It’s easy to recognize big pests like mice or roaches when they infest your home, and you already know to call in pest control professionals when they spot one of these pests. Can you recognize a common spring pest, the clover mite?
What Are Clover Mites?
Clover mites are those tiny red bugs seen everywhere during the spring and fall seasons, especially in the Greater St. Louis. Although they are closely related to ticks and spiders, they aren’t dangerous to your family or pets, but they are annoying and can leave behind red stains when crushed.
Females don’t need males to reproduce; they lay up to 70 eggs at a time. It only takes 30 days for them to mature, and you’ll often find them in large numbers when they infest your home. They love sun and moisture, so they’ll first congregate in and around your house in the areas that offer light and a water source.
How Do Clover Mites Get In?
When temperatures go from warm days to cold nights, clover mites will emerge from the grass around your home and try to find a warmer place. This often is the side of your home that gets the most sun. Windows are often the main entryway for clover mites looking for a warm place as they offer minuscule cracks and surfaces we don’t often see without looking closely. It’s almost impossible to keep them out of your home altogether due to so many access points around your home’s exterior and the mite’s size.
Neighborhoods or properties with growing, well-fertilized grass are prime real estate for clover mites as this grass holds plenty of moisture. Research shows that 80,000 of them can fit in one square foot of your yard! Remember that mulch also retains moisture, attracting them and other pests like termites, ants, and spiders.
How Do I Get Rid of Clover Mites?
By taking some steps to create barriers of sorts around your home, you significantly reduce the risk of them choosing to set up shop in your home. Sealing windows and doors with painter’s or masking tape around the insulation can close entry points. You can also landscape with dry (non-moisture-absorbing) material like gravel instead of mulch or grass, creating a buffer about 18″ out from the exterior of your home. This makes it much harder for clover mites to move from the grass to your home.
It is very helpful to treat clover mites at the source: your lawn. PestShield offers yard treatments that help reduce the population over time. We spray around the perimeter of the home’s exterior and 4′ up the walls, preventing them but not eradicating the current infestation. Multiple yard treatments could be necessary to prepare for another surge of clover mites in the fall, and there’s no guarantee that the treatments will get rid of clover mites for good. Still, it’s a highly effective way to control the number you see around your home and yard.
Contact Us
Call PestShield today to learn more about seasonal lawn treatments to help reduce the number of clover mites and other crawling insects in your lawn!
Got pests? Don’t waste time on ineffective pest control measures. Go straight to the professionals at PestShield for serious pest control services to bring you peace of mind and a pest-free home. Contact us now to get a free quote for residential services!