Bugs on my tomato plants

While checking my tomato plants today, I found some itty bitty red bugs on the underneath side of some of the leaves. I mean these things are tiny.

Does anyone know what they are and what I should do about it?

I have several small green tomatoes on the vines, so I hate to spray anything that could affect the fruit, or the people eating it.

Without seeing them it's hard to be certain but it sounds like it could be spider mites or aphids. If it is spider mites you should be able to find some webs on the plants, usually on the underside of the leaves. They are really tiny but don't let their size fool you they will devour your plants if left unchecked. In addition to silky webbing you would probably see little yellow spots or brown spots on the leaves (top or bottom).

Aphids would normally flock to the growing tips where the plant is most tender and tend to stay away from the older tougher parts of the plant. As they suck the life out of the tips the new growth usually becomes stunted and leaves curl up and die. I would usually expect to see ants with them since the ants herd the aphids and get a sweet nectar treat in return.

You can usually control aphids by just blasting them off the plant with the hose, or unleashing ladybugs or preying mantis' on them. Some soapy water sprayed on them will smother them. You can also mix rubbing alcohol and water and spray them. Last year I had a couple of pepper plants infested with them in the spring and just blasted them with the hose... in a couple weeks they were mostly gone and the plants recovered.

Spider mites can be tough but alcohol and water sprayed on them will kill them. Neem oil should work too. Insecticidal soap can be used.

As a last resort there's always insecticides but look for something safe to use on vegetables. Blasting them off with water would be my first course of action, whether it's mites or aphids. Left unchecked either of them will reproduce at at amazing rate (they go from hatching out of the egg to laying their own eggs in about 7 days)

This message was edited Jun 13, 2010 10:25 PM

I find Al Tapla's recipe for spray real effective.

Use a quart spray bottle and put a pint of hot tap water in it. Then add a pint of alcohol. Rubbing alcohol. Not drinkable alcohol. :o) Then add a couple drops of dish soap and a tsp of Neem oil. Shake it real good and spray whatever is on them. Keep shaking as you go from one thing to another so they get the alcohol. That is what kills instantly. The neem gets the others. I also spray the soil around the plant to get eggs.

If your tomato plant is near others, you had better check them also.

Thanks to both of you. I'll give it a try, hopefully tomorrow.

By the way, what's Neem oil and where do I find it?

http://www.planetnatural.com/site/neem-oil.html

I think it should be readily available online and at nurseries/big box stores...

Lowes has Neem oil sometimes. I would not recommend spraying anything containing oil in hot weather, it tends to "cook" the leaves.

I think wrens (a type of bird) eats aphids and such because I often see them picking at stuff out there.