Clover Mites

Summary: Clover mites manage to get through the smallest of cracks. Window screens are no match for this marauding pest. These tiny bugs present a challenge for pest control managers.

Here you are, minding you own business. The weather has finally started to turn warm enough to open a few windows. The birds are chirping and a gentle spring breeze brings the smell of fresh flowers into the room.

What's this? There are tiny specks crawling on the table under the window. You get a tissue to capture the invader and “squish”, it creates a small red streak. It's then that you notice more. Many more. Perhaps, a hundred more of them.

No doubt, it's an invasion of clover mites. They are only about the size of a pinhead, so window screens are no barrier. On further investigation you will find they are coming from the outside, crawling up the sun-warmed south or southwestern side of your house. They do particularly well in fertilized lawns. Really lush lawns are the best.

Mother Nature just doesn't give us a break, does she! We break our backs making our lawns look just so and along comes the clover mite. And, the solution is going to drive you mad. You guessed it. If you want to slow down the clover mites it is suggested you remove all grass and other lush vegetation from around the house perimeter, leaving a bare strip of one and one-half to two feet wide. You can plant the bare strip with flowers such as geranium, zinnia, wallflowers, marigold, salvia, rose, chrysanthemum and petunia, or shrubs such as juniper, spruce, arborvitae, yew or barberry, which are unattractive to these mites.

To stop the current invasion we suggest carefully vacuuming without crushing. (We already know what happens when we crush them.) We also suggest treating the outside perimeter with a pesticide specifically labeled for clover mites. I really like Talstar Pro for this job. You may want to have a pest maintenance professional handle that part. (You knew we were going to say that, didn't you?)