Thanks for the recipe Kasha

You're welcome. A few days ago, I sprayed a few Brugs that were plagued with red spider mites with Sevin, but they were back the next day. So I made up this receipe, sprayed them til they dripped, and lo & behold, no more mites! Simple and safe for the environment. I did spray in the evening.
kasha77

No intention to hijack your thread kasha77 but thought I should share an organic recipe of "GARLIC WATER" which works for me, also shared it on another forum at GW, it might be handy for someone here too (copy & pasting as it is):

"Take a quarter kilo of whole, unpeeled garlic and separate one liter of water, bring to the boil, simmer for about 15 minutes, remove from the stove and leave to stand for approximately 12 hours.
Then strain it through fine muslin cloth and spray on pests. The same garlic can be re-boiled two or three times before losing its potency. Proportionally increase the amount of garlic and water for larger batches.
This spray is completely safe for both indoor and outdoor use and should be applied 2-3 times a week until the problem is resolved. This spray washes off in wet weather so donÂt use it during periods of extreme humidity."

It worked best for me when applied in morning and just before evening i.e. twice daily.

Happy Gardening.

Izhar

Thanks Ishar, I agree- garlic keeps them away! Another great one is tea made from Russian sage. A handful of leaves simmered, then strained, and add water to make a quart. (Sorry about the measurements, that's how I cook too!:) I'll bet my bottom dollar that Rosemary works too. The only disadvantage to the teas, is you have to spray frequently. The oil mixture is applied once a season! I like that, since I have about 200 brug plants to take care of. Thanks for the added tip, organic is the real way to go!
kasha77

I just discovered that my beautiful pink-blooming brug, which is in the ground (San Diego area) and is several feet tall, suddenly has got a lot of leaves damaged by what seem to be spider mites. It's my first encounter with this pest, and I think I'll try the oil mixture spray and possibly the garlic one as well. I don't want to use chemicals because the brug in question is near a precious fig tree.

MY QUESTION IS, do you spray both the tops of the leaves and underneath them? (Sorry for caps. I used them in case the length of the first paragraph might turn off someone's interest in continuing.) My brug is so big that that would be quite a chore, but I'll do it. So. Cal. has been in a drought and our use of the irrigation sprays has been limited to 5 min. for any one area of the garden and that only 2 days a week, to boot. Although we do give our non-succulent plants dish water and the water that would have been wasted when waiting for warm water for the shower, that is nothing like the amount we used to give the garden through the automated irrigation system. I suppose that is what brought on the mite attack.

Update: I examined an affected leaf with a magnifying glass, not expecting to see the mites with my aged eyes, but there they were! So I now realize, having seen them on the underneath, that the answer to my question above should be a great big DUH! Gotta get the spray on 'em to kill 'em.

I went out with a flashlight and realized that practically the whole bush is infested, though only a few leaves are yellowing so far. I think my best course will be to prune it back severely and then spray what is left. So now, my question is how to dispose of the parts I cut off. Can I put them in with the yard waste for collection without worrying about ending up giving other people mites (I'm not sure, but the city may use it for composting.)? If that is inadvisable, would burying them be sure to kill off the mites?

Any advice appreciated.