SOOOOOO SAD!!!! :(

[Gage]

So last night I was getting ready to hit the hay around midnight when I noticed some discoloration in the leaves of my little Phal Brother Sara Gold. I hadn't noticed before because the leaves always had white residue from whatever chemicals the grower used on it, so the new discoloration wasn't noticeable. The little guy only just started putting out new leaves in the past month or two since I bought it in May. When I turned it over I could see the damage was pretty bad, and on every single leaf. I got out my little 14x jeweler's loupe (you never know when one of these will come in handy!), and saw hundreds of spider mites on the underside of each leaf.

So here's what I did, not that I think it will survive. But you guys with mite experience let me know if there is anything else I can do. I wiped down every leaf top and bottom and every cranny I could get into with 1/2 strength diluted rubbing alcohol with distilled water and a splash of peroxide, using a q tip. Then I unpotted it and sprayed the whole thing down with the dilution. I would have added a drop or 2 of dish soap to the spray bottle, but I only had fancy dish soap with questionable additives. Then I bagged it in a zip loc, partially to try and grow some roots because the darn thing has barely grown any roots either since May, and partially to quarantine it from the other plants. I examined every other orchid in the kitchen, and only found a handful of mites on the little Phal next to the infested one, so I wiped it down as well. Then I cleaned and disinfected the windowsill with the alcohol mix.

Any thoughts guys and gals?

[ronaldhanko]

Air movement, air movement, air movement for mites. I haven't trouble with them often an when I have it's been on houseplants not orchids. if it's summer I put the plants outside and hose them down - that usually does the trick.

[Gage]

Originally Posted by ronaldhanko

Air movement, air movement, air movement for mites. I haven't trouble with them often an when I have it's been on houseplants not orchids. if it's summer I put the plants outside and hose them down - that usually does the trick.

Sweet! It's SUPER windy outside, so I can handle that.

[ronaldhanko]

Just make sure you don't leave your Phal where it's going to get sunburned if you put it outside.

[tucker85]

Sorry to hear about your phal, Gage. I haven't had any problems with spider mites but it sounds like you've done everything you can. Twice a year (once in the spring and once in the fall) I spray everything with horticultural oil. The one I use is Organicide. A week later I spray everything with insecticide soap. According to Martin Motes this will keep mites under control. One word of warning you don't want to get the oil on anything because it will stain even concrete. Good luck. I hope your phal makes it.

[Merlyn]

I have mites and I believe it when they say once you get them they never go away ! They return frequently no matter how often or with what I spray, soak, wipe the plants and locations with ! I have ceiling fans on full speed 24/7 in every orchid room. It's the winter dry heat times when they mostly come out. Anyway, I've been using insecticidal soap the last few episodes with good results. I spray the entire plant until even the media is soaking wet and running out the bottom. The only casualty is blooms but that was the last BAD infestation of a new plant so I wasn't worried about losing the blooms, just saving the plant !

[ezil]

Seems that you've done just about everything you could do. I agree with Ron on the air movement. It's better to spray the plant frequently and let the leaves air dry, then yo keep all it enclosed. Depending on the species of mites, they can be hard to eradicate. You'll have to be very disciplined and follow up your treatment for a couple of months. Good luck.

[Gage]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone.

[Bud]

I dont know why my one and only Phal with a basal keiki is the one always infected with mites...the other plants dont have mites and they are all in one room...so I spritz them with my cinnamon extract mix every other week now so the eggs wont hatch