HELP! Spider mites Neem oil vs mineral oil vs?

[Dr. Dave 4u]

Hi WaterWitchin,
Do you find just the alcohol sufficient?
Do you dilute it at all or full strength
And, does full strength alcohol hurt or dry out some of the thinner more sensitive orchid leaves?
Thanks

[thefish1337]

before you begin any treatment hit them with a strong blast of water to rinse most of them off. it makes control elimination a lot easier if you hit the population first and then follow up with soap, oil, neem.

[estación seca]

The alcohol needs to be 70% or higher to be effective. Plain water sprayed on with a spray bottle will get rid of spider mites. They are knocked off and can't climb back up. I just heard a talk in which the speaker said plain water kills spider mite eggs. They absorb water and burst. The speaker said greenhouses kept at or over 80% relative humidity don't have problems with spider mites.

[Leafmite]

Originally Posted by Dusty Ol' Man

In the past I have dealt with spider mites 3 times in my small collections. The first two times I used malathion (available through Amazon). The third time I used Sevin liquid diluted to one oz. per gal. Both used in a spray bottle and applied in a very targeted manner. All three times one application took care of the problem. These poisons are very mild where humans are concerned, and my pets are not attracted to it. Soaps and oils may be effective over time, but I don't want to spend the time to treat and retreat for insect problems. One and done...safely.

These are the big guns. We used both on our fruit trees, especially Malathion (every two weeks, from just after the blooms dropped until a month before harvest). Both are safe as long as one follows all the cautions and directions. You should not use either indoors, though, ever. And, please, always read everything before using and commit to following instructions. When the pesticides are not used as directed, they can increase resistance in pests and can cause health issues. And, it is important to keep updated on the health information. When we first began growing fruit trees, Lindane was highly recommended and we used that (it was super-effective and nothing quite beats it for the stone fruit)...now it is banned in nearly every country. One thing with Sevin is we noticed it caused fruit drop. We never used it when our trees were in bloom (to protect the bees and other pollinators) but it might also affect blooms. Also, both will kill bees so never use either when your orchids are in bloom.

---------- Post added at 08:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:31 PM ----------

Originally Posted by thefish1337

before you begin any treatment hit them with a strong blast of water to rinse most of them off. it makes control elimination a lot easier if you hit the population first and then follow up with soap, oil, neem.

I agree with this. If I have a bad infestation of spidermites or mealies, I use soap and water, first, let the plant dry, then use the insecticidal soap or Neem oil.

[WaterWitchin]

Originally Posted by Dr. Dave 4u

Hi WaterWitchin,
Do you find just the alcohol sufficient?
Do you dilute it at all or full strength
And, does full strength alcohol hurt or dry out some of the thinner more sensitive orchid leaves?
Thanks

I use rubbing alcohol like you get from the store. I think it's around 70%, but you need to look at the bottle. I don't dilute it at all.

I thought we were discussing Catts, via your original query. Will it hurt thinner leaves? Hasn't with mine, but rarely have that issue with thinner leaved plants. I've used on Oncidium with no bad results. That's me.

[Roberta]

I even spray 70% rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) on flowers with no harm... gets the mealy bugs that hide down in the crevices. Drugstore has 90% also, that's too strong. 70% is pretty generic. I just stick a sprayer in the alcohol bottle.

[Dusty Ol' Man]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

These are the big guns. We used both on our fruit trees, especially Malathion (every two weeks, from just after the blooms dropped until a month before harvest). Both are safe as long as one follows all the cautions and directions. You should not use either indoors, though, ever. And, please, always read everything before using and commit to following instructions. When the pesticides are not used as directed, they can increase resistance in pests and can cause health issues. And, it is important to keep updated on the health information. When we first began growing fruit trees, Lindane was highly recommended and we used that (it was super-effective and nothing quite beats it for the stone fruit)...now it is banned in nearly every country. One thing with Sevin is we noticed it caused fruit drop. We never used it when our trees were in bloom (to protect the bees and other pollinators) but it might also affect blooms. Also, both will kill bees so never use either when your orchids are in bloom.[COLOR="Silver"]

First let me say that in my line of work (oil industry moving hazardous chemicals) reading safety information is a daily affair, so precaution is a habit. That said, since I started my plant hobby in California, I am familiar with places banning chemicals, sometimes as a knee-jerk reaction. They tried to do that with malathion during the mediterranean fruitfly invasion. Used safely and correctly, these pesticides are more than safe and effective. My method applies the chemicals to the top of the medium. If I want to apply to the leaves, I will use a cotton ball and apply exactly where I want it. Bees? In the six years I have had orchids on the deck during summer I have never seen a bee near them. They pretty much stick to the huge bottlebrush in the yard.
I only have a few plants. Taking care of each by hand is not time consuming and never gets to be a chore, so targeted application is easy and takes minutes.

[Leafmite]

I have other plants which attract hummingbirds, bees, butterflies and such to the plant collection and they will sometimes check out the orchids or just land on them. I usually just set ladybugs loose after putting the plants outside...sometimes lacewings. Indoors, if I do not have the luck to have a cleaning crew of ladybugs, I use a safe insecticidal soap, Neem Oil, Diatomaceous Earth, and washing the plants well with soap and water as my methods to combat pests.