Tiny red spiders

[crystalfaery]

I went out on saturday just gone when i went to lock my door it had vurtually gone from white to red loads of the little red spiders, interestingly they had vanished the next day just leaving a few also most of the green fly on my rose had vanished as well not a lady bird in sight. i see them every year often wondered what they are.

[scott2907]

I believe what I have are Clover Mites - well done for that ID, although most pictures of the Clover Mite show them to be brown, and most descriptions say they are pinhead size. Mine are bright red and 2mm or so like DaveOS's. I still think they are Clover Mites though. That's my best guess so far. Anyway, my Mother has them now. She lives 70 miles away, and may have got them from plants that we transfer from one house to the other. She can't get rid of them either and they are on the front and back of her house, kitchen and bedroom. What a nightmare. Nothing works!

[garryhq]

We too have had problems with these tiny red spiders. We live in a new build house and the front (south facing) brickwork is covered with these things - even the white garage and entrance doors but particularly brickwork and white plastic surfaces. My wife moved some garden rocks from the front garden to the back and now we have seen quite a number of these spiders appearing on north facing bricks (in late sun) and conservatory. They are becoming a problem. They do get inside the house and they do leave red smudges if they get squashed.

Interstingly, we've also had a very similar outbreak with what our local environmental officer called something like Psocids? Sounds like soffids and sometimes called bookmites. Basically, these are plaster mites and were allegedlyfeeding off the fungus and dampness caused by new plaster drying out. We were advised to buy a dehumidifier and get everything dried out - we did and ran our new dehumid 24/7 for about 3 months and they did disappear only to be replaced by their little red cousins the dreaded red brick mites.

I haven't captured any red brick mite samples yet, to take along to our local environmental officer, but will do so soon and hope he is able to suggest a way we can deter these very determined little blighters from entering our house. They really are attacking every threshold and if we allow them to get a foothold they most certainly will take over.

My wife and I don't want to get into any arguments about living and let live and the fact that these flippin' things have been living here longer than we have. Heck, we're vegetarians and always move spiders and flies into the garden (without hurting them) whenever we catch them so please don't try putting any guilt trips on us. Seriously, we really like spiders - honest we do!

We, just like several other posters to this forum, simply want to keep these cute little (but extremely prolific) red spiders OUTside our family house.

And one day, when these prolific little red blighters have finally attained the global (habitat) dominance they are currently striving for, I predict ALL homeowners will share these concerns. You have been warned….!!

[Venger]

Having normal spiders in the house is good for you - they keep the pests down (and will probably eat your red spider mites!)

[L&G]

So pleased we came across this website as we have the same problem as mentioned by many here. The other websites we have been reading have been about a red spider mite that is on plants and greenhouses but ours are all over the house and garden - on walls and window sills and the patio. When our two daughters came to the house recently, they would not go out onto our patio (as they had bare feet). It was covered in these mites and they do leave quite a bad stain when squashed. We have found it particularly difficult to remove the stain on PVC windows.

We have been trying to find out about a natural predator but to no avail. Will probably try the antibacterial spray.

We will regularly return to this site to see if anyone can help with more info and a way of controlling them.

[editm]

I have these also. If they didn't bite I wouldn't be bothered, but in just a couple of minutes I got more than 5 bites. Spraying them with Lysol (anti-bacterial) as recommended in a previous post stopped them in their tracks and you can just rinse them off so no messy spots. It doesn't seem to deter others from coming however. I am not a fan of killing anything, but these little guys have invaded my teak table and chairs which interestingly are rather white/gray from age and sit in the sun all day. I also saw one crawling inside my laptop screen, inside not on the outside.

[daloughlin]

In case anybody is still following this thread - ignore comments about red spiders and red spider mites. The small red insects that swarm over paths, windows etc are CLOVER MITES: A quick google for this will provide several sources of information. Control if desired is not easy.

Clover mites are not insects but arachnids.

