I was going to use the same neem oil and herbs mixture I used before because it seemed to work so well on the heavy infestation, and I read that soap and neem could both cause damage in high temps, so why mess with what worked, lol? Plus I have to carry around an oxygen tank in the heat while I do this so washing it off after is doubling the amount of work. But I guess if I had too, I could manage it. I just read the info about the soap after I asked about you using it in high heat. They lumped the neem oil and the soap together as being damaging in high heat, but I guess if I washed it off, maybe better.

Should I just water spray instead and then treat fully again on Wedsnesday after the heat wave is over maybe? Hmmmm.... Not sure now.

Sue the bottom line is that your health comes first! Only do as much as you think that you can. The tank I know first hand is heavy and then you have either the hose end sprayer or a tank too. It's going to be in the 90's. I think that I would let them be and only try to treat them IF the temps cool down in the evening. It's going to be hot here too. Today I used Neem for White Flies and I don't expect to do anything else other than water for a few days. I have one plant with early blight or some sort of crud and I am just going to let it be. It's yellowing fast but I am not going to kill myself trying to save it.

I did burn my plants the first time that I used Neem oil. It was hot, it was in direct sun and I used more product than I ought to have. I will say that I have used Neem on flowering plants in high heat for Japanese Beetles without incident however their foliage was much thicker than those of tomatoes. So I really don't have an answer for you. You just need to use your best judgement and hope for the best.

Please stay cool and don't over do it!

Thank you!

I've sprayed with insecticidal soap and Neem a number of times when daytime temps have been in 100's but haven't seen any leaf burns at all. If you spray late in the evening (the only time I ever spray) I think you'll be ok. Probably best to experiment on a couple plants and see if you have any problems before you spray all your plants. I like to people trying new approaches to controlling mites. I'm curious if your herb mixture works so keep us updated.

Well this is interesting. What I purchased was not straight neem oil. It is Bonide "NeemMax". It is 70% cold pressed neem oil and 30% "other" ingredients, not inactive ingredients, but just "other" ingredients. It is organic, but it says it kills "eggs, larvae and adult insects", It is a "biologic fungicide, insecticide, miticide and nematocide" for organic gardening. "Use for the prevention and control of Powdery Mildew, Botrytis, Stem Mildow and other listed (including Anthacnose, Blights, early and late, and rust), and most surprising to me, as a soil drench to "control nematodes". Straight neem oil would not be effective against eggs and has no residual action, so the application interval is short. For the NeemMax the recommended application interval is 7-10 days.

So I wonder what the "other ingredients" are, what makes it effective against eggs, and if I should just wait for Wedsnesday and that would be 10 days. I might do it tonight anyway just because it is 7 days tomorrow and it was a very severe infestation, and I did use it at the lowest recommended dilution.

Is anyone else familiar with this product?

Well they were wrong about a high of 90 degrees today. It is currently 93 degrees, so I guess I will try waiting. The experrment continues They are predicting a warm fall so there is still a chance for getting a decent late crop if this is successful. The just put out the fall forecast for me from Accuweather today.

My understanding is that cold pressed neem oil contains azadirachtin while the cheaper regular neem oil does not. Azadirachtin acts as a growth regulator and also seems to be the ingredient that gives cold pressed neem more insect fighting power.

In the article I linked previously, DR Jerry Parsons say "Neem oil is labeled for spider mites, but I have not found it very effective." However, I don't know if is referring to cold pressed Neem or not. That's what is so frustrating - Several universities recommend pyrethrins, neem, spinosad, etc. while other universities/horticultural PhD's and extension agents indicate the same stuff doesn't work. About all you can do try different methods of controlling mites and post back here what worked for you.

I also don't know what the other 30% of the ingredients are. I am surprised they don't have to list them. Seems obvious that it is working because in infestation that severe I would expect a week later to see a lot of yellowing and dead leaves, wilting and webs. Wishful thinking, lol?

Sue_CT wrote: ↑Sat Aug 06, 2022 5:54 pm I also don't know what the other 30% of the ingredients are. I am surprised they don't have to list them. Seems obvious that it is working because in infestation that severe I would expect a week later to see a lot of yellowing and dead leaves, wilting and webs. Wishful thinking, lol?

The only ingredient listed on the MSDS for Bonide Neem Max is neem oil. The other 30% is just some filler.

I typically don't see any yellowing on my mite infested tomatoes. The leaves become a dull grayish - green color then start turning brown and dry at the tips. Occasionally I see spider webs. I've read there are something like 20,000 different types of mites out there and I think I have them all so my experience may not be typical.

I keep a log of all my garden research. Since you are in Connecticut, you may find what I have in my notes below useful.

