Spider Mites

I was not excited to see this in my garden today. It's a red spider mite, though I understand they are only red over winter so I expect they will be changing color before too long. I'm wondering what (in my vegetable garden) they are likely to bother. This was spotted in a area where I had tomatoes, peppers and some basil planted. I did not notice any problems with these plants and they seemed to thrive last summer. Plants that don't do well for me are various root vegetables including beets, turnips, carrots and parsnips.

I'm wondering if these are typical pests that I should expect to see or if their presence points to something I need to address. I'd rather share a little produce with pests than douse the garden with chemicals so it's not unusual to see the occasional pest. I spotted several in the same small area.

I appreciate any thoughts

thanks.

I see them in my garden a few times every summer. They seem to come out of nowhere during dry spells, but I haven't seen any significant damage from them (squash bugs and wireworms are the main pests that cause problems for me). Most of the time I see mites on the cement wall at the front of my garden, and I usually just hit them with a propane torch. Moisture seems to keep them under control for the most part, so the best deterrent may be to water the garden regularly during dry spells.

Attrill wrote:...Most of the time I see mites on the cement wall at the front of my garden, and I usually just hit them with a propane torch...

I like the way you garden!