Spider mite

[Spunky]

Absolutely gutted I'm pretty sure all my tomato plants have been affected by spider mites
The leaves have drooped and have brown marks and some of the leaves almost look see through and I remember seeing a red spider on them thinking ooh what a cool spider
Do you think they could recover? I've moved them out of my cold frame where they can get rained on and a bit cooler and am misting the leaves with water when it doesn't rain

[redser]

I though red spider mites were actually white? Do you see an fine webbing? I also thought they were more likely to come well into summer when it's very hot?? No personal experience of them but was reading about them recently.

[Spunky]

The grass had webs on it very fine like small blobs of silk none on the plants

[binley100]

You must be having decent weather then .....

'Glasshouse red spider mite thrives in warm, dry conditions, ' .........

[Spunky]

Not really unless there here from April?..... I saw one in the grass by scaffold today they must be getting about .......I stamped on it

[binley100]

ah..........then it's something different .
"On leaves: Plants infested with glasshouse red spider mite show a fine pale mottling on the upper leaf surface. The underside of the leaves have many tiny yellowish green mites and white cast skins and egg shells. These are more easliy seen with the aid of a x10 hand lens " from the RHS website

[rustylady]

Absolutely gutted I'm pretty sure all my tomato plants have been affected by spider mites
The leaves have drooped and have brown marks and some of the leaves almost look see through and I remember seeing a red spider on them thinking ooh what a cool spider
Do you think they could recover? I've moved them out of my cold frame where they can get rained on and a bit cooler and am misting the leaves with water when it doesn't rain

It's definitely not red spider mite. Sounds as if the leaves have been damaged by the weather and/or your watering methods. You'd be better off keeping the leaves dry and watering the compost.

[Two_Sheds]

The leaves have drooped and have brown marks and some of the leaves almost look see through

Drooping can be down to the cold. Brown transparent patches are down to scorching (though not necessarily hot sun, probably wind burn)

I remember seeing a red spider on them

Spider mites aren't red, they're greeny-yellow, and they don't live outside in April: they need hot dry conditions

You probably saw a velvet mite

am misting the leaves with water when it doesn't rain

You only might need to do that if they're in a very hot dry greenhouse, to increase humidity

[Spunky]

I moved them out of my cold frame 2 days ago because I thought it could be spider mite
Red Spider Mites

They look red?

They haven't been out in wet or blustery conditions and temps at mint haven't been below 7 degrees ......weird is it greenhouse blight lol

[rustylady]

No, it's far too early for blight. Where are your tomatoes at the moment if they're not in the coldframe. Didn't you read TwoSheds post? Red spider mites aren't red, they are really tiny, and they thrive in hot dry conditions. Do you have any pictures of your plants that you can post on here?

[Spunky]

I read the baby's are small not the adults, there outside know trying to let the weather get to them

[rustylady]

Spunky, they are not red spider mites. Your tomatoes would be much better under cover, it's not warm enough for them to be outside yet.

[Spunky]

I'll try and get some photos tomorrow thanks

[Potstubsdustbins]

If you don't heed what the ladies are telling you, your going to lose the lot. End of story.

Colin

[woody21]

I read the baby's are small not the adults, there outside know trying to let the weather get to them

if it is spidermite the weather outside wont harm them, the cooler temperature will slow the growth and reproduction cycle, they go dormant when conditions arent right
WHAT CAUSES SPIDER-MITES TO GO DORMANT? FACT SHEET
but conditions at the moment wont make them go dormant even.

clover mites could be mistaken for spidermites, you need magnification to find out
Bryobia praetiosa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

a 20x or 30x jewlers loupe is what you want to have a closer look, id them asap as if you start seeing discoloured leaves your infestation is underway, if you have webs then your well infested!