New England Universities (University of Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island)
- Grandevo GC – mites
- Venerate CG – mites
- mineral oil (Organic JMS Style OilOG)(Suffoil-XOG)
- Neem Oil – broad mites, spider mites
- Insecticidal soap – mites
- canola oil & pyrethrins – spider mites
- sulfur - Broad mites (pepper), spider mites
https://nevegetable.org/table-20-insect ... ransplants

Penn st recommends Met 52, Grandevo, and Venerate miticide
Therefore, pepper and tomato plants may require miticide applications for broad mites as early as the seedling stage. According to Bogash, unlike spider mite damage, plants attacked by broad mites may not recover and often are permanently stunted.
https://extension.psu.edu/broad-mites-i ... vegetables

Well, I need to wait until Weds now due to the temps I think, so I will see what happens. Does it look to you like an ongong active infection?

Sue_CT wrote: ↑Sat Aug 06, 2022 7:30 pm Well, I need to wait until Weds now due to the temps I think, so I will see what happens. Does it look to you like an ongong active infection?

When my tomatoes have mites, they completely stop growing and fruit won't ripen. If you see any new leaves coming out or new flowers popping open, then you know you're headed in the right direction.

I'm rooting for you Sue!

Just went out and watered. I definitely have fruit ripening. I have new flowers. Possibly some healthy new growth in the last 2 photos? Some of the plants that were not as bad to start with seem to be regaining their green color in the leaves and the scarring is going away, which I didn't think was possible. Maybe when the sucking was not enough to cause tissue death they regain some? 3 or 4 plants still look pretty bad (first photo). Anyway, still a wait and see situation. Plan to pull the worst 2-3 and respray on Weds when the temps are lower and maybe fertilize. If you have an infestation, I would definitely give this mixture a try. I would be particular about which Neem concentrate to get though, and add the herbs, and be really thorough about spraying, including spraying the ground around them. One thing I read about spider mites is that they start at ground level work up the plant, so I wonder if that wasn't the difference. If they are on soil and you don't get those as well as what is on the plant, they might just keep reinfesting the plant. Just a thought. The other thing I read soemwhere was that the 30% of unknown ingredients were not necessarily inactive, but proprietary, so it is possible there is more to the mix than the Neem. Usually when when unnamed ingredients are filler they are listed as "inactive ingredients". I don't know which is correct.

1 week after spider mite spraying

1 week after spider mite spraying

1 week after spider mite spraying

1 week after spider mite spraying

1 week after spider mite spraying

1 week after spider mite spraying

1 week after spider mite spraying

Looks good! I'm always thrilled to bits when I see someone triumph over these little demons.

Opinions are all over the board on common mite killers. Lots of experts say neem work great, other say only cold pressed neem works, some say neem doesn't work at all. It's frustrating. But if what you used works, I would stick with it!

I normally throw a handful of diatomaceous earth around the base of my plants. I figured to crawl up the plant they have take a death march through the DE to even get to my plant but it doesn't work that well here. One reason it's so hard to control mites down here is that the winds blows all the time. Mites get carried by the wind all over your plants. You spray and get a 100% kill then an hour later there will be a bunch of mites right back on your plants.

I did not know that was how they spread! That is good to know! If I win over an infestion this bad, I would be elated, lol. I feel the odds are against me. But I am going to give it the good fight, as much as I can. If I am successful, I hope it can help someone else. Not going to claim victory yet, that is for sure.

Yesterday I went out and removed some dead and diseased leaves and took some pictures. I just finished spraying again with NeemMax, garlic, rosemary and mint. More flowers each day. A few plants look really good and a few really bad. If I save half of them to go on to produce into fall I would be very happy. This is now 11 days out from discovering the severe infestatoin, so the pictures are actually 10 days out, since I took them yesterday. The ones in the middle, which would be in the background of the photos generally look much better than the ones in the forground. There were quite a few new flowers today. It is supposed to be in the 80s for the next week then rain and high 70s after that. Sounds like good recovery weather. I hope. Fingers crossed. Planning to fertilize and water tomorrow.

Spider mite infestation 10 days after discovery

Spider mite infestation 10 days after discovery

Spider mite infestation 10 days after discovery

Spider mite infestation 10 days after discovery

Spider mite infestation 10 days after discovery

The plant in the first photo is pretty far gone but does have new healthy growth. Would you pull it or let it go and see what happens? There are two or 3 more that look at least as bad. They aren't causing any harm I don't think but I suppose they could be the most likely to harbor left over mites.

I'm so glad that your treatment is working. Your plants do look better. I really don't think that if you left those plants that it would matter much. They don't seem to have many leaves left to be harboring many mites. They just might surprise you and make a big come back. You just never know.

Just finally got out there after 3 tries and got them feritilized with TTF. Mixing up 32 gallons of liquid fertilizer for 16 plants in a watering can is more tiring than it used to be. But I gave them 2 T of TTF in 2 gallons of water, 2 gallons per plant, and a little extra water each to water it in, but not too much because I have lost a lot of tomatoes to splitting after the dry period and then watering them.

I do have some new fruit as well as flowers forming that if I am VERY Lucky MIGHT actually make it to maturity. Still very iffy.

New tomatoes after spider mites

New tomatoes after spider mites

New tomatoes after spider mites

After spider mites

Best plants after spider mites

You sure worked hard but just look at those nice green tops! You have flowers and fruit coming on too. Good job my dear! Well done.