Hi,
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I just started growing herbs (Oregano, Basil, Thyme, Rosemary) in my apartment last year. The first year went very well.
Location: Wisconsin, USA. Plants are indoor only and sit on my kitchen table.
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I started over after the winter with all new plants, but unfortunately the oregano I purchased was infested with mites. I was told to try neem oil (because it is food safe...so I could still eat the herbs), but after a month the oregano was ravaged. The mites were in all of the plants, but moved the majority of their population to the rosemary next . I threw all 4 plants out a couple of weeks ago as it was only getting worse, and I couldn't use my kitchen table because of the mites crawling about.
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They looked like small red (sometimes white, or in-between the two colors) spider mites....but I never saw them on the leaves of the plants. They tended to burrow down into the dirt and attack the roots of the plant (I could smell the root-rot when I threw the plants out).
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2 questions if I may:
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#1: I'm worried that if I purchase new plants, they will just be re-infested. The 4 herbs were the only plants I had, so there is no plant-life in my apartment currently, and hasn't been for 2 weeks now. Any idea how long these things can live without a plant to feed off of?....or is there something I can spray/apply in the apartment to ensure they're all gone?
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#2: If they do return, does anyone have a suggestion better than neem oil that would still allow me to eat the herbs afterward?
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Thank you,
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Kaitlyn