Aculus lycopersici-tomato russet mite

[JosephineRose]

I've now seen recommendations for

pyrethrum
Azatrol
AzaMax

Only the AzaMax has arrived. I'd like to start because rather than wait for the others as I'm seeing the leathering on some of my beefsteaks now. I need to halt this.

Recommendations? Should I do the slurry with the DE and Dawn with the AzaMax?

I also have the Hemp/Peppermint Castile soap.

I am crushed by this. What evil little buggers they are.

It goes without saying that this will get the bees too, won't it? That makes me sad. I've had a bunch of amazing large black carpenter bees pollinating this year. I don't want to hurt them.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by JosephineRose

I've now seen recommendations for

pyrethrum
Azatrol
AzaMax

Only the AzaMax has arrived. I'd like to start because rather than wait for the others as I'm seeing the leathering on some of my beefsteaks now. I need to halt this.

Recommendations? Should I do the slurry with the DE and Dawn with the AzaMax?

I also have the Hemp/Peppermint Castile soap.

I am crushed by this. What evil little buggers they are.

It goes without saying that this will get the bees too, won't it? That makes me sad. I've had a bunch of amazing large black carpenter bees pollinating this year. I don't want to hurt them.

The Azamax should slow them down a bit but frequent use of Neem in hot weather can result in some bad affects on leaves; at least it did for me. I don't know if mixing them will help with your problem or not but I found the addition of the Dawn to Neem when mixing up your solution did help with its effectiveness on spider mites. I'm not sure it will help with russet mites or not but I do know the DE will help with the young ones that hatch from the innumerable eggs that they lay. I do know from years of fighting mites that without the large amount of Dawn that too many of the mites escape getting killed either by the Dawn or the Pyrethrum. The Dawn itself will kill a lot of the mites and it makes Pyrethrum much more effective because it allows it to penetrate into the webbing of spider mites so that it actually comes in contact with them.

Make sure to do your spraying late in the evening just at sundown to have the least affect on bees and it will reduce the chance of leaf damage from the spray. Go ahead and mix up a batch and spray them as soon as possible. If I didn't have anything other than the Dawn I would still spray as soon as possible so that you slow them down a bit. I'm sure the mix of the three will help and should at least slow them down for a few days. If you get the Pyrethrum in and they are still a problem then go ahead and mix it with the Dawn and DE and use it late in the afternoon.

Make sure to spray all surfaces of the stems and leaves, especially the undersides of the leaves. Even if you kill them all this time of the year more will come in somehow so keep a sharp eye out once you think you have them beat because they will likely return. As soon as you suspect they have returned treat all your plants with the mix that worked and don't wait til they get bad again.

Good luck.

Bill