Don't get me wrong - I'm not anti-mite. I believe in equality - I'm not speciesist! There are plenty of really nice mites out there, and they're people too, etc etc.
And I'm aware that some mites are beneficial (soil conditioning, fungus breakdown, etc). These guys could be here to help me. I had something similar in my last crop's soil, and it didn't appear to do any harm.
But come on, look at that thing. It's like a tiny crab or something. Yuck.
I noticed them a couple weeks ago but there weren't many of them, and they weren't on the plants, so I decided to 'wait and see'. I've given the plants NO water in the past several days, really letting the soil dry out.
I waited. Now I see:
They're walking around on the soil, the pots, and sometimes even the plants. I haven't seen them doing anything to the plants. They seem to be exploring. They don't stop on the plant anywhere, and most of the time there's none on the plants.
They are white, or slightly off-white. There don't seem to be any further adult stages - these seem to be the adults. They're not larva of gnats or flies, for example. And they really don't have the body shape of thrips. I think they're mites.
They're intelligent, in that they notice when I try and squash them, going into a panic and running from my finger. Their movement is somewhat ant-like. They don't appear to be able to fly or jump, but they can walk pretty fast for something so tiny. They're the size of a fleck of dust.
There is NO webbing. I've dealt with spider mites before, and I know they're in the area, but these aren't them, which is nice.
Still, what are they? If they continue to multiply, will they start to be a problem for the plants? If so, what are some completely natural (and inexpensive) solutions? (Don't suggest neem!)
I'm thinking diatomaceous earth.
Also, I could take the plants out of the soil, wash their roots under cool fresh water, and replant them in sterile pots with fresh soil. The plants are 5 weeks from seeds, indoor organic, 20 hours of light per day.
I'd love some help identifying them so I can make an informed decision about how to proceed. Thanks everybody!
DRutter
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