So the Neem took the leaves too? Dern! That's what the soap is doing too. The very next day (from first treatment) I went out and filled the sprayer with good clean water and overdose of superthrive to try and save what leaves I could. I really blasted them good. I also did it the next morning. It did seem to minimize the damage. What I'm going to hate is the next round. Especially on my Emerald Frost, whose grown for her leaves anyway. Sorry to hear you lost the plant, that's terrible. Funny you had problem with them Carol, being so humid there. Like I said, mine were an unwanted 'gift,' I've never ever had a spidermite issue before this.

Lynxx,

The recommended procedure is to remove and bag all but the smallest leaves, flowers and buds before spraying. This reduces the chances of missing an infected leaf. Neem , at the proper dosage, will not damage leaves unless the temperature a hot. Spraying early in the morning or late in the afternoon won't damage leaves. The Brugs will regrow another crop of leaves without suffering much damage. Just fertilize a few days after you spray.

Good morning Betty,
Yes, sadly it seems you're right. My first bout with spider mites.I am down to truly fighting for the leaves of the emerald frost. I pull a chair up and spend about half an hour on the plant, checking each underside. It looks as though I've got the adults. I'm hoping the extra time spent will pay off. If I see anything in another week, I'll resign myself to stripping it too.

It's afternoon now, where did the morning go? Part of the time was spent trimming cat claws and medicating ears for earmites.

Whenever I see mottled leaves I cringe because I know what I will find on the undersides of those leaves, but what I hate seeing the most are grasshoppers. By the time they show up, there is nothing that will kill them in large enough numbers to do any good. I live on a ranch surrounded by other ranches. The grasshoppers number in the tens of thousands. There are about 12 species of grasshoppers in our county and they have plenty of room to lay their eggs. They will eat a Brug right down to the ground. In 2009, they were like a plague. I lost many of my Brugs to them. That year, I didn't have to mow my lawn. The grasshoppers did it for me.

I hope you get rid of the spidermites. They sure sap the strength out of a Brug.

This is what an old master gardener suggests for grasshoppers.....of course, it doesn't work if you're surrounded by acres of 'em!

...Keep watch for that first hatch of baby grasshoppers. When you are mowing look for those tiny white flying or jumping bugs. Those are the first hatchlings. Treat the baby grasshoppers the next morning that you have really good dew on the ground. Take a sack of flour (self rising is best), check the wind direction first then sow the flour all around the yard where you saw the baby grasshoppers. Then in two weeks do it again and that should get both hatchings for the season.

Sandi,

That is so funny. I can imagine going down to H.E.B., buying every single bag of flour, then trying to explain to my cows why their grass is white. LOL. It rates right up there with the advise I received from a gal in North Texas. She couldn't see why I didn't do what she does. That is boil a pot of water, catch and drop the grasshoppers into the boiling water.

At any one time during late spring and into the fall, we have different sized nymphs and adult grasshoppers.

Well,... I did say "it wouldn't work if you were surrounded by acres of 'em." I don't think it would work in our area, which is much smaller, but open between the properties. It would only work if, like fire ant control, everyone in our
neighborhood agreed to do it together.

I am concerned about you feeling you'd need to explain the flour to the cows, tho!

I talk to my animals. Then it's up to them to figure out what I said. LOL. The first species of grasshoppers usually appear in early March. So far this year, I haven't seen any around at all. They usually appear out in the pasture first, but they aren't there either. I'm hoping that those multi-day freezes we had killed off some species or at least some large number of grasshoppers eggs.