Got in a third spraying in just five days last night and the results are obvious from the improvement I am seeing already. After the first Permethrin, DE and Dawn spray I spent most of the next day removing the most damaged foliage and on some plants it was most of the foliage. On the third day I sprayed late in the evening with neem oil and on the fifth day I did a repeat of the Permethrin, DE and Dawn treatment late in the evening.
All of the older tomato plants and some of the newer plants had spider mites and the resulting damage they cause. The reason for the quick succession of sprays is that I have found it more effective than waiting longer between treatments. One and done usually is not effective with spider mites unless there are very few of them and the weather is damp. When I first started fighting spider mites seriously I used to spray and then do it again a week or so later and the results were not good. I finally found out about their short life cycle and started trying more frequently and with less time between the spraying. I used a three day interval for years but decided to try just two days and the results were much better so that is what I do now.
If the weather remains this hot and dry I may have to treat my tomatoes again but I am hoping the weather pattern here will change and we will start getting some rain now and then.
Bill
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