Spider mites on Juniper

[owen14]

Because I live on a hill with adequate air circulation I never have problems with spider mites outside. Unfortunately, this is not the case with my indoor plants. In the dry, windless interior of my home I place fans near clustered plants to discourage spider mites. Suggestions: With respect to the resistance of mites to insecticides, sometimes things they can't develop resistance to can help - here I use Neem Oil. It kills the mites and they cannot develop a resistance to it. Also 1T. of Murphy's Oil Soap to a gallon of water acts as a sufficant and they cannot develop a resistance to this either. Where do you keep your Junipers? Can you increase air circulation and humidity around them?

Owen NJ Zone 6

[rbecker28]

My bonsai are outdoors and get fairly good circulation considering that this is Florida and sometimes the air is hot, heavy, humid and there is no breeze. We are going into our cool, breezy season now so I am looking forward to few insects in general. Maybe it is the hot Florida sun, but I found that using any kind of household soaps cause my bonsai and garden plants to lose a lot of leaves. I read somewhere that soaps removes the protective waxy coating on leaves. I generally use insecticidal soap when I need something of that nature and have much better luck. Plain water is probably the best solution if it works.
Kay in Florida Zone 9

[dkosta]

I agree with using a forceful spray of water as the first defense. If things get past that I go to a spray that contains an oil such as parafinic oil or canola oil or a spray that combines an oil with insecticidal soap. I am in charge of insect control in a commercial greenhouse and find these products are effective against most pests. Always use extreme caution with systemics such as Isotox. These products are easily absorbed through your skin as well as by the plant. Kelthane is no longer on the market. It was banned by the EPA so only any remaining stock would be available.