They also congregate on the sides of buildings, especially sides that are exposed to the sun. Usually, their egg sites are above some sort of plant, so the newly hatched mites can drop down and begin feeding immediately.Īdult clover mites can be found gathered on their food sources, mostly. Because of this, they either drop or move down from their eggs after hatching. Clover mites are geotropic, which means they grow downwards in their eggs. A popular place for clover mites to lay their eggs is in the cracks and crevices of exterior walls. These areas need to have enough sun to keep the eggs warm during cool weather, but enough shade to protect them from excessive heat. They lay their eggs in dry, protected areas. Heavily damaged foliage will turn yellow or brown and wilt.Ĭlover mites are distributed all over the world, and they live virtually everywhere in the United States. Feeding damage to leaves and flowers appears as small silver streaks in an irregular pattern. Damage to lawns is often mistaken for winter kill. Large populations can cause huge areas, even entire lawns, to turn brown. ![]() Clover mite damage on lawns appears as brown spots. They can, however, cause extensive damage to lawns, gardens, and house plants, and the damage they cause increases with their population. The red stain they leave behind when they are crushed is the full extent of the damage they do to carpets, clothing, and curtains. They do not damage structures and they do not infest stored products. Are clover mites dangerous?Īs stated before, clover mites do not bite, nor do they cause any health issues. One important difference is that balaustium mites bite and can cause a rash, while clover mites do not bite or cause any health issues. In terms of appearance, at least a 20x hand lens is needed to tell the difference between the two. The red stain that is left behind is actually a result of the natural pigmentation of clover mites.Ĭlover mites and balaustium mites, another species of red mites, are often mistaken for one another. This sometimes causes home and business owners to think they are being invaded by some sort of blood-sucking creature, but this is not the case. When they are crushed, they leave a red stain. They appear in large numbers and can be found around walls, siding, doors, windows, curtains, furniture, and more. Luckily, this means they cannot reproduce indoors.īecause they are so tiny, clover mites look like dark red specks to the naked eye. Indoors, clover mites can only survive for a few days before they die of dehydration. Outdoors, a single generation of clover mites will last for about one month. Clover mites go through two nymph stages, which are protonymph and deutonymph. They are bright red, salmon, or pink in color. Larvae are disc-shaped and only have six legs. Each larva that hatches is genetically identical to the mother. Eggs are spherical, about 0.12 mm in diameter, and bright red in color. In fact, there are no male clover mites- only female. They range in color from bright reddish to reddish brown.Ĭlover mites are parthenogenetic, which means larvae hatch from unfertilized eggs. Their bodies are oval in shape and they have feather-like plates on their abdomens. They are slightly smaller than the head of a pin, typically between 0.75 and 0.85 mm in length. Adults have eight legs, and their front pair of legs are much longer than their other six legs, so they often get mistaken for antennae. These mites are arachnids, which means they are close relatives of ticks and spiders. ![]() ![]() ![]() What do clover mites look like?Ĭlover mites are tiny nuisance pests that invade homes and businesses, both indoors and outdoors. These tiny red mites can be quite a nuisance when they move into yards and buildings, so we’ve put together an all-encompassing guide to answer frequently asked questions and give some prevention tips from the pros. Fall weather is quickly approaching, and that means cool weather pests are getting ready to emerge, clover mites among them.
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