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Tomato plant with red spider mite (I think)

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phoenix Thu 06-Jul-17 22:06:58

Hello all, one of my students has a tomato plant, his first attempt at growing one!

It was looking very sad, but we have potted it on, fed it, and now it has not only got several flowers, but actually got a tiny tomato!

Young Noel is chuffed, but when we were watering tonight, I spotted little red bugs on the stalks.

So, is it red spider mite, and if so, how to treat it?

Thanks in advance!

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NanTheWiser Sat 08-Jul-17 12:12:28

RSM - red spider mite - is almost invisible to the naked eye - you can really only see them with a magnifier, so maybe not the bug you can see? They also make a very fine webbing which is usually visible between the stem and leaf petioles. Not easy to eradicate on edible plants, although constant spraying of dilute washing-up liquid might give some control. I suspect your bug is something else, there are a few other very small red mites ( harvest mites ) which are quite harmless. If they move quickly they are usually predators and harmless, it's the slow moving bugs that are usually pests. Any chance of a photo?

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phoenix Sat 08-Jul-17 23:11:51

Thank you*Nan*, I did actually advise him to spray with diluted washing up liquid, not sure if I can get a photo, will see!

I have advised him that we are very unlikely to be making chutney, but it would be good to end up with a few edible tomatoes!

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Liz46 Sun 09-Jul-17 06:15:16

I washed blackfly off a dahlia with the hosepipe. It seemed to work well. I just avoided the flowers.

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