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| Greetings all! I just found you today as I searched for a way to de-mite my blooming lemon tree. I am coming off my best yield ever - 42 lemons...the last two are in my frig waiting patiently to become lemon squares for the super bowl. Normally during the late fall and early winter I often am able to let the tree be outdoors during the day and inside at night. However last week, after weeks of spring like 70s and 80s, the temps finally seemed to settle on cold here in SC (daytime highs low/mid 50s and low 30s and even some 20s at night), and I moved the tree to its winter spot in the house (living room. Now roughly five days in I find that a spider mite convention was obviously scheduled for this week without my consent. My unwelcome guests have spread in less than a week to cover the blooms, and most leaves. So after searching this brilliant forum and finding out that I must not use Dawn dish soap, the questions of my blooms is still unanswered. what if anything can I put on my Mite Hotel and Resort to evict the buggers without further damage to my blooms? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by meyermike_1micha 5 (My Page) on Sat, Jan 26, 13 at 14:12
| I would never let those darn buggers have a field day at the expense of my flowers. They will fall anyway from their sucking body parts. By the way. Welcome to suffering citrus annomous. Lol Neem oil or a good horticultural oil will rid those univited guests as long as you keep up with the routine every 3 days for about a two week span. You will lose flowers, but at least not the plant. Mike :) |
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- Posted by greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a (My Page) on Sat, Jan 26, 13 at 14:21
| Hey, Mike! Welcome, Rock! My lemon has been blooming for a couple months, and I've been Neeming my tree for mites If using a soap, be sure that it is non-detergent. In the past, I've used Dr. Bronner's Castile soap, In the case of an infestation, treat repeatedly...maybe every three days for three treatments,
Josh |
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| I have had extremely high success with Neem oil for spider mites. It works very well. |
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| I recently had a similar unauthorized convention ( love that!) used cold-pressed Neem (Dyna-Gro, purchased on line) diluted in water as directed every 4 days, but mites reppeared inside of 4 days each time. I decided to try something I found on another forum... 1 quart sprayer filled with warm water, I added 1/2 tsp. cold-pressed Neem, 1/2 tsp. Rosemary essential oil, 1/2 tsp. Castile soap, and ( recent addition) 1/8 tsp Dyna-Gro Pro-tekt (purchased on line) I sprayed 3 days apart, twice, and haven't seen a mite since. My trees had unopened flower buds and they are fine. I'm not saying the mites won't be back, you have to stay on top of them. I liked the rosemary because it allegedly kills every stage, including eggs, and it smells a lot better than the Neem. I happen to use the Pro-tekt when I water my citrus anyway, so it isn't just for the mites. My impression was you can use the soap or the Pro-tekt, but I chose to use both. This is just something that worked for me, I thought adding rosemary worked better than the Neem alone, but I did start with 2 Neem treatments so this is hardly scientific. As eggs hatch about every 4 days, you have to catch all generations and make sure you get all the eggs, so that's why 2 treatments isn't enough. Don't use in the sun, I kept mine out of direct sunlight for 18 hours after treatment. I'd be interested in knowing if anyone else tries adding the rosemary and if it works for them? |
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- Posted by meyermike_1micha 5 (My Page) on Sat, Jan 26, 13 at 17:53
| Hello Josh and Manderin1. I love the smell of that! Between the Rosemary oil and the Pro-tek I should be golden!:-) Thanks Manderin1 and Josh! I have the Pro-tek and now I need to get Rosemary oil. Where do I get the Rosemary Oil? Thank you. Mike |
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| Hi Mike, I bought the rosemary essential oil on Amazon, happened to buy the one from NOW Foods. I imagine you could get some at Whole Foods if you have one nearby, or even a GNC, as long as it's essential oil... |
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| Way... too many lemons on that poor tree! They are past ripe; and I would harvest at least 3/4 of them. Give your tree a chance to grow. After harvest I would give it a good shot of citrus fertilizer and expect a big bloom in February. |
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- Posted by meyermike_1micha 5 (My Page) on Sun, Jan 27, 13 at 18:43
| Mandarin1 I did! I bought a bottle at GNC and used it tonight! Would you believe that after going to my local Hydroponics store and seeing that it is what they use on their plants clean free of mites for the first time ever in years, all the growers swearing by it, and seeing a price of 69 dollars for 8 ounces on their shelf, you bet I bought it there.lol Thank you |
This post was edited by meyermike_1micha on Sun, Jan 27, 13 at 18:44
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| Wow Mike, I've read about some rosemary oil and the new rosemary-based insecticides being really expenive but whoa, I had no idea! Hope you will report your experience with it! I'm also going to try doubling the rosemary oil and eliminating the Neem and will report on that, too, if I see any critters come back. Yes, it helps mask the neem smell, much better! Mary |
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- Posted by meyermike_1micha 5 (My Page) on Wed, Jan 30, 13 at 12:57
| My goodness! So far so good! Wow, and just the next day, my room smells of blooms and not Neem.. Mike |
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- Posted by meyermike_1micha 5 (My Page) on Sun, Feb 3, 13 at 12:33
| Mary, still so far so good! I can't believe the stuff! They also have systemic which the local place uses. That is quite expensive. I wonder if one could just water with the oil and the roots would take that up Mike |
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| Yup, mine are still doing well, too! The rosemary essential oil is new territory for me as well. It might be a good systemic, who knows? And I read that the scent repels a lot of insects, too. This should probably have it's own thread? I'm really glad the rosemary seems to be working for you, too, I'm trying to stay cautious with my optimism. :-) |
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- Posted by jojosplants 9/ Tucson, Az. (My Page) on Mon, Feb 4, 13 at 10:27
| Rosemary 'tea' is good for keeping fleas off dogs :-) I just planted one yesterday and boy did it smell good! lol.. Hope your tree's continue to do well! Mike~ I bet your room smells great! JoJo |
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| MeyerMike ( hope you see this) last sprayed ith Neem/Rosemary 30 days ago, still no mites....how is yours doing? |
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- Posted by Citrus-Steve (My Page) on Fri, Feb 15, 13 at 0:02
| Again, I have been growing citrus for around 8 years so I am no pro but it looks like maybe a few of those lemons could get taken down to Mount Pleasant one weekend and squeezed over some fresh, but correctly cooked, oysters. Still got our house there and looking forward to getting back there soon and harvesting some of my own. Which is why, now that I think about it, I started growing citrus in the first place. Thanks oysters. Lowcountry Steve representing out west (temporarily) |
This post was edited by Citrus-Steve on Fri, Feb 15, 13 at 0:04
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- Posted by meyermike_1micha 5 (My Page) on Fri, Feb 15, 13 at 8:28
| Manderin...lol Sometimes we take our pest free plants for granted...I am so use to not worrying about them these days, I totally forgot about them. It's because I have seen no dropped leaves or deformed new growing ones at last! It's funny...I posted the success with it on the houseplant forums and it seemed that most didn't care..Then people ask for help getting rid of them. I don't get it?lol Hope you are well. Steve, do it up!lol Mike |
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| I wanted to try using only rosemary oil and leave out the Neem, just to see it if worked. But ( sigh) guess I'll just have to wait until I have mites again...oh well ( smiling ear to ear). My trees are indoors permanently so I don't know how long it takes until it needs to be re-applied, when I give them their monthly shower and flushing, I won't re-treat...see what happens. |
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| Question about the rosemary oil: are you guys using essential oil or rosemary cooking oil? I went into my local market and picked up essential oil but was concerned when the attendant asked if I was looking for rosemary cooking oil. If you provide a little more information on the exact type it would be very helpful. thanks a lot!. |
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- Posted by meyermike_1micha 5 (My Page) on Fri, Feb 15, 13 at 11:13
| Ryan.. No worries. I use the Essential Oil bought at GNC... In fact, Manderine, it is all I used with an emulsifyer last time and I have not had ONE problem since. I think I will just do a spray over everything again since it smells good and take no chances. I LOVE the stuff! It's almost theraputic at the same time.lol MIke |
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| Steve, you're speaking my language...the oysters, I mean. I lived in the Lowcountry (Beaufort) for over twenty years. There's nothing like Lowcountry oysters....if by 'correctly cooked ' you mean steamed in the backyard until barely warm, lol. |
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| Ryan, it needs to be Rosemary Essential Oil... Mike, I just noticed a couple mites back on one tree, the one that I think was ground zero for my mite problem, also happens to be my latest aquisition. All trees were last sprayed over a month ago, no signs of recurrence on my other trees. Lol, you're ahead of me! OK, my turn to try the rosemary solution without Neem and see how it goes.... |
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- Posted by hoosierquilt z10a/23 Vista Calif (My Page) on Mon, Feb 18, 13 at 13:11
| Mike, how much of the essential rosemary oil are you using per gallon of water? Essential oils are really, really concentrated, so I would like to try this, but want to make sure I don't make the spray too concentrated. Do you add the Neem as well and what emulsier are you using? Inquiring minds need to know your formula :-) Patty S. |
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- Posted by meyermike_1micha 5 (My Page) on Mon, Feb 18, 13 at 14:11
| Hey Patty.. I have been putting 15 to 20 little drops to a 32 ounce hand help spray bottle. Do you have Pro-Tek from Dyno-gro? http://www.amazon.com/Dyna-Gro-Pro-tekt-Tek-032-Silicon-Supplement/dp/ B000E1VZHC http://www.spray-n-growgardening.com/Coco-Wet-8-oz/productinfo/CCW/ Hoping this helps you:-) |
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- Posted by hoosierquilt z10a/23 Vista Calif (My Page) on Mon, Feb 18, 13 at 16:09
| I don't have any ProTek, but I can remedy that :-) Thanks for the additional tips and amounts, Mike. I don't usually have issues with spider mites, but I ended up with some in my greenhouse from the citrus rootstock I ordered. So, looking for a nice, safe control measure to use, as the nasty insecticides really aren't very effective against spider mites. Appreciate it! Patty S. |
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| A company named EcoSMART makes an organic bug killer with rosemary oil (among other things) named Garden Insect Killer. The 24oz bottle sells for about $6 at Home Depot. I've never tried it myself, so I can't recommend it one way or the other. I had such a bad infestation of spider mites on my tomatoes and eggplants last summer that I will give this a try in the future - if the need arises. |
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