How to Get Rid of Clover Mites Quickly

6 useful ways of dealing with clover mites both inside and outside.
By
Phyllis McMahon
Phyllis McMahon
Research Writer
Phyllis teaches English Literature at a local college and loves writing in her free time. She’s also a great cook – her British beef Wellington is something the best res read more
reviewed
Reviewed By
Chas Kempf
Chas Kempf
Expert Consultant
Chas works in a professional pest control company and knows all the nuances of this job. Also, he’s a fantastic tennis player and loves to organize BBQ parties for his fam read more
Last updated: September 01, 2023
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When you are outside, you are going to see a lot of different insects around your property of all shapes and sizes. Chances are that you have seen these tiny little red bugs around your property at some point or another. You may have thought they were spider mites. Sometimes they are. But sometimes they are something else called a clover mite.

Have you ever heard of a clover mite? If not, you don’t know what to look for and how to keep them off of your plants. Below we are going to look at some information about clover mites and how you can protect your yard and garden from them.

What Does a Clover Mite Look Like?

How to Get Rid of Clover Mites Quickly

Based on entomology, they’re arachnids. They’re related closely to the spider mite. But there are a few ways that they are different.

The bodies of adult mites are elongated but tiny. They’re not quite a millimeter long. Their diameter is the size of a pinhead. Their front legs point forward, resembling an antenna.

The younger mites are red-brown color, and they become redder while growing. When you crush them, they will leave a stain that is red in color on your drywall, windowsills, and exterior walls.

Signs of Presence

Now that you know what clover mites look like, you want to know how to know that you have them around. Because they are very small, it’s hard to spot them without a magnifying glass. If you have an infested building, you might notice moving, tiny spots on drapes, window shades, and walls. But you have to really look more closely at them to really identify them. seeing red stains on draperies, carpets, papers and other types of lightly colored surfaces will point to the presence of a clover mite infestation. Since they will die shortly once they get into a home, you may not even notice that they are there until the problem’s negligible.

The Dangers of Clover Mites

The good news is that they don’t really do a lot of damage. Of course, they can cause stains if they’re smashed on surfaces that are light in color. They can also cause stippling on those plants that they’ve fed on. Since they are typically feeding on ornamentals and lawn grass, a large population can cause a huge nuisance, causing flowers and plants to be discolored.

If you’re taking good care of your garden’s plants, the damage from the clover mites feeding only will be cosmetic. They won’t carry any diseases such as plant viruses like other sap-sucking creatures. And a small population of them won’t be able to overpower the healthy tissues of a plant.

Dealing With Them

If you are like a lot of homeowners, over the years you probably have searched for things like how to get rid of ants on carpet or maybe how to keep mosquitoes away. But now you know what clover mites are and you have spotted them. What do you do now? Well, we’re going to give you some tips on getting rid of them.

How to Get Rid of Clover Mites Inside

Have you found clover mites in your home? if so, we are going to tell you how to get rid of clover mites in your house. The good news is that you are going to have no problem with removing them. Chances are that you aren’t going to need to turn to someone professional to take care of the problem. The one thing that you might be surprised about is how many you are going to find. Below are some things that you can do for removing them inside.

Vacuum Them Up

How to Get Rid of Clover Mites Quickly

The first thing that you want to do when you want to know how to get rid of clover mites in the home is to grab your trusty vacuum. Then use it to suck up all of the clover mites you’re able to find. You will want to empty the vacuum immediately when you are finished. This way you don’t have to worry about them climbing out of the vacuum and continuing their business. When you use the vacuum, it also is going help you to avoid the stains in the home. if you have had problems with dust mites before, you may have looked for the best dust mite vacuum. The good news is that you can use just about any kind of vacuum for them, although a canister vacuum rather than one that takes a bag might be easier to ensure that you’ve disposed of them all since they’re easier to see.

Use Traps

Are you only seeing a few of the clover mites? Sticky tape is a good way that you can trap them. simply place these traps close to where you have seen them and wait. These traps won’t be as effective as time goes by because of dust and other things, so you will have to change the traps several times before you have caught them all.

Sprinkle Boric Acid Over Your Furniture

If you want to know how to get rid of clover mites naturally, this is one of the ways to do it. This natural powder can kill the clover mites. It can be found in your store’s laundry aisle. It h helps with eliminating and deterring clover mites. Put it around the areas where you’re seeing them outside and in the home. they’re repelled naturally by it and won’t walk on it, so it is a barrier that will keep them out.

