Invasion of the Spider Mites

Nasty teeny tiny little things.  They have settled in on the leaves of the Thai lime, and now, clearly, the mandavilla as well.  Need to figure out how to banish them.  I am starting here.

On one of the mandavillas.

On the Thai lime.

They are a bit difficult to capture photographically, but their fine webs can just be made out... very hard to capture them photographically; it is slightly easier, actually, when it is dark and the flash is used.  Perhaps if I had a better camera with some setting better than the little "close-up" flower icon function, they would be more visible.  But visible or not, they are wreaking havoc.

Of course it makes sense - the poor plants went from being outdoors and in the full elements to indoors and the relatively drier home environs.  So the stupid little mites proliferate.  Maybe if I can manage to water the plants more frequently, the environment will be less hospitable to them.  But it's a catch 22 - we're talking mandavillas and Thai lime - tropical plants.  I could not have left them out there to fend for themselves; they would not have survived.  I will just have to care for them better, and wipe them down more.

Hopefully it will stem the loss of leaves.  One of the mandavillas looks like it's lost the vast majority of its leaves.  I can only hope there is enough vigor for them to come back.  Poor little plants.