spider mites

[weiss]

Greetings,
I grow inside in an Orchidarium and have many mounted phals. hanging from hardware cloth. Well I now have mites and my roots are so long and entangled I can't take them outside for spraying? Any ideas on how to treat them?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Tear your orchidarium apart and treat. No other way. Those things are tiny and will start hiding in tiny crevices you can't easily reach. I recommend treating everything in your tank, just in case.

I recently had a losing battle with a spider mite infestation with Phal javanica. I didn't realize how many of them there were hiding out in the leaf axil. The plant lost it's leaves and I've only got roots to deal with. Hopefully mine will do one of those growing a new shoot from the stem deal.

I used rubbing alcohol.

[Ross]

I always thought mites grew best in dry climates, but folks with terrariums are starting to complain. Wonder if that's really mites? How dry is your tank? You actually can broadcast spray the whole interior with a product such as Schultz Garden Safe insecticide from Home Depot. Or, if your tank will close up completely, you can use Marty's Dry Ice routine http://www.orchidboard.com/eliminate...pests-with-co2

[weiss]

Thanks. Is there anything one can spray inside my Orchidarium, like Safer's Insect Soap, Neem Oil, or Bayer Rose and garden? Is is safe to breath?

[Ross]

You can sagely spray the Schultz product. Safers leaves a white waxy residue that will coat everything. Neem oil might work (I don't think it's potent enough, but worth a try.) The Bayers products are really effective, but really strong also. Don't think I would use them for this application. The Schultz product is probably the safest to handle, spray, etc. I wouldn't try sniffing any of them, but fumes shouldn't cause any problems (not sure on the Bayer product.)

[Pippin]

Bayer Rose and Garden is an insecticide not a mitecide. It will not kill mites. For mites you need a mitecide like Avid, Floramite etc.