Does anyone know if this red, really fast running bug is harmful to plants? It looks like a spider, but I’m not certain. It’s tiny and just runs around on the leaves and stems. Doesn’t seem to make webbing like spider mites. It’s on my pilea leaf and is a zoomed in pic from my phone.
That is a poultry red mite. It's a blood-sucking parasite that is typically found on birds, but can also feed on mammals. It's no danger to your plants, but you should still try to get rid of these. They're nocturnal and have a 2 week reproduction cycle. Diatomaceous earth can help kill them. They like to hide in cracks and crevices and like warm humid conditions. Chemicals are not very effective against them, but you might try products rated for mites. To kill them manually, apply heat of 113° F+ or cool them below -4° F. Adult mites can live 9 months without even feeding, so they're annoyingly durable. If you have pets, especially birds, inspect them throughly with a flashlight at night. Mites are the most active 5-11 hours after dark and retreat to hiding spots in the day
3 Me gusta Interesting as I don’t have birds, so where would this guy have come from? Wild birds? I’ve only seen them outside, so my indoor plant must’ve picked up this hitchhiker when I took it outside. INaturalist app guessed it as whirligig mite. 🤷🏻♀️ I’ll try to take it back outside so it doesn’t feed on my pets if it does feed on blood like a vampire 🧛♀️
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Ekkkkk!!! 😣😣😣
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