Michi -

I would recommend to do a google search on Marathon insecticide - and read all the precautions. It is not highly toxic - but you want to work with gloves - and not touch soil with bare hands after you added Marathon to it.

If you use it "just in case" - like I do because I have a large collection - I use a 3oz per 5 gallons bucket of soil. If you have an infestation - according to Steve Reed - use about 1/8 teaspoon per 4" pot.

It is a best against mealy bugs. It is useless against mites and thrips.

Good Luck

Irina

Here is a link that might be useful: label

It's been my understanding that Marathon (imidacloprid) was effective against broad mites, but not cyclamen mites.

I once had quite a nice potting soil by Bayer with the the systemic in it. I think that is the one I've found once in awhile when repotting and it's still a better mix. They discontinued it. I suppose someone was eating it or something. It had the trace elements added too and was quite a nice mix (in the small bags).

Diana in PA

Diana and Michi -

Marathon is an insecticide, not miticide, it is not recommended against mites period - at least that's what they say on label - I specifically looked at it just now - for the mites you need Kelthane, AVID, Judo, Pylon etc. Depending on a budget - I listed them in order from cheapest to expensive, and to my regret efficiency matches the price.

I.

Irina is correct. I don't know how I got confused. I wish there was a systemic against broad mites.

Diana

Diana -

Pylon is a systemic. The problem is with a price.

I.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pylon

Yikes!!! I could replace my collection for that!

Barbara

Thing is - if you belong to a club - the club can buy and share.

This is a translaminar systemic - kills thrips in one application, 7 drops per gallon of spray. didn't try it on mites because so far I didn't get mites. Got INSV once - and this was a total collection replacement.

Yikes it is.

Irina

I was also hoping for one that I didn't have to spray :) I am always wonder if I have stupid broad mites, although I had a very graphic example of how too much light can simulate insect damage recently.

One looked so bad that I put it in a ziplock back and then the center looked much better. I still just took leaves because it wasn't in very good shape and I thought that would work out better. (I know that was backwards isolation.)

Why do you think there's such an issue with mealies there? (Just curious)

Diana

Diana -

it seems to me that right now root mealies are all over the place.

I very much hope that your broad mites are not there - but -

at least regarding cyclamen mites - they do not do good in high humidity, only when it is dry. So - if you cover your plants - you give the plants a reprieve - and you suppress the mites. But I do not think you can actually kill them all this way. But - it is a good idea anyway.

Good Luck

Irina

Irina,

I am a bit confused here (and was scared). I've had light problems and several plants looked "funny" but all were under the same light. One's center looked so bad that I put it in a ziplock bag out of the light and it cleared up. I was relieved that this was not cyclamen mite. Then you posted...

I've found a couple of other plantlets on that shelf but there are, again, extenuating circumstances. I did a search and found 3 articles that said cyclamen mites thrive in high humidity. ???? I have another plantlet bagged so will see if it's an insect issue or I just burned the center.

I've seen cyclamen mites in stores. Well, I've seen plants with damage caused by advanced infestations of cyclamen mites. I didn't hang around trying to see the mites :)

If I ever have cyclamen mites, I will simply trash everything or almost everything. We used Avid once and will not go through that again with numerous plants.

Diana

Diana -

Hello and Happy New year!

I am thinking that you have way too many plants to trash. It is not that you have 5 nonames on your windowsill - you have many more, you have plants from different families - and mites probably can hide on all of them.

I understand that this is a lot of work - you need to spray everything with AVID 3 times weeek apart - but what else can you do besides burning the house. Nancy Robitaille wrote I think on our Forum - that it is much easier to get rid of mites - than of mealie bugs. Your collection alltogether probably is worth a lot of money - and if it is mites - you can presume that they are on each and every plant.

To my regret I do not have enough Pylon to share - I got my mini-bottle from the club - and I practically used it up already fighting thrips.

Hello - if anybody knows how to purchase a small anount of Judo or Pylon?

What you can do - take 2 leaves from each variety. Before putting them down - dip each one into Clorax bleach 1:3 water solution - and keep it in for a minute - in rubbing alcohol - 1:3 water soluion - and rinse it with water with a drop of Down soap. Recut, put to rooting - and keep the trays under the domes in a separate room.

If you have chimeras - you can treat decrown them - and do the dipping on the crowns.

I read about bagging the mite infested plant in an old AV magazine. Cannot say for sure about broad and cyclamen mites - but spider mites outside - love low humidity - that's why they are the main pest on roses in Coolorado.

Do not give up

Irina

Irina,

You are right about spider mites. I'm surprised they aren't desert dwellers :). I gave up on ivy years ago because of those things.

First, it's not confirmed that I have mites. Second, I have a disability affecting the use of my hands, arms and shoulders, which makes the mite treatment of many plants impractical/impossible. There are other family health factors as well. It doesn't much matter if it's Avid or Judo or Pylon or whatever.

I once had a microscope and all I discovered was that african violet hairs look very strange under a microscope. Well, I did see a privet mite munching at the roots of a leaf I'd bought from a fairly well known vendor but that was it. I've never spotted anything with the regular loupe magnifiers.

Thanks for trying to help but until something's advanced, it seems as though cultural issues can look much the same (I have cold places too). I'm going to try to rig up some shade/filtering on that top light. Wish me luck.

(I lived in WY and know it's kind of dry out that way too, but it's cloudier here.)

Happy growing in 2011 :)

Diana