| Author | Content |
| Angel Boonville, MO Zone 5a May 7, 2001 | What are those tiny red little critters all over the patio outside? I see them every year. They are invading my space! What do they do to plants? Is there a way to get rid of them? |
| Trish Jacksonville, TX Zone 8b  May 7, 2001 | Oh, Angel.....I just saw a bunch of those too today! Hopefully someone will know what they are! Trish |
| GrannyLois Blountville, TN Zone 6b May 7, 2001 | Don't know. Do you have a picture? Could they be earwigs? |
| Angel Boonville, MO Zone 5a May 7, 2001 | No picture... they are tiny bright red dots. If you took a fine tipped red pen and made a dot they would be smaller than that even. If you smash them they make a red splat. They are really common and multiply quickly. |
| Zanymuse Scotia, CA Zone 9b May 7, 2001 | They sound yucky whatever they are! |
| Happy_Gardener Cedar Rapids, IA May 8, 2001 | My first thought was maybe spider mites but I did a search on Google for "tiny red bugs" and every hit came up as "clover mites." I can remember seeing these in South Carolina. Always thought they were tiny spider mites. [HYPERLINK@www.extension.umn.edu] Scroll down for text regarding clover mites. |
| Angel Boonville, MO Zone 5a May 8, 2001 | Clover Mites... that must be it! The first time I ever saw these was when I was working in Oklahoma at a bank and they entered the building. I remember someone coming out to do a quarterly spray for insects but they said they didnt have anything for these bugs. I think they said what would kill them would be too dangerous or something and that they would die out soon anyway. They seem to love the house. Ok, now I'm all itchy!! Better switch to a new topic if I want to sleep tonight. |
| darius Marion, VA Zone 5b May 8, 2001 | They sound like chiggers to me! -darius |
| cutlass Atqasuk, AK April 8, 2008 | They are Clover Mites. See the article by Richard M. Houseman of Department of Entomology at The University of Missouri at: [HYPERLINK@extension.missouri.edu]
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| angelsparkly Kansas City, MO June 3, 2008 | I managed to get one of the slower ones under a microscope and still not convinced it's the clover mite. Looks like it has more legs and I also found some darker ones. |
| suunto Sinks Grove, WV June 3, 2008 | Adult clover mites can vary considerably in color; it is the nymphs that more consistently are red. The distinguishing factor in clover mites is their unusually long first pair of legs that they often wave about like antennae. BTW, I cannot think of any arthropod as small as a clover (or spider) mite that would have more than eight legs. Even pseudoscorpions (with 10 legs) are larger. |
