How To Get Rid Of Clover Mites

Don’t let their cute name deceive you. Clover mites can be a huge nuisance and can easily take over backyards in large numbers. However, they are considerably small, and if they infest your outdoor area, you should be aware that they can grow into hundreds of thousands if you don’t properly take care of the infestation right away.

Here’s something to make you cringe; a female clover mite can lay up to 70 eggs throughout her lifetime. This is a large number because that is just one female mite, not taking into account how many females may be in one colony during an infestation. However, if you have an infestation in progress or you’re just curious about the topic, read on!

Use Boric Acid

Boric acid is an effective remedy proven to fight clover mites. From a chemistry standpoint, it’s a weakly acid crystalline compound derived from Borax, and it’s usually used as a mild antiseptic. 

You can easily find boric acid in the laundry section of most stores, and if you can’t find it for some reason, you can always use detergent powder that includes Borax as an effective alternative.

All you need to do is sprinkle the powder onto your carpet or furniture and line the windows or other injury points. The way that you would use this would be similar to the use of baking soda. The powder is a repellent and is also a great prevention method.

Baking Soda

Most people have baking soda already in their home, making this a much easier plan for keeping these little bugs out. All you need to do is lay down a generous enough amount of baking soda around all entry points of your home. 

Do this along with the seals of your windows, and remain aware that rain will cause the baking soda to melt away, so this will require reapplication. Again, this is more of a preventative method, but if you utilize this tactic before an infestation or after, you will limit the chances of recurrences.

Diatomaceous Earth

This substance is a white powder that is completely lethal to mites and other soft-bodied insects. Don’t worry though, although it’s lethal to mites and insects, it is completely safe for human life and the environment itself.

This product works because when insects walk over the powder, their exoskeleton will be penetrated, which will cause them to die after exposure. This happens because, from a microscopic standpoint, the powder looks like a sharp or spiked type of material.

Use Effective Insecticides

You may want to consider using some highly effective insecticides. Clover mites get their name because they mainly feed off of Clover but they feed off of tons of other types of plant life as well. This means that your entire yard could be affected and if do not take care of it right away, you could experience an infestation

A few examples of the most effective insecticides would be Cyfluthrin, Lambda-Cyhalothrin, or even Permethrin. You can find many of these products at your local hardware or garden store.

Once you have the insecticide, apply it around plants or along with any foundations or entry points. They will act as a barrier against clover mites.

Use Certain Plants As Repellants

Clover mites pose the most threat to plant life and other types of vegetation. However, there are some plants that they do not like, such as Geranium, Marigold, Salvia, and Chrysanthemum. It’s safe to say that if you have a couple of these types of plants throughout your garden that clover mites will naturally not want to be near them. 

They are flowering plants as well, so this could be not just an opportunity to get rid of or repel clover mites, but it could be a fun excuse to start a garden or to revamp your existing one. Just acquire the seeds of the plants mentioned above and follow the instructions on the package. Once they bloom, those mites will be less prone to becoming your unwanted visitors.

Vinegar Solutions

This may be unknown, but a vinegar solution is a complete bug killer. It’s often used to kill mites, insects, bugs, etc. and the best thing about it is, you can completely make it using household items. All you need is white vinegar, water, and a spray bottle. 

Once you mix in half a cup of vinegar into a liter of water, you have to spray the solution directly over the mites. This solution has a long shelf life, so feel free to store it until you need it next time, but hopefully, there won’t be the next time, right?

Consider A Home Remedy

People often overlook the power of using things that you already have laying around your home. For example, if you have liquid dish soap spray, then this may work wonders for you. Using liquid dish soap is a popular method of pest control. With this, you can easily kill and control pests. 

To do this, add a few drops of your dish soap to about two cups of water within a spray bottle and then spray directly over the clover mites. There is no particular dish soap that you have to use, but if you have ever heard of using dawn traditional blue dish soap to get rid of fleas from your pets’ fur, then you may want to consider using that same type of dish soap for this as well since it’s already proven to work and the concepts are generally the same.

Final Thoughts 

You should now have a few different ways to explore when trying to get rid of Clover mites in your backyard. First, keep in mind what to look for.

Although they are very small, they are generally ovular in size, have eight legs, and are red. Just look for any tiny specks with a red tinge. You will often be able to spot them around any grass or plant life in your yard.

If you don’t see the mites, themselves just look for small indicators of red coloring on different surfaces. You’ll often find these arachnids in larger populations near walls, window-type settings, or even tree trunks.

When you do remove any infestations, be proactive and chemically treat your yard or take the proper precaution inside to keep them from paying you another visit.