Red spider mite
PEST
When it's active · UK
JFMAMJJASOND
When it's active · Northern Italy
JFMAMJJASOND
When it's active · Central Italy
JFMAMJJASOND
When it's active · Southern Italy and islands
JFMAMJJASOND
How to recognise it
Fine pale speckling (stippling) across leaves, and in heavy infestations, very fine webbing between leaves and stems.
Life cycle and conditions
Thrives in hot, dry conditions, both outdoors in a hot summer and indoors in centrally-heated rooms; breeds fastest above roughly 25°C.
Prevention
Raise humidity around susceptible plants, avoid prolonged drought stress, damp down greenhouse floors in hot weather.
How to treat it
🌿 ORGANIC · RECOMMENDED
Increase humidity and hose down foliage regularly, which this mite dislikes; a biological predatory mite, introduced into a greenhouse, gives excellent lasting control without any residue.
🧪 CHEMICAL · IF YOU CHOOSE
Chemical miticides are a last resort and increasingly limited for amateur use — raising humidity and introducing predatory mites usually solves the problem without needing them.
PLANTS MOST AFFECTED
greenhouse and conservatory plantshouseplantssome shrubs in hot dry summers