The mottling on the leaves of this aubergine plant are caused by red spider mite.  You can also see very fine webbing caused by the mite.  These little beasties are generally found in greenhouses.   A couple of our aubergine plants are quite heavily infested.  As red spider mite likes warm, dry conditions, we thought we’d put the plants outside and show them what a British summer is really like.  Let’s see if they like it cool and damp! They are rather difficult to squash as they are so small, so we shall be spraying them with a dilute solution of washing up liquid (Ecover because it’s more environmentally friendly).  Hopefully that will stop them.  We’re not at all keen on using chemical pesticides.  If the Ecover doesn’t work then we might try spraying them with pesticides made from fatty acids or plant oils.  Another effective way of dealing with them is to use a predatory mite, which can work well in the greenhouse.  It’s hard to know just how far you go to control pests.  I think the secret is to be vigilant and to not let them get established in the first place.  Red spider mite is normally only a problem between March and October, when it’s warm and dry, so we just need to manage it until then.