Clover Mite Season Is Upon Us
Posted in Pests on June 4th, 2009 by GardenerGirl – Be the first to commentI have a confession to make. Clover mites creep me out exceedingly.
Clover Mite
Clover mites are teeny tiny red bugs (not insects: they have 8 legs and are actually arachnids), which always seem to emerge around April in my area. They are really bitty: only around 1/30 inch long. When you crush them, they leave a reddish smear that looks like blood.
When I was a kid, my best friend Emily and I would watch them, and became convinced that these tiny bugs were bloodsuckers. It makes sense, right? When you swat a mosquito that has recently fed, it leaves a smear of blood: clearly these were the same. I would have nightmares about the tiny red bugs.
I have gotten over my nightmares, but something about clover mites still disturbs me. They tend to cluster all over hot surfaces — clay pots, iron railings, the black pavement of our patio area. I frequently find my hands stained orange after working outside, from touching the arms of my chairs, resting my hands on our retaining wall, handling the hose. Gross.
Clover Mites on a Basil Leaf
Today, I spotted them swarming over my herbs and wondered whether they can damage the plants. What do clover mites eat?
The good news is that they’re totally harmless. They don’t suck blood, and really can’t hurt people. Animals that eat them don’t get sick. They don’t even damage plants most of the time. They feed on the sap from plants, and prefer clover (hence the name) and grasses. If you have a large population, your grass or closer may start to get tiny holes, but it should still survive. Vegetable plants will probably not get damage significant enough to worry about.
The one real source of concern with them is that if they get into the house, they can make a real mess, and they’re very hard to remove once they’ve settled in. If you do get clover mites in your house, you can kill them with standard miticides. Resist the urge to squish them! They will stain!
If you have a large number of clover mites, and want to remove them, you can use a vacuum cleaner to scoop the all up alive and remove them from the house.