A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Spider Mites?

Hi. My dad is concerned with the tiny red spiders that have been showing up on his tomato plants. Are these spider mites? Should he use insecticide or are these good insects? It wouldn't be a very big deal except that he has about 300 plants and is concerned about losing them.

Thanks for any advice.

Umm, if I'm not mistaken, these very well could be spider mites. However, I'm against the use of insecticides. If he wants to get rid of them, he can steep some tobacco in water for a day or so, then drain the water into a spray bottle. Next add about 1-1 1/2 tsp. of antibacterial lemon scented dish soap. Finish filling container with water. Spray plants. Bugs leave...it stings them.

Does it matter what kind of tobacco? I hate to use insecticides around my kids, so this would be great! Also, will it work for any plant or just garden plants? That sounds silly, but I have some pretty finicky houseplants!

They recommend chewing tobacco. But, I tend to use the tobacco left inside a cigarette after it is put out. I just empty it into an old nylon stocking and make tea out of it. Thing is, I steep mine for several days to make it good and strong like the chewing tobacco. As far as I know this works on all plants.

There are other ones too. One can be found here:
http://lady_sensual.tripod.com/id1.html (scroll down a bit and please overlook my construction on the site).