Red Spider Mite on my plot

[PJW_Letchworth]

I think I have red spider mite on my plot. :o  I was sowing some radishes and and saw a small red bug.  Will they do any harm to future crops?  They do bleed very bright red when squished. :-X The patch is going to have carrots and aubergine's when the radish have gone.

I keep my plot organic so if I do have to use something to move the little blighters along, would there be anything natural?

[PJW_Letchworth]

[ceres]

Are you sure it was a red spider mite?  I thought they are found mainly indoors, greenhouses, conservatories etc unless it's very hot and dry outside.  They're barely visible to the naked eye and not really red either!  Could it have been a lily beetle or even a ladybird - they're both around at the moment.

[star]

Panic not PJ, I dont think you have Red spider mite. I think what you have seen IS a red spider type thing, but it wont hurt your produce. The real RSM is a typical mite, very tiny/miniscule and under the leaves mainly. Generally a glasshouse/indoor pest.

I have seen the ones you describe and always thought if they were blood suckers, I have been told they're not. But it does make you wonder with the vivid red colour

[ceres]

Or if you've already got radishes growing, maybe a flea beetle?

[Rosa_Mundi]

There are also tiny bright red spiders which are not, however, red spider mite. They're harmless to crops. I agree with Ceres that it's unlikely to be glasshouse red spider mite - they like it hot and dry.

[PJW_Letchworth]

Phew! Got a little worried there!  ::)  Thinking about them, they were not as small as RSM.  I'll leave the little critters and hope they eat slugs!

[ceres]

Is this it?


http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk/redvelvetmite.htm

[aromatic]

Yes pretty sure ceres is right.... also found a little more information regarding this little critter, who seems to be the gardeners friend....


The word from an entomologist at the RHS
The small red creatures that you found in your garden are commonly known as velvet mites, Allothrombium fuliginosum. This animal overwinters as adult mites in the soil and it is most frequently found at this time of year when it is seen crawling over the soil surface. It is not a harmful mite as the early stages feed as external parasites on certain insects, particularly aphids. The older mite nymphs and the adults feed as predators on aphids. Velvet mites are widely distributed in Britain and may have some effect in reducing aphid infestations, although their impact is likely to be much less than that of other aphid predators, such as ladybirds and hoverfly larvae.

[PJW_Letchworth]

I think you may be right, this is pretty much what I saw.  Going by what they eat, I think they can stay as long as possible and are more than welcome to guard my radishes!

Thanks for the info chaps, much appreciated.

[OllieC]

If you saw it then it wasn't red spider mite! Unless you were holding a hand-lens, of course!

[Tyke]

Not sure what the proper name for these small red spiders, but when i was a lad we called them money spiders. There was some myth that if you killed one you would gain (or lose i can't remember) some money. They were as common as ants as i remember