Any thoughts on what these are and how to get rid of them? Repeated treatment with Bayer 3 in 1 is not working. I initially suspected spider mites because there was some evidence of web like material but I'm not so certain any more.

Yes definitely spider mites. Like most products for spider mites you will have to make contact with the spider mites to kill them. There are some products such as Avid that are translaminar which means if you spray the top of the foliage it will go through to the underside of the foliage. Also, most products only kill the adult spider mites or just certain stages of the life cycle. You have to remember there are adult spider mites, larvae and nymphs emerging from eggs plus the eggs. Some products kill them all while others don't. I believe the chemical in the Bayer 3in1, tau-fluvalinate, is a contact miticide so you would actually have to make contact with the mites to kill them and it won't kill the eggs. And I know I read on the label that the Bayer 3 in 1 was only systemic for the other things and ot spider mites. I couldn't find it on the label online but I know I read it when I read the bottle last year. You would need an Ovacide for that or keep spraying. But whatever you use it has to be a miticide

The general consensus is to spray 3 times one week apart so you will kill any new mites that may hatch. The life cycle is different depending on the weather I , the hotter it is the faster they breed/hatch. There whole life cycle is 5-20 days depending on the temps. The eggs can hatch in as little as 3 days so some people spray every 3 days or 5 days.

Spider mites CAN kill a daylily so try and keep them under control. You can use Horticultural Oil to kill them as long as you make contact with them; it suffocates them. The big problem with the spider mites is that they are on the underside of the foliage and they are hard to get to if you have big clumps with lots of foliage.

Gah! I was worried about that. They are seedlings so I might just dunk the plants and repot after spraying or drenching the soil. I've ordered some abamectin but it won't arrive until Monday at the earliest. I know there is a product from Scott's that is also an ovacide but it's like $330 per bottle...

Thanks Michele.

HAHA yes I have a $330 bottle of ovacide, actually I have 2. I use Ovation and I use Floramite which is a contact miticide with the ovacide included. I don't really like to use the Floramite since it is a CONTACT miticide and is expensive but I use it as a rotation. It does have a residual effect but unless you get it on the bottom of the foliage it does no good as a residual effect.

You should be fine without an ovacide as long as you spray with the Abamectin 3 times to kill any hatchlings. Also, what Pat Stamile would use (beside beneficial insects) was a strong spray of water. I believe he said to blast them with a strong spray of water every few days and this keeps them from becoming a problem, it will knock them off and drown them.

Long term, something like Ovation seems like the right way to go. These are seedlings of a couple nice crosses that I bought so spending $330 on Ovation to save $80 in seeds seems counter productive. Stupid bugs.

It's beyond frustrating at times to keep our daylilies healthy! Darn pests, diseases, and fungus! Arghhhhhhh!

beckygardener said:It's beyond frustrating at times to keep our daylilies healthy! Darn pests, diseases, and fungus! Arghhhhhhh!

I used to feel the same way and I suppose if I was trying to be organic then it would still be that way. There are lots of good predatory insects that you can have shipped in to help with various bad bugs.

Do Ladybugs take care of the majority of smaller pests? I have them show up whenever I get aphids on my milkweed. They come in and go to work munching up all the yellow aphids on tropical milkweed. I wonder if they will also eat the aphids on daylilies? And spider mites?

copied from http://www.ladybuglady.com/Lad...

1. What do ladybugs eat?
A. Ladybugs eat Aphids. Aphids are soft bodied insects that suck the juices out of plants. If you have roses in your garden, you have seen aphids. Aphids also come in a variety of colors and not all ladybugs like all the "flavors" of aphids. Ladybugs will also feed on scale insects and plant mites.

copied from http://www.ladybug-life-cycle....
The most common insects that ladybugs eat are aphids

I don't think ladybugs are the best for spider mites. Here's a site that lists the predatory bugs for spider mites http://www.naturescontrol.com/...

copied [url=fromhttps://4hydroponics.com/post/control-spider-mites-in-your-garden]fromhttps://4hydroponics.com/p...[/url]

Predatory Insects:

My last suggestion can be an expensive one. Ladybugs are OK for preventative maintenance, but not really aggressive enough to get rid of a bad problem. If you start using ladybugs as preventative maintenance, you've got to continue to release them every week or so, and if you keep it up they can maintain control.

The expensive approach I mentioned is another live predator called "Triple Threat" spider mite predators. You can think of these as your insurance policy against infestations if you continue to add them indefinitely your area. All they do is eat spider mites and eggs, and they don't like the light either, so they hang out in the same places as the mites do. I'd recommend using these guys in close to the same way I recommended using the sprays, with regular scheduled releases. If you're treating a bad infestation, start out with a release of the correct number of predator mites once a week for 3-4 weeks (check www.naturescontrol.com for this info), then you can back off to twice a month. The continued use of them will almost guarantee a spidermite-free environment as long as you follow all of the recommendations.

Your atmospheric conditions are really the key to successful use with any predators, as you've got to give them the correct temperature and humidity. The predators are obviously not for everyone. If you'd like to explore their use, check out our suppliers website at www.naturescontrol.com, or you can buy them from us in the retail stores.

Michele, I think someone posted on here about a year ago that Neem oil also killed spider mites. Do you know anything about that???

Yes, any type of oil such as Neem oil or Horticultural oil will work. You just have to make sure it comes in contact with them. I have read Murphy's Oil soap will work also. I'm not sure of the mixture but you can google it (Murphy's oil for spider mites) and you will come across a lot of sites with what people use; not necessarily daylily sites but it should work the same.

Thanks!!!