AbstractMite infestations are widely recognized as reducing the growth of affected warm‐season turfgrasses. This observation is, however, a qualitative assessment, albeit based on extensive field observations over the past >60 yr, and the level of reduced growth has never previously been quantified. In three replicated pot experiments, the dry matter production of hybrid bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. × Cynodon transvaalensis Burtt Davy] infested by the red bermudagrass mite [Dolichotetranychus australianus (Womersley)] was reduced by 84, 67, and 50% compared with that of a mite‐free control treatment in Experiments 1, 2, and 3, respectively. These results are discussed in relation to the inherent variability of red bermudagrass mite infestations in both time and in space.