Red Clover Mites are very tiny arachnids, in the same family as a spider or trick, with a red or reddish-brown body. They are considered actual mites, not insects. They appear as little red specks and are commonly found on many kinds of green, leafy plants, and house siding, doors, windows, furniture or curtains. Moreover, they are not harmful to humans, but if suddenly crushed they will cause a reddish stain from the dispersion of their pigment. Tiny Red Bugs are commonly found in large numbers throughout South and North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Behavior
Red Clover Mites are most active at moderate temperatures and tend to produce two generations of mites in most of the climates throughout the United States. The insects lay eggs under tree barks, in the cracks of home foundations or walls. The eggs laid in the spring hatch in the fall and immature mites begin to feed on the sap from plants. These mites then lay eggs over the winter months which hatch in the spring.
Outdoor Habits
Red Clover Mites feed mostly on clover and grasses and can be especially numerous on lawns that have been heavily fertilized. The mites can do minor damage to turf grasses, feeding on the sap of the herbs, turning the green a silvery color and slowing down plant growth. Only when the Tiny Red Bugs’ populations are high, do they tend to cause permanent damage to plants and grasses, leaving light brown patches on the usually green leaves or blades. The mites are most active outdoors in the spring and fall.
Indoor Habits
Tiny Red Bugs can be found in the homes as they look for shelter from the changing weather in the late fall. They enter the house through small cracks in the doors and windows and crawl their way onto walls, curtains, furniture, or carpet. Although the mites do not bite humans or carry disease, they can be a nuisance as they tend to migrate in the large numbers and when crushed can leave a red stain on the light-colored surfaces. Ly next to a home’s siding or windows.
Prevention
Keeping red Clover Mites from entering the home is generally an easier task than controlling an already existing infestation. One way to help keep mites outdoors is by removing plants that grow directly next to a house’s siding or windows. The insects feed on these plants and have easy access inside if the plants are very close. Consider moving the plants at last 2 feet from home and placing a layer of pea gravel between the plants and the home’s exterior. It is also recommended to caulk any cracks or splits into window sills, doors or siding, and then to spay both the barrier gravel and the foundation with an insecticide.
How to Get Rid of Clover Mites?
It’s ordinary to find out tiny Clover Mites in a house. Once you get an infestation, you will be found then everywhere in your home. This little creature will climb on you and chew your skin but is not the case. Inside, you may find them crawling around windows sills, on walls, or the roof as they leave behind a stain when moving.
Getting rid of indoor Clover Mites
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Vacuum Cleaner
If Tiny Red Bugs are already in the home, one of the best control methods is to use a vacuum to suck them off the surfaces of walls, drapes or furniture. This help to prevent the m9ites from being crushed and staining the surface with their pigmentation. Mites in the home can also be sprayed with a proper indoor insecticide, but there must be the direct contact for this to work. Once indoors, however, Tiny Red Bugs will only be able to survive a couple of days and will die of dehydration.
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Use Insecticide
To clean your house from Tiny Red Bugs, you can use insecticides such as bifenthrin, permethrin, chlorpyrifos, and diazinon. Make sure you apply any insecticide directly to the mites. You have to spray them till the last moment of their lives. Pesticide usually comes in aerosol cans and standard bottles. You can buy poison online or in stores.
Note: this method decreases the oxygen inside your house, so use this method as a last option.
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Boric Acid
Another efficient method to reg rid of red bugs from your home is, sprinkle boric acid where the mites are active. Boric acid eliminates all Tiny Red Bugs. You have to sprinkle boric acid on furniture, carpets, walls, window sills, and where you found them. After an hour, you can clean all the places with a vacuum. If you have laundry detergent, then you also use it. Chlorpyrifos detergents such as borax have boric acid that repels all red bugs from your house. Just take a spray bottle and pour a little amount of laundry detergent, add some water and spray over the Tiny Red Bugs.
Getting Rid of outdoor Clover Mites
- Wash Dry Areas of Your Lawn
If you want to eradicate Tiny Red Bugs from your lawn, then you have to water dry areas of your yard as red bugs tend to move dry place to hatch eggs. You should also water on walls and under green plants thoroughly.
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Spray Your Lawn with Insecticide
After seeing Tiny Red Bugs crawling in your lawn, you should spray with insecticide infested areas. For better results, you should spray early in the morning or late in the evening at every corner of the lawn including plants. You can use any insecticide like tetramethrin, chlorpyrifos, permethrin, cyfluthrin, or malathion. Buy the poison near stores or order online.
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Apply Double-Sided Tape to Capture the Clover Mites
If you noticed Tiny Red Bugs in your lawn, then you should apply double-sided tape on entering stairs. They crawl on them and capture instantly.
Conclusion
To wrap up, once you have repelled all Tiny Red Bugs from homes then block all cracks on doors, windows and walls. If your house in trouble, then use any above method and vacuum your house weekly or monthly to control all this type of infection. Have any questions? Text below.
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