I treat my fig cuttings with diluted bleach and spray my trees with neem oil before bringing them in for the winter. Have not seen any evidence of mites. I know that this is anecdotal but think that bleach will kill anything. And think that neem oil will smother the mites even in the buds.
One problem is that the symptoms of fig bud mites are poorly understood, and continuously confused with other things. Because they are microscopic, and spend most of their time sheltered in a microscopic forest of fig trichomes, they are very difficult to effectively identify and other causes take the blame.
FMV can hide mite symptoms, and mite symptoms can be confused for FMV. Some people believe that each and every fig tree has the virus, and stress or other mysterious reasons make it appear. That is not the case in my collection, except for when there was a fig bud mite infestation. Mind you, those people do not see any signs of mites.
Some people think mite symptoms, and or FMV are caused by nutrient deficiency. It doesnât matter which one though, I guess, because nobody has bothered with a tissue analysis. They donât see any signs of mites either.
Before that, mite symptoms were identified as rust. I spent most of a year spraying fungicides. Then when I solved the problem with avid and forbid, the same person who was so sure it was rust comes along to question my fertilizing. Even after the symptoms went away (with the mites), he didnât see any signs of mites.
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That is some pretty bad damage. Just be more diligent with spraying them all down repeatedly. Remember how clean my trees were when you stopped by?
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Yup. By the time they spread, they have many figlets so I donât want to spray chemicals. Who say figs are easy ? Some of my figs have rust, too.
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Itâs a pity that the small bottles of Forbid and Avid are no longer for sale on Ebay. There must have been some sort of crackdown. Perhaps folks who are having trouble with fig mitesâor just desire an ounce of preventionâcould go in together on a bottle of Forbid 4f, as people do with other chemicals sometimes? A little goes a long way, after all. As for Avid, generic abamectin can be had for under $100 a bottleâthough still not cheap.
Something else people might consider as more economical control measureâthough I donât think Iâd use it on plants that were fruiting: this Japanese study found that the systemic fungicide thiophanate-methyl (widely available in the US in liquid form as Clearys 3336F and in wettable powder as Thiomylâthe Japanese study, btw, utilized a WP) produced high mortality in fig bud mites. In a thread about fig bud mites over on the Ourfigs forum, a member from central Europe reported using Thiomyl with some initial success, though I donât think she ever followed up.
@mamuang I am so sorry about your trouble. I understand your hesitancy to spray harsh chemicals during fruiting. You might, however, knock them back safely by several high-rate applications of spinosad. (I used Captain Jackâs Deadbug at double strength and the more concentrated Conserve SC at the label rate for spider mites [it is not labeled, of course, for eriophyid mites] or a little above and included a surfactant for better distribution and translaminar penetration.) I found that this killed a high number of themâenough to cause a cessation of feeding symptoms on leavesâ though it may not eradicate. It should, however, give you fewer to deal with if you decide to use stronger chemicals after fruiting is finished. Iâve heard of other growers using spinosad against fig mites with at least some measure of success.
Sulfur is also helpfulâand can be used in rotation with or, in wettable powder form, probably even as a mix with spinosadâ, though if the weather is very hot that will prohibit using it. From what I can gather from the literature I reviewed regarding various types of bud mite, the best time to begin application is right at bud break. This is when fig bud mites and other types of bud mites leave the bud scales and enter deeper into bud tissues to begin reproduction for the season. Even though Iâm pretty sure Iâm rid of fig bud mites, I still make a habit of spraying sulfur two or more times early in the season----just for paranoiaâs sake! 
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Thanks, Jeremiah,
I do have Conserve SC. I need to find out its PHI before I use it. Some of my figs start to ripen now. I definitely wonât mind killing those mites but do not want unintentionally hurting my health in the process 
These days, I laugh when I see people say growing figs (in pots) is easy.
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The cost for enough Forbid 4f to mix a gallon is under $2. With what some sellers are asking for cuttings, it would be a very reasonable expense to include as a free gift.
Unfortunately, doing that would make waves with the other sellers.
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I think for folks like me with lust a couple of the plants with FMV, we can just quarantine them and let them grow out of the FMV. As discussed, we can take suckers or off branches with no or less FMV. Then can just discard the mother plants all together. I think this is the very reason that local varieties do not have FMV at all.
I may also try oil and sulfur etc. Not sure if worth the efforts with the chemicals. I get only one plant (a CA seedling) that I canât replace now.
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Just keep in mind, it wonât be possible to create healthier plants if fig bud mites are around. Also, when you quarantine, be very careful to not spread them, if you handle or even brush up against a plant with fig bud mites and then another in a different location they could be transferred.
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I guessed I am lucky so far with my 150 potted figs. I had them for at least 7 years now and have not spray them at all. I usually give them the Urea nitrogen in early spring around late April and every 2 weeks until the main crops formed and that is it. They are loaded every year. The only draw back is that most of my top tier figs never ripen before fall set in around the first week of October and all the leaves turned yellow and dropped. I have to dump around 15 pounds of green figs every year. So it is a waste of time to grow BM, Preto, MIB, Benâs golden Riverside, and CLBC in Z5 Omaha.
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Tony, try to cut off urea entirely and pinch the growth tips in late summer. This should help.
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Or set up a heated greenhouse specially for those late varieties! You can give them a head start as well.
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Good job Tony. I too donât have any major problems. Some do though. Ambrosia beetle etc. . I really enjoy the figs all winter. I canât possibly eat them all fresh. So my dehydrator is constantly on. Itâs a good problem to have. Rust sometimes happens but is not really a problem. Mites will quickly defoliate new leaves and stunt twig growth according to UC Davis. Never ever seen that. Never seen a mite for that matter. Although itâs like looking for a zebra in a Michigan corn field. Not going to happen here.
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UCD huh? I have spent hours and hours researching this topic, not to mention learning through other peopleâs experience with them. You make it sound like it would be so obvious that people have no choice but to take them seriously. There is a choice, and many people make it based only on false, made up, information. So I donât know where you read that, and I donât have time right now to sift through all of that info to verify or deny what you are saying.
Here is reliable information.
If you have any reliable information, please share the original material so everyone can interpret it for themselves
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Interesting as it says Oregon as I have heard they canât live here. Crud I have a granthams royal that i bought that shows all leaves have it. Maybe I should dig it up and discard and buy elsewhere as it was planted this year a couple months ago. Hmm 
The danger there is that they could have already spread to other trees, so you would still need to spray. But, if it has been in ground a few months already it could have grown enough to survive and regrow after pruning off the top to remove all of the leaves and buds, rather than dig it up.
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Thank you. Itâs about 50 ft away from other figs on the property. Iâll try just cutting it down to soil line and see what happens next year. One green world nursery had them right next to black Madeira and they said BM had it.
Do you know offhand if anyone mail order spray? Is it a one time treatment or several years? Should I wait to see what next year does before treatment?
@hoosierbanana thank you for sharing knowledge
The only thing that I know of which worked with one spray was Forbid 4f. It used to be available in small quantities on eBay, but repacking pesticides for sale is illegal, so the listings said something along the lines of âyou are paying $20 for a 10ml pipette and will receive .5 oz. Forbid 4f as a free giftâ. Which was very convenient because a whole bottle costs over $200 and is enough to mix about 200 gallons, plus it has an expiration date.
Check out Jeremiahâs post, he covered what else is available. Common Fig varieties (not necessarily common) - #85 by JeremiahT
I wouldnât wait, the symptoms donât show until there are lots and lots of mites, at that point it will be more difficult to get rid of them. Spinosad seems like the best place to start, it will at the least keep their numbers to a minimum.
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I found abamectin as minx2 on [eBay].(Minx 2 (AVID) New Formula! For Mites, Aphids, Whiteflies, Thrips, & Leafminers | eBay).
$15
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