{"id":16170,"date":"2026-01-10T15:11:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T14:11:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/plantenplagen\/mites\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T15:00:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T14:00:31","slug":"mites","status":"publish","type":"encyclopedia","link":"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/plantenplagen\/mites\/","title":{"rendered":"Mites"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\" id=\"wpb-content-root\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&rdquo;&rdquo;]Mites are small, often hard to see, arachnids that can have different colors, including red, green and brown. They are found on the undersides of leaves and like warm, dry environments. In fall and winter, they can turn orange-red.<br>\n<!--more-->[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=&rdquo;2\/3&Prime;][vc_column_text css=&rdquo;&rdquo;]<strong>Mites<\/strong> are common pests of plants. They are usually less than a millimeter in size, making them unnoticeable. They feed on plant sap, which leads to leaf death and causes reduced yield of the affected crop. <em>These tiny mites are found worldwide:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>European red mite<\/strong> <em>(Panonychus ulmi)<\/em> &ndash; these originally European small mites are found on a variety of plant species. Adult females are red and about 0.35 mm in size; males are somewhat smaller and yellow in color. The eggs are red and about 0.20 mm in size.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Southern Red Mite (SRM)<\/strong> <em>(Oligonychus ilicis)<\/em> &ndash; despite its name, this mite is found all over the world. Female southern red mites measure about 0.38 mm and males 0.3 mm. Southern red mites are red in color, as are the minute eggs.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/plantenplagen\/spruce-spider-mite\/\" target=\"_blank\" title='[vc_row][vc_column width=\"2\/3\"][vc_column_text el_id=\"topentry\" el_class=\"topentry\"]Spruce spider mite, these minute (+ 0.3 mm) spider mites are black, have yellowish legs and red eyes. [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1\/3\"][vc_column_text el_id=\"entrytxt\" el_class=\"entrytxt\" css=\".vc_custom_1605699436215{padding-left: 20px !important;}\"][\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row gap=\"35\" css=\".vc_custom_1532162142715{background-color: #e6e6e6 !important;}\"][vc_column width=\"1\/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"6475\" img_size=\"medium\" add_caption=\"yes\" style=\"vc_box_rounded\" onclick=\"img_link_large\"][\/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1\/2\" css=\".vc_custom_1532162092980{background-color: #e6e6e6 !important;}\"][vc_column_text el_class=\"entrytxt\"]Spruce spider mite (Oligonychus unuguis). These minute (+ 0.3 mm) spider mites are&hellip;' class=\"encyclopedia\">Spruce spider mite<\/a><\/strong> <em>(Oligonychus ununguis)<\/em> &ndash; these minute (+ 0.3 mm) mites are usually dark colored, have yellowish legs and red eyes. The spruce spider mite is mostly found in somewhat colder regions.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/plantenplagen\/red-spider-mite\/\" target=\"_blank\" title='[vc_row][vc_column width=\"2\/3\"][vc_column_text el_id=\"topentry\" el_class=\"topentry\"]Red spider mite is a 0.5 mm long red mite and lives off the sap of leaves. [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1\/3\"][vc_column_text el_id=\"entrytxt\" el_class=\"entrytxt\" css=\".vc_custom_1669200752860{padding-left: 20px !important;}\"]Also known as: Two-spotted spider mite[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row gap=\"35\" css=\".vc_custom_1532162142715{background-color: #e6e6e6 !important;}\"][vc_column width=\"1\/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"1883\" img_size=\"medium\" add_caption=\"yes\" style=\"vc_box_rounded\" onclick=\"img_link_large\"][\/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1\/2\" css=\".vc_custom_1532162092980{background-color: #e6e6e6 !important;}\"][vc_column_text el_class=\"entrytxt\"]Red spider mite (Tetranychus urticae) This 0.5 mm long&hellip;' class=\"encyclopedia\">Red spider mite<\/a><\/strong> <em>(Tetranychus urticae)<\/em>, also called <em>Two-spotted spider mite<\/em> &ndash; is widespread in temperate and subtropical regions. The red spider mite has various colors: red, brown, green and yellow. The mites are about 0.5 mm in size.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=&rdquo;.vc_custom_1768139456782{border-top-width: 1px !important;border-right-width: 1px !important;border-bottom-width: 1px !important;border-left-width: 1px !important;padding-top: 12px !important;padding-right: 12px !important;padding-bottom: 18px !important;padding-left: 18px !important;border-left-style: solid !important;border-right-style: solid !important;border-top-style: solid !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;border-radius: 25px !important;border-color: #000000 !important;}&rdquo;]<strong>Control<\/strong><br>\nSpray with an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/plantenplagen\/insecticidal-soap\/\" target=\"_blank\" title='[vc_row][vc_column width=\"2\/3\"][vc_column_text el_class=\"topentry\"]Insecticidal soap is a homemade, environmentally friendly pesticide against aphids, spider mites and whiteflies.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1\/3\"][vc_column_text el_id=\"entrytxt\" el_class=\"entrytxt\" css=\".vc_custom_1538664388076{padding-left: 18px !important;}\"][\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=\"2\/3\"][vc_column_text el_class=\"introtxt\" el_id=\"introtxt\"]Insecticidal soap - a homemade, environmentally friendly pesticide against aphids, spider mites and whiteflies. Easy to make by mixing 20 ml of liquid biodegradable soap and 20 ml of surgical spirit&hellip;' class=\"encyclopedia\">Insecticidal soap<\/a> or with <a class=\"encyclopedia\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/plantenplagen\/pyrethrum\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pyrethrum<\/a> (house plants).<br>\nControl with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/plantenplagen\/predatory-mite\/\" target=\"_blank\" title='[vc_row][vc_column width=\"2\/3\"][vc_column_text el_class=\"topentry\"]Predatory mites are effective in controlling various pests. [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1\/3\"][vc_column_text el_id=\"entrytxt\" el_class=\"entrytxt\" css=\".vc_custom_1538658322113{padding-left: 18px !important;}\"] Biological Pesticide