Since I took my plants outside for good this summer, I noticed fine webbing going from branch to branch (friendly spiders) and the spiders are small & black w/ white stripes. EVERY day I knock down webs & they rebuild. Will these webs catch any aphids & mites? Are they good spiders?
Last night & earlier today we had almost 2 inches of rain. I checked the citrus sitting on a 2X12 & I saw slugs on top of soil so I threw them in pond. Then, I noticed a bunch at bottom when I took a plant off to check bottom. Slugs were there & a few were on sides of planter like crawling up. I think there's a good chance there are more in soil. Will they eat the roots? I think I threw about 20 in pond (fish are well fed today).
I also noticed what I think are red spider mites & squashed them. Very tiny (gotta look close), & move fast. Easy to see cuz they're red dots. Are red spider mites bad? I feel so BUGGY -- YUK. I'm thinking of spraying with Neem Oil. Any opinions & suggestions are very welcome. Thanks

Snails will eat the young and tender leaves and shoots of your citruses. Show them no mercy as they won't show your citruses any mercy.

Spiders are the good guys. I never kill a spider in the greenhouse. - Millet

Thanks guys. What about the little red -fast moving dots that I think might be red mites. Are red mites bad? Will they get trapped in spider webs? I raised all the pots up a bit off the 2X12 to help keep slugs out. I also put diazonon crystals around pots & board. I forgot to mention the thous nds of red ants I'm batteling.... I'm winning on them.

Patti my friend, spider mites are red, and they are small, almost microscopic and extremely hard to see, but they are NOT fast. - Millet

Patty- I have also seen quite a few of those little red "spider mites" crawling on my pots or on the patio. They do move pretty fast in my opinion. I have not seen any damage to my citrus though. Maybe they migrated to Chicago from Milwaukee! I have yet to find out exactly what they are.
Tony

They are very tiny - can't see them w/out glasses. I just looked them up & I really think they are mites. Just a round dot...can't see it till it moves, and for the size they really do move fast. I've seen them on some branches & squish them.

Patty,

Spider mites are always on the bottom of the leaf. Bad infestations may be accompanied by webbing. They can move pretty fast in our hot summer weather.

In feeding they make a distinctive discoloring on the top of the leaf - you should be able to find a picture on the web. If not, I will try to post one. Once you get use to seeing the damage, you will immediatly know what the cause is.

If you knock the leaf on a white piece of paper, you can sometimes see them better. If you wipe the bottom of the leaf with your finger the mites will often smear and cause a tiny red streak. My eyes aren't what they once were, so I use a low powered microscope. With it I can see the mites and their eggs without a problem.

Oil sprays will work, but you have to be careful using them in very hot weather Ultra-light oil is best in summer. I always apply oils in the evening. One treatment is seldom enough. Before using any treatment, be sure you actually have live mites - sometimes there is damage, but the mites are no longer around.

About the slugs, have I read that slugs would not cross a copper wire? If so, couldn't you wrap the pot with a copper wire to keep them out?

Ned

Ned, I forgot about the copper wire thing. Great Idea!!... I heard of that too. Is there a chance the slugs crawled in thru drainage holes?
I saw some more of what I thought were spider mites today & now I think they aren't.....a little too big. No damage to any leaves & no mites or eggs under leaves. Thanks

I am sure slugs hide in the drainage holes if there is space but I don't think they can get up through the media. They do like to hide in wet, dark places during the daylight hours.