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These look like spider mites to me. Usually that stuff that looks like dust in the web are actually the mites. And they're white, so they would be hard to see on white paper.

Spraying with dishsoap and water is one method of trying to get rid of bugs (although I admittedly have only had so-so success on my indoor herbs). If you do spray the plants, do it in the evening so the leaves don't cook in the sun.

If your plant is fairly substantial, I would also trim off the sprigs that are especially webby to try to minimize the infestation.

i agree with the spider mites theory. i use dr. bronner's diluted with water. non-toxic & works quickly!

It's definitely spider mites. The dish soap (Dawn) and water (2tsp of soap per quart of water) works pretty well at killing the mites. However, I wouldn't want to use it on edibles like oregano. And I would really trim down the parts that are heavily damaged, because they may be harboring eggs and will most likely die anyway.

Take your plant to the bathroom (I put mine in the tub) and get a good spray bottle and spray the heck out of the leaves, both on top and bottom until all the webs and mites are gone. When I was having a lot of problems I would do this about once a week - it helps to wash away the adults, and eggs.

Good Luck!

I have a related herb/bug problem - I've had a pot of sun-starved herbs on my fire escape for a few weeks. I'd like to bring it back inside, but I've noticed that every time I lean out to water the herbs, a few tiny, fruit-fly-ish flies are swarming around, disturbed by my watering. I'm worried about bringing the possibly-infested pot indoors. Should I try this soapwater spray, too?

I would also spritz with soapy water. It won't hurt your plants and resolved numerous pest problems. And given that it's dish soap, no worries for edible plants either. Just make sure to rinse before eating.

Surplusj, I bet the "fruit flies" have laid eggs in the dirt. I had that happen with an office plant that I took home when I changed jobs a while back....they ended up spreading to my other house plants.

Wesa and Surplus, they aren't fruit flies. I've seen them called "fungus flies" here before. Let the plants dry more between waterings and/or spray the soil with dishsoap and water. I had the issue with the grass I was growing for my cats because the pots weren't draining well enough. It cleared up when I let the grass dry out. They don't seem interested in my ferns oddly enough despite the damp soil.

And yeah, I'm voting spider mites on the oregano. Dishsoap and water worked for me when I got the little buggers on my poor succulents.

I had spider mites on a mini rosebush in my apartment a while back - it looked just like what's on your oregano. I used a commercial insecticidal soap from a company called Garden Safe, and they claim that it's okay to use on plants that you're going to eat later. It worked for me.

You should definitely apply whatever you use several times, spaced out over a couple of weeks, so that you make sure to get any hatched eggs that are still around.

I get spider mites on some of my plants, too. Out here, they like the dry, warm weather, and since that's Phoenix's climate most of the year, they thrive. I've been using dishsoap diluted in water, too, spraying regularly. Make sure you get the underside of the leaves, since the mites will be there and at the bases of the stem. I've also been making sure my soil doesn't dry out too much, since the mites don't like to breed in moist conditions. If you have access to a hose and the plants are sturdy, just spraying them down with a strong sprayer can get rid of a lot of them. If you do turn to chemical warfare, make sure you pick up a miticide that's safe for food and that's developed specifically for spider mites--some miticides may just kill off bigger mites that are spider mites' natural predators. Hope that helps!

I also use the Garden Spray soap, as well as these yellow sticky white fly traps from Garden Safe (we've had both spider mites and white flies). Act quickly, those little bugs can really destroy your plants and they spread to other plants really fast!

I agree with the spider mites. They look like white specks that move. I've never had any luck in getting rid of them - chemical or otherwise. I usually end up throwing the plant out.

I just read somewhere, as well, that Neem oil works. I'm not quite sure how to apply it, but: there you go. Someone may want to independently verify that.
I've been getting round after round of either spider mites or aphids (or a combination of both) on my windowsill hot pepper plant-- do you know whether, if I can get rid of these, the peppers will be good still? I think probably not, but...I'm not sure. Thanks!