This is a preemptive post.

Come about the end of June, maybe early July, the spider mites will arrive in force. This last summer, most of my plants had succumbed completely by the end of August. I sprayed them (probably too late) with a mix of permethrin and diatomaceous earth, per the advice of lots of folks on that other tomato forum, but it didn't really do much good. This was true for the original plants (and not unexpected), as well as attempted Fall plantings that never really took off and eventually got pulled. These latter I sprayed consistently to preempt infection, but it didn't work. I waited until it got cooler (SMs like it HOT) to plant my main Fall crop in hopes they'd survive the mites, and ended up loosing 40lbs of tomatoes to a hard freeze because they were in too late (though the SMs weren't a big problem).

Sooo... what do y'all to prevent or treat for these little bastards? I can't spray every single leaf on the top and underneath several times a week--it just isn't practical. Can I get ahead of them somehow? Can I get something to eat them? Can I plant something around that they don't like? Even though it frequently gets over 100 degrees F in the summer, it's the mites that kill off my plants, not the heat. I'd like that to not be true this year.

I bet there is something to eat them... other mites iirc!
Here's a link for supply in your area.
https://www.growingintexas.com/predatorymites.html

Some years ago I had really bad spider mites on a dwarf lemon tree I had living in the house. It must've been treated with systemic insecticide but the pests remained somehow and they only came out about six months after I bought it. Like you said it's not practical to constantly spray the leaves up and down especially indoors, what a mess. In the end I said goodbye and hucked the tree outdoors in the January snow. I didn't have access to any biologicals at the time, so I haven't tried and can't vouch for them, but they look like a good bet.

The predator mites are worth it just for the show. Get a strong magnifying glass and it looks like the velociraptors from jurassic park unleashed on a field of cows. They run by and grab a bite as they pass. The spider mites have no chance...but what happens is that the spider mite eggs last a long time and can outlast the predator mites starving to death after all the living spider mites have been eaten. So the key is being able to maintain a healthy balance for the predator mites to not wander off looking for food and it is just a guess if that will happen. From what I read, lacewings and minute pirate bugs also eat spider mites.

Cole_Robbie wrote: ↑Thu Dec 17, 2020 9:03 pm The predator mites are worth it just for the show. Get a strong magnifying glass and it looks like the velociraptors from jurassic park unleashed on a field of cows.

This is the best thing I've read all day. I'm totally doing this, whether it really helps or not.

I purchased predatory mites every week for 6 weeks. They were very effective. As Cole_Robbie stated, the eggs can last a while. So, I made weekly applications for a while to ensure they were completely wiped out.

Bill

Predatory Mites available at Arbico Organics

It's that time again. I found spider mites on some of my plants as early as the first week of April. Treated them with permethrin and it helped, but they're back. I'm going to spray them again today, and again on Saturday in an attempt to knock them back before it gets bad. I thought I had more time, but the bugs are persistent. Ladybugs and lacewings will be on order soon, once the permethrin fades. I was hoping to wait until the cucumbers get attacked and need the ladybugs too, but I can always buy more...

One thing about predatory creatures that feast on pests is they usually like a decent water supply compared to the pests. Our area is pretty dry, and we get a lot of spider mites. I think lacewings are the most common beneficial insect I see in drought conditions. They like to crawl on the outside of our kitchen window at night and eat the little insects crawling around the window. I don't know that I've ever seen one on a watermelon plant (where the mites often seem to be most concentrated), though, but it's nice to have them anyway.

Oh, earwigs are said to eat mites, too, I believe. But, they like it dark (and black plastic seems to be too warm for them to want to cross it to our watermelons). They don't seem to mind drought much. They love our bunching onion flowers in the shade.

Predatory mites definitely work, the problem is the insane price, at least here in Europe. You need at least two types of mites, including Amblyseius californicus, these will survive a long time in most conditions, they even overwinter, but are not good against strong invasions.

Or, there are chemical ways, like acequinocyl or abamectin, that work quite well.

I'm planning to attack with broader range predators like ladybugs and lacewings first, in part because I also just found whiteflies (a first for me), and because the aphids are bothering some of my other plants. Ladybugs are available locally, but lacewings I'll likely have to order. I'm with [mention]mama_lor[/mention] on the predatory mites--I checked around and the pricing is INSANE! Not worth it, IMO, even if it saves some plants.