Wash Your Pets

How to Get Rid of Clover Mites Quickly

One way that they can get into your house is on the fur of your pets. They can hitch rides on them when you are taking the dog for a walk or you’re letting them play in the backyard. If you are seeing the clover mites in your house, it may be time to give your dog a bath.

How to Get Rid of Clover Mites Outside

Just like with any kind of pest, it’s easiest to get rid of the clover mites by getting rid of the reason they’re around. It’s somewhat trickier with clover mites because the reason they’re there is for feeding on the lawn.

Use Some Effective Insecticides

You might want to think about using some insecticides. The reason that clover mites are called that is that they feed on clover. However, they also feed off a lot of other kinds of plants too. Because of this, you may have a lot of them in your yard. If you’re not taking care of it quickly, you could wind up with an infestation.

Here are a few insecticides to try:

  • Cyfluthrin
  • Lambda-Cyhalothrin
  • Permethrin

Once you have the insecticide, apply it around plants or along with any foundations or entry points. They will act as a barrier against clover mites.

Repel Them Using Plants

There are some plants that clover mites don’t like. These are plants such as:

  • Chrysanthemum
  • Germanium
  • Marigold
  • Salvia

When you have some of these in the plants in the garden that the clover mites aren’t going to bother.

These plants also flower, so not only are you repelling the pests, but you are also adding beauty to the garden.

Prevention Measures

Before you have a problem with a pest, it’s always a good idea to take some steps to prevent it. Below are some of the things that you can do to avoid having a problem with clover mites.

Avoid Overfertilizing Your Lawn

How to Get Rid of Clover Mites Quickly

One thing that attracts cover mites is a well-fertilized lawn. So, you want to avoid using too much.

Properly Place Your Plants

When you are adding some plants to the yard, make sure that you aren’t putting them really close to the house. It’s easy for clover mites to crawl from the vegetation and get on your house, so you want to have a space of at least 2 feet between the plants and the foundation of your home.

Put a Barrier Up

Putting materials such as woodchips and gravel around the home can help with keeping them away. They prefer crawling through the plants, and they don’t like to navigate through other materials.

Seal Gaps & Cracks

One way that the clover mites get into your home is through small gaps and cracks. Look at your home to find any kinds of holes that you should seal. Look for the areas that are near doors, the foundation of your home and windows.

Repair Your Screens

Check any screens on windows and doors. If there are holes in them, you should replace or repair them. it’s also important to be sure that they’re fitting tightly so that the bugs are staying out.

Dispose of Them Properly

If you find them in your house, you shouldn’t squish them. A great way to remove them is by vacuuming them up. However, to avoid having any further problems, you should immediately burn the bag or dispose of it in an area that is far from your house. You can also dampen a sponge and use it in those spots you can’t reach with your vacuum. When you use these methods, however, don’t squish the mites since they’re going to leave stains.

FAQ

Where do they live?

They’re found throughout the world and anywhere in the US. They’ll lay eggs in protected dry areas. The area needs the right amount of sun so that the eggs stay warm when the weather is cool but plenty of shade, so they don’t get overheated. That’s why they love laying eggs in exterior walls’ crevices and cracks. They’re also geotropic, so they’re growing downwards inside the eggs. They will usually move down or drop from the egg once they hatch. Due to this, the sites of the eggs are usually above some kind of plant. This allows the newly hatched babies to just drop down and immediately start to feed.

The adults are usually found on the food sources. They also are often found on the sides of a house or business, especially the side where there’s sun exposure. If they go inside, they usually will go someplace with plenty of sunlight when the weather is cooler and shade when the weather is warmer.

Does baking soda kill dust mites & clover mites?

Although baking soda doesn’t actually kill clover mites or dust mites, it will create a barrier that’s going to limit the number of clover mites that are outside the house. They won’t like walking over this rough and dry powder, so putting a line of the powder down is going to make a barrier that they won’t want to cross. You can read more about it in our article does baking soda kill dust mites.

Final Thoughts

Thank you for taking the time to read our article about clover mites and we hope that you found it to be useful. Clover mites can be a huge problem for homeowners. But when you know what to do to keep them away and how to get rid of clover mites, you are better prepared to face this garden foe. Whether you are using a vacuum or a spray to take care of them, there are many options for controlling and preventing them. You can often find solutions in the same spot as the ant and roach killers in the store.

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