Clover Mite

• Clover mites sometimes invade homes in enormous numbers, in early spring and late autumn, overrunning floors, walls, drapes, window sills and furniture, even occasionally getting into beds and clothing.
• They may become troublesome in hospitals, nursing homes, apartments, food processing facilities, etc.
• If crushed, they leave a reddish stain quite noticeable on linens, curtains, walls and woodwork.
• They are a nuisance by their presence but do not bite humans or animals, transmit disease nor feed on household furnishings or pantry supplies.
• They live outdoors feeding on various plants.

• Clover mites are about 1/30 inch long (smaller than a pinhead), oval-shaped arachnids, reddish-brown to olive to pale orange or sometimes green-brown after feeding.
• They are eight-legged with the front pair of legs very long, protruding forward at the head.
• These front legs are sometimes mistaken as antennae or feelers.
• Crawling mites are sluggish, slow-moving and normally invade the home where the sun is warmest at south, southwest and east side of the house.

• Clover mites develop from unfertilized eggs (no males needed).
• Females lay about 70 eggs each, singly or in masses, in cracks and faults in concrete foundations, in mortar crevices, between the building walls, under loose bark of trees, and other protected places.
• Eggs lay dormant during the hot summer, hatching in early autumn when temperatures fall below 85 degrees F, followed by two nymphal or resting stages and the adult.
• Mites can be found infesting homes from November through June and again in the autumn months.
• They may invade the home during the summer if host plants are dried up or cut off. Hosts include grasses (heavy feeding gives a silvered appearance), clover, dandelion, shepherd´s purse, strawberry and iris, to name a few.
• Most heavy outbreaks occur in early spring in well-fertilized lawns growing close to the house foundation on the sunny side of the house; although in the fall, thousands of clover mites may congregate on vegetation around homes and on foundation walls, crawling into protected places as cold weather arrives.
• They hide under shingles, under siding, behind window and door casings or even indoors, becoming active again in the spring.
• It is often difficult to control large numbers of clover mites indoors. Use a vacuum cleaner with proper attachments to effectively collect live mites without crushing them. Dispose of the sweeper bag after collection by burning or taking to a garbage disposal far from the house. Mites can escape from the bag in the sweeper.