Clover mites leave a red stain when crushed. Clover mites feed on grasses, clovers, and certain other plants in the lawn and around the home. They often crawl into cracks and crevices to molt and lay eggs. Typical "hiding places" are under the loose bark of trees, on foundation walls, beneath siding, and around window frames

Clover mites do not damage buildings and furnishings, nor do they injure humans and pets.

They attack a number of grasses and plants found in gardens. Clover mites are plant feeders that have been found infesting more than 200 different plants, sucking the sap.

They can leave off algae and mould.

Clover mites live close or on their food sources.

They become a real nuisance upon migration inside.

Heavy migrations of clover mites into houses are also common in the early summer and autumn.

Clover mites build up very large populations around structures surrounded with lush, well-fertilized lawns and shrubbery.

They often move into buildings in massive numbers in the autumn when vegetation begins to die.

In the spring, large numbers indoor migration is usually is the result of recent mulching and the beginning of higher temperatures.

Large populations of clover mites may occur on the flat roofs of commercial buildings and are associated with moss growth.

Clover mites females lay about 70 eggs each, singly or in masses, lay eggs in cracks in concrete foundations, cracks and crevices of buildings, under sidings, and on the underside of bark at the base of the trees.

Clover mites eggs do not hatch below 40°F or above 86°F.

They lay their eggs during the spring.

After eggs hatch, the newly emerged immature clover mites move to find hosts, molt, and pass through two nymphal stages.

Approximately 30 days are required to complete a generation outdoors.

One generation is completed during the spring or early summer months and another in the early fall (September/October).

Clover mites in the egg stage may either hibernate (overwinter) or become dormant during the summer under tree bark, in cracks of fence posts and foundation walls, under sheathing of buildings or in other dry protected sites, during adverse weather conditions.

Clover mites are most troublesome in early spring and again in fall, especially on the east and south sides of buildings.

They can be found randomly through the house, but very frequently on the south side of the house because of the warmth.

[Pix1505]

I have clover mites infesting the back wall of my new build house. They are around the upstairs and downstairs windows and walls. There is no foliage/grass etc around the windows and certainly not around the upstairs windows!! I have been searching on the internet for many nights. I have established that I have Clover Mites and their living habits/lifecycle/etc etc but have still found no way to actually get rid of them! I have put sellotape, sticky side up, to catch them as they come in the windows and I have sprayed the inside/outside/upside/downside of windows & doors & walls but they still keep coming. This has been for about a month and my concern is that this is only the beginning!! I have asked the local Council for advice and was told to hoover them up/wipe them away etc. They offered to come out and spray my house but this would cost £50 with no guarantee that it would work! I have also plastered Vicks (vapour rub) around the windows as "camphor" (main ingredient in Vicks) is apparently a bit off-putting to the little mites!

Anyway, it is a small comfort that I am not the only one with this problem and maybe some of you will find my advice useful!

[DAC1]

Yet another addition on this long running topic. I thought daloughlin had sussed it with his "clover mite" description, but these red spiders seem to be at their most problematic & prolific, in the summer months rather than spring or fall. Similarly, the only places I DON'T find them are on plants & grasses. So now I'm not so sure again. That still leaves us with the problem of how to get rid of them.

As with previous correspondents, I am at pains to put 'unwelcome visitors' outside, rather than kill them, but these spiders / mites are a real nuisance. We were going to have a bbq but everywhere from the grill & sides to the table, chairs & surrounding walls & patio were covered with them. God knows we have to wait long enough for sufficiently decent weather to have a bbq in the first place, but this unwelcome competition for the sun / warmth is a complete pain.

Any helpful hints on their removal would be very welcome.

[tagg48]

hi help please is there any way to get rid of the tiny red spiders that have invaded our patio and window cills,
if you squash them they leave what looks like a red blood stain do not think they are spider mites ?
we have had some brickwork done could this be a cause ?