Indoor Plant Mites

Mites can be a pain to get rid of.

Indoor plants come in a wide variety of types, sizes and colors that give a crisp, cheerful feeling to your home and can improve your air quality. However, certain types of pests such as mites can damage plants and even cause their death. You should understand how you can get rid of these pests and prevent mites from destroying your favorite indoor plants.

Identification

Mites are of different types.

According to the North Carolina State University website, two common mites are spider and eriophyid mites. Spider mites are small red mites, which can be difficult to see with the naked eye. Use a magnifying glass to see them, and to identify what type of mite you have. Spider mites like to hide underneath the leaves and look like small spiders. Webbing on the plants can identify a widespread spider mite infestation, found where the leaves connect to the stem of the plant.

Eriophyid mites are identified first by seeing brown specs on the leaves of your plants. Given that they are almost colorless, seeing them can be difficult even with a magnifying glass. They also hide in the buds of plants, so this makes it difficult to see them as well.

Effects

Spider mites feed on the sap within a plant's leaves. They puncture the plant, and you can detect this by finding small white flecks under the leaves. Once the mites have had a chance to reproduce, the effects will get more visible, and you will begin to see leaves turning yellow and brown. Eventually the leaves will fall off prematurely, and you will see small webs. Mites can kill the whole plant if not treated or if the infestation goes unnoticed.

Eriophyid mites have similar effects, but they can also affect the way the plant grows. These mites will stunt the growth of plants or buds, but the plant will survive an eriophyid infestation.

Solution

Any plants that are heavily infested must be disposed of immediately. For plants that still look basicly all right, you will need to take all of the dying foliage off of the plant, and prepare a soap and water solution. Add a drop of dish soap to an average spray bottle full of water. Shake it up and spray it directly onto the plant's leaves and into the dirt. If the mites have not hit the plant too hard, it will survive. Use this same soap and water solution to wash the leaves of your plants as well as you can.

You can also purchase insecticides that will help get rid of mites. A few different brands exist, so you should speak with an expert at the garden center to find out about the different options available to you.

Prevention

You can prevent spider mites by avoiding certain gardening practices. Do not use dirt or pots that you store outside, as they are likely to either have live or dormant mites in them from natural migration. If you do use the pots, wash them thoroughly with soap and water to rid them of any pests. Make sure your plants are in optimal growing conditions, and maintain a proper humidity level for them to avoid getting mites.

Warning

Some insecticides can harm your plants while attacking the pests. They may also affect pets or children in your household. You must find one that contains as few toxins as possible. Have a look at the back of the bottle to see any warnings or cause for concern. Natural mite controllers exist, such as horticultural oils, so this may be your best option.

References

• North Carolina State University Extension: Indoor Plant Pests
• Texas AgriLife Extension Service: Indoor Potted Plant Pests
• Colorado State University Extension: Managing Household Pests