mites on honey bees without harming the bee (in the case of Tau-fluvalinate).

 

[Paradox]

I watched a really good video yesterday with Ryan Neil where he talked about a three chemical rotation for dealing with mites. The idea is if you use a rotation of chemicals targeting different parts of the mite life cycle as a rotation to avoid resistance and allow you to mitigate the problem on trees where you have an infestation.

I can't watch the video right now.
Did Ryan say what he was using and did he find it to work? I would try to use what he recommended rather than just pick 3 things at random.

 

[parvae_arbores]

Insecticides:
Imidacloprid - a systemic, synthetic version of nicotine
Tau-fluvalinate - a systemic, synthetic version of pyrethrins
Pyrethrins - an organic insecticide made from chrysanthemum seeds
Spinosad - a natural insecticide made by soil bacterium

I happen to use neem oil for spider mites, but have also had extensive experience with pyrethrins on citrus trees. Due to the citrus trees bearing fruit that I was going to eat, I avoided systemics, and only used organic insecticides to control aphids and psyllids. Good news is that all the insecticides on your list are not the hard core synthetic "poisons" that don't occur in nature. They are either natural compounds, or synthetic versions of natural compounds that were tweaked to reduce toxicity in mammals (in the case of imidacloprid) or to kill mites on honey bees without harming the bee (in the case of Tau-fluvalinate).

I am ok with the toxic stuff as long as it works. I just applied 1 application of the bayer 3-in-1 and will try again if I see more mites in a week like the directions say. Have you tried anything besides neem?

 

[parvae_arbores]

I can't watch the video right now.
Did Ryan say what he was using and did he find it to work? I would try to use what he recommended rather than just pick 3 things at random.

He "doesn't want to endorse certain brands" so he said to "do your research". From this thread already I can see that captain jacks, and neem and horticultural oil may be effective and the Bayer 3-in-1 may or may not work due to the chemical blend.

 

[butlern]

Forbid… that’s the stuff for spider mites

 

[Paradox]

He "doesn't want to endorse certain brands" so he said to "do your research".

 

[Bonsai Nut]

He "doesn't want to endorse certain brands" so he said to "do your research". From this thread already I can see that captain jacks, and neem and horticultural oil may be effective and the Bayer 3-in-1 may or may not work due to the chemical blend.

Bayer 3-in-1 is (for me) a good product. However it is a combination fertilizer, systemic insecticide, and systemic fungicide. If you don't need it (ie a fungicide) why use it? Likewise if you are fertilizing your trees separately, the thought of having to add additional fertilizer just to get a systemic insecticide is a non-starter.

 

[parvae_arbores]

Forbid… that’s the stuff for spider mites

Oh my goodness gracious: https://www.amazon.com/ForbidTM-4F-Miticide-Bottle/dp/B005BYRVKW 238$?

 

[butlern]

well... yes. But it's effective, that volume will last a lifetime, and you can share it with others in your area/club and split costs.

 

[parvae_arbores]

Bayer 3-in-1 is (for me) a good product. However it is a combination fertilizer, systemic insecticide, and systemic fungicide. If you don't need it (ie a fungicide) why use it? Likewise if you are fertilizing your trees separately, the thought of having to add additional fertilizer just to get a systemic insecticide is a non-starter

I used it more as a foliar spray since the active ingredient for mites kills on contact and chalk up the fertilization as "foliar feeding". I am going to switch to Captian Jacks next and then use Spetracide: Malathion if nothing else works.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I used it more as a foliar spray since the active ingredient for mites kills on contact and chalk up the fertilization as "foliar feeding". I am going to switch to Captian Jacks next and then use Spetracide: Malathion if nothing else works.

Oh sorry... I didn't even know they made a spray, LOL. I always use the pellets so I can control the application rate.

 

[parvae_arbores]

Oh sorry... I didn't even know they made a spray, LOL. I always use the pellets so I can control the application rate.

Look at all of us here, learning...

 

[Tiki]

Bayer 3 in 1 insect, disease and mite control is a solid product for use on "most" spider mites. I think Bnut may be talking about the granular 3 in 1 feed that Bayer makes which is a totally different product from the 3 in 1 active ingredients you listed. Confusing for sure.

Forbid is pricey but very effective. Mites can wreck a nice tree in no time. I want a product that works and works fast.