Phal with small web, no damage to leaves

[flowerpower]

I've occasionally had a spider jump out at me when watering phals indoors, and they are known to grow webs on my outdoor cymbidiums. I know it's spiders because they connect their web to the recycling container and hang out in the air. I believe spider mites only start spinning the webs once their numbers are high and you would think there would be obvious symptoms. If memory serves, I *think* the web spinning has something to do with crowded colonies and wanting to establish another.

Inspect the plant under a bright lamp, ideally with a magnifying lens - especially lower leaves - and monitor the situation. There is a test to shake the plant onto a piece of A4 white paper and see if any peppery dots start moving - their instinct is to crawl onto the "safe" underside of the leaf (or paper) where they are usually found.

In the meantime, you are right to be cautious. I highly suggest keeping it far away from other plants until you know for sure, as a full blown mite problem is a nightmare. If you have more than a handful of plants it is not worth even a 1% risk of introducing any kind of mites to the rest.