beccabunga writes

zaria123;798082 Wrote:
Hi Folks

Having lived with a building site garden for 3 years and all the
attention spent on the house, we have just spent a large amount of
money and physical exertion doing our gardens with borders,
decora.tive
stones, decking, huge pots, and large plants and trees.....you name
it

Since we have just completed this, I have noticed the whole garden is
over run with 1000's of tiny bright red spiders. Barely viewable if
you
were standing up, but if you are close to the ground they are
literally
running everywhere.

I am worried that after all the effort and investment on plants,
these
little things will do damage? However they don't see to go near any
of
the plants that I can see, rather run about on the decking planks,
and
conrete paths etc. particularly in the dry warm weather.


I hate to suggest this, but are they red spider mites?
http://tinyurl.com/4al296

No, they are *not* red spider mites. Red spider mites don't run, are
rarely (as in virtually never) found other than on plants (the underside
of leaves or in fine webs on the end shoots if the infestation is very
heavy), are usually drab pale greenish brown (1), are tiny (you have to
be quite short-sighted to see them with the naked eye) - so someone who
was seeing them for the first time would not see enough detail to
describe them as 'tiny spiders', prefer humid to dry conditions.

The little bright red spiders that run around over decking and paving do
no harm to plants - as far as I am aware, they are predators rather than
vegetarians.

(1) despite the red picture in the link above, the text points out that
they are usually greenish brown, and turn red in the winter
--
Kay