Hermie

I too found little white mites when repotting my Carnosa this week. Now I do use systematic so what I did you may not want to. I was repotting and noticed them in the soil. I mixed Bayers Tree and Shrub with 1/2 gallon water and poured over roots. I waited 30 min and then took it outside and sprayed all dirt from the roots. Now I have read that alcohol (diluted) may also work. I would of course spray it off completely. TTH!

Thanks, Teisa. I didn't think about pulling it out and getting the roots. That may have to happen. It's done so well outside - no blooms, but lots of purple-ish offshoots and new leaves. I triple checked my 2 hibiscus and eucalyptus I brought in yesterday, and didn't see anything. Did you do anything to the actual leaves? Or just the roots?

Thanks!
Renee

If these are really Spider Mites, Bayer Tree and Shrub will have no effect on them. The active ingredient in BATS is Imidacloprid, and there are studies that suggest that it can actually increase the reproductive rate in Spider Mites. I use Neem Oil and AzaMax to help control them with pretty good effect.

I am with Vermont.. I too use Neem...

First off, most time you can't even see spider mites with the naked eye unless they have build their webbings..I'd bet they are some sort of other little bug...

I have never seen a spider mite on mine even with a magnifying glass thank God and I don't know of any systemic that works on mites..

I do know that systemics actually increase mite populations on certain plants..

Good luck

Mike

Okay - so maybe they aren't spider mites. There is no webbing and I can see them just by looking at the underside of the leaves. They are tiny, off-white little things crawling around. I just don't want to move the plant into my house until they are dealt with, because I don't want them spreading.

I will plan to purchase some Neem Oil today, repot the plant, spray the heck out of the roots, and hope for the best. I think our weather is supposed to be okay the next couple of weeks, so hopefully after a few applications, my carnosa won't be shunned from the house anymore. :)

Thanks!
Renee

Ok well I assumed I had some sort of mite. My BATS said it killed mites. And it did kill whatever I had. I had little white bugs crawling in the dirt and around roots. The BATS stopped them from moving! I then washed all dirt off the roots.
Does anyone have a suggestion to what is small, white, crawls in dirt if not mites?

Do they look like these?

http://www1.extension.umn.edu/garden/insects/find/springtails/

Just curious....I hope you are able to control what they are..
Neem oil and or other topical pesticides with natural oils and soaps do a great job..

Mike

Mike,
No. I've searched for past 24 hrs. The closest looking is a root mealie. But they aren't even exact. They look like a very small white tick. It had a roundish body and I could see the legs. Thanks for trying though.

_Teisa a

Not quite - they aren't so elongated. Teisa, it sounds like we have the same bug. I went to our garden store last night, and the woman also suggested they might be mealies of some sort. I bought the Neem Oil because it seemed to cover a bunch of different pests. So, the goal tonight is to repot the plant, spray the roots and leaves with the oil, and reapply over the next couple of weeks before the plant has to come in.

Thanks all - I'll let you know how it turns out! :)