"Pat Kiewicz" wrote in message
...
Marie Dodge said:



"Pat Kiewicz" wrote in message
...

There's an old remedy for spider mites that might be worth a try, and
might not be too expensive. It combines wheat flour, buttermilk,
and water. The Organic Method Primer recommends it, and various
proportions are mentioned. Here's a recipe from a website:

1/8 cup buttermilk
1 cup wheat flour
1-1/4 gallons of water

http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/gt_org...693956,00.html

Have you found any of these concoctions to work for you?

This one, no, but I have had people say it did work for them. And it even
turns up on some extension service websites:
http://everest.ento.vt.edu/~idlab/ve...idermites.html

OK. I'm sure it did. Unfortunately none of the organic products or
concoctions have ever worked for us. Many people claim Neem Oil worked for
them and it did nothing to even slow them down in my garden. I threw away
another $10, $12 for the Neem Oil. The light oil "Organicide" did damage
the plants as I thought it might. The mites continue on but the white fly
population was cut by maybe 25%. Hardly worth the expense. I would like to
know what organic or inorganic actually works on mites other than Kelthane
which I can't get anymore. Kelthane was the only product I ever had that
killed the mites in two sprayings.


And the following article references a study which found that "(f)our
applications
have been shown to kill 95 % of red spider mite infestation."
http://www.infonet-biovision.org/def...anicPesticides

Actually it says: "Flour preparations Flour mixed in water *is said to be*
very effective against aphids and spider mites.." I'm curious, said by who?
Where were the experiments done and by who? I couldn't find any further
information.


But having seed your pictures (after my post) it looks like your
infestation is
so bad that burning everything would be the best thing at this point. I'd
maybe
even consider running a flame over every inch of garden.

No one I know has ever seen such an infestation of whitefly and spider mite,
including the extension agent. The heat, low humidity and lack of rain is
certainly contributing to this infestation. In fact it's spreading across
the grass, other wild plants and the trees on the property around us. It's
spread to the flower beds. At this point trying to control the mite and
w/flies is a waste of time.


Then hit every dormant shrub or tree in the vicinity of the garden with
some
dormant sprays of oil before they break bud next spring.
Then maybe hit the area with lime sulfur after bud break:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/6oozzc
=
http://www.infrc.jp/english/KNF_Data...a/C6-6-238.pdf


We live out in the country so that's impossible. We're surrounded by
woodland and underbrush, weeds and wildflowers. It would take thousands of
dollars and aerial spraying would be required. But thanks for the info.....

--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

After enlightenment, the laundry.