What are Clover Mites? How to Get Rid of Them

Have you noticed some tiny red bugs on your plants or some brown spots on your lawn? You may be having a clover mite problem. These pests are closely related to spiders and ticks. While you don’t have to worry about clover mites bites, they can cause other problems in your house.

Below is a detailed guide explaining what clover mites are and how to get rid of clover mites.

What Are Clover Mites?

What are clover mites? They are tiny, red bugs that resemble a pinhead. These bugs feed on the juices of grass, clover, and other lawn plants.

Clover mites have eight legs and an oval shape. Their front pair of legs is longer than the rest, which are six in number. These bugs are slow-moving when they crawl. The mites appear like tiny, moving dots across surfaces.

Habits and Characteristics of Clover Mites

What do clover mites do? Clover mites lay their eggs before the summer months. They become dormant between May and September. When clover mites move into your home, they feed on pine, cedar, or pressboard. They live in cracks and crevices, where they are likely to find algae and mold to feed on.

These pests lay their eggs at least once a year. They prefer to lay their eggs behind house siding or tree bark, although some lay eggs on plants. Eggs laid in the fall hatch in the spring. These bugs lay their eggs in cracks between your walls or the foundation.

The eggs hatch into larvae and begin to feed. Clover mite larvae pass through several nymphal stages before becoming adults. One generation can take a year to reach adulthood. It’s essential to note that one generation can consist of thousands of mites. That could lead to an infestation.

It’s worth noting that all U.S. clover mites are female. They do not require male fertilization, as they are parthenogenetic.

These pests feed on plants like primrose, daffodils, strawberry, clover, dandelion, and ornamental flowers. You may notice a large population of clover mites in lush lawns.

Signs of a Clover Mite Infestation

It’s challenging to spot a clover mite with the naked eye due to their microscopic size. Nonetheless, you may notice moving sports on walls, window shapes, and drapes. It’s also easy to spot red stains on papers, surfaces, carpets, and draperies.

Worth noting is that clover mites die after invading your home. That means you may not see any signs of infestation until later.

Why Do You Have Clover Mites?

Clover mites emerge from their hibernation areas in early spring and seek out warm shelters. They climb up the sides of a home, or they can enter through cracks on your exterior walls or foundation.

If you have gaps around doors and windows, you may also create a way for these bugs to enter your house.

What Problems do Clover Mites Cause?

Are clover mites dangerous? No, you won’t have to worry about clover mite bites. These bugs do not pose any threat to humans or pets.

What do clover mites do? These pests can cause other issues. They gather in large numbers in sunny areas. Moreover, they can sneak into your house using the tiniest cracks and openings. They can huddle up on your porch or along the siding. It can be challenging to control clover bugs on your own, especially if you’re dealing with a large population.

These pests can live under siding and in wall voids, which means their activity can go unnoticed for years. Sometimes the numbers are so large that they are forced to migrate during a warm time in the winter. Unless you check out a clover mites image, the only other way to tell that you have these pests is the red spots they smear

Also, they live behind red stains on your walls, rugs, floors, and curtains. They may leave their bright red eggs on your belongings. The mires do not respond to chemical control, and you need to call in a professional pest control company to eliminate them.

How to Prevent and Get Rid of Clover Mites

Although it’s challenging to exclude these tiny pests, you can take steps to seal them out of your house.

Seal Gaps on Your Exterior Walls and Foundation

Go through and inspect your house and foundation for any possible entry points. You can take a flashlight and look for the tiniest gaps. Don’t forget to check for openings in the attic as these pests can enter through openings above and climb the siding.

Seal these gaps. Ensure that you also caulk any gaps on your doors and windows. You can also add weather stripping around your doors, windows, and foundation.

Use Chemicals

You can use boric acid mixed with water to create an insecticidal mixture. Take the mixture and put it in a spray bottle. Spray this around the entry points used by clover mites.  Alternatively, sprinkle boric acid powder around the affected plant’s system.  Ensure that you don’t use it near food.

Remember that using household chemicals requires a systematic approach that involves extermination and prevention.

Remove Wet Mulch and Weeds From Your Garden or Lawn

Replace any mulch surrounding your house with pea gravel or crushed rock. That will remove potential breeding sites for these mites. Remember that clover mites are attracted to well-fertilized lawns. Ease up during the fall and spring, as this is when these pests are present.

Get Professional Pest Control Help

Preventing and controlling a clover mite infestation can be challenging. If you’ve seen pictures of clover mites, you realize that these pests are tiny and are not easy to spot. A pest control company has qualified and experienced staff, the equipment, and skill to address a clover mite infestation.

You can count on them to treat your property from inside out to prevent a future infestation.