Juniper problem

This ahem multi award winning juniper has just developed this problem,it was prepped for a show 2 weeks ago(green parts anyway)so i know this wasnt happening then,as it looked moore healthy than ever,and it is extremely healthy at all times since i got it 3yrs ago,there are parts dying back,no stressfull work was carried out just scissor work.
It also looks like it may be spreading into the main trunk,i vine weevil treatment twice a year so that should be able to be ruled out,it was repottedover 18 months ago and has been very happy since,so is it the dreaded red spider?or seeing as it is close to the fence maybe a cat/squirrel pissing on it? My wife has chased a cat out off my garden a few times recently which hasn't been seen here before one year ago today main problem area

You can do the ol' white paper test for spider mite. Hold a sheet of white paper under the foliage and flick the foliage with your finger. See if any tiny red/brown dots tumble onto the paper and start crawling around.

If so, give the canopy a hard blast of water. That should do it if repeated occasionally.

Junipers generally prefer fingers to scissors, so maybe that has caused some of the browning.

Looks like it could be Red Spider to me. Brush out the effected dead scales and try some Derris on it.

Will,
Whats Derris? Is there a chemical name?

Derris is a natural pesticide but it has been withdrawn in the UK and could only be legally used here until 10.10.09 - shame on you Will for stockpiling yours!

From Horticulture week

Under EU directives, pesticides licences must be re-registered. Manufacturers of Derris are not thought to sell enough of the product to pay the hefty costs involved.

Rotenone has been granted "essential use" in the UK until 31 October 2011 for apples, pears, peaches, cherries, ornamentals and potatoes only. Consumer products are: Bayer Bio Liquid Derris Plus, Vitax Derris Dust, Doff Derris Dust, Murphy Derris Dust and Nature's Answer Derris Dust.

- See www.pesticides.gov.uk/approvals.asp?id=2432

THe "essential use" is for professional growers only.

What is going to be withdrawn next?

Few pesticides have been very effective against red spider mites, anyway. But a hard spray of water into the foliage of an affected tree usually will do the trick. You need to hold the tree in its pot so that the force of the spray won't knock it out and of course, don't spray the soil hard.

A soap spray applied 2-3 tims a few days apart will also work. It suffocates the critters. Do NOT use on maples -- especially tridents.

I forgot to add that if you look at the list of varieties of Juniper in the link I provided, it appears that at least some varieties of Rocky Mountain Juniper did very well against these diseases and may wish to consider replacing it of Wichita blue. In addition, Chinese Juniper.