2 more mites lessons !!!

[Merlyn]

Today I just passed the mites 301 & 401 classes !!! Thought I knew most everything about them as I've been battling them since '05 !!! Two more signs, since you can't see them with a naked eye, especially for Ctsms. Since a lot of my 50 Ctsms are now starting to go dormant I wasn't concerned when I saw some leaves start to turn yellow !!! WRONG !!! Add that to my mites signals library !!! During the same period I've noticed a LOT of sugar drops on some plants. Didn't think much about it as it was getting into the 90's for a week or so in my room. WRONG AGAIN !!! That lesson is that some chids in the SAME alliance react differently to mites !!! The minute I looked under my 5x glass it DAWNED on me that each sugar drop is chid BLOOD from a mite bite !!! Ok, crude terminology but it gets the idea across !!!

That makes 4 signals that I know of through experience. All the books will tell you about the fine webs under the leaves but if you're waiting until you see that, you just killed your plant !!! I NEVER see that even under my 5x !!! The MAIN first sign is any different sheen on the TOP of the leaves or a miniscule whitening on the TOP. I'm still learning, OBVIOUSLY, to check with a 5x the minute I see ANYTHING different !!!

That's it class !!! Thanks to our substitute teachers THE MITES !!! Hopefully I helped any of you others with the same nemesis as me !! BTW, I used Insecticidal Soap and drenched EVERYONE in the pix, sterilized EVERY dish under the hottest sink water and sprayed the entire area's posts and shelves and walls with Isoap also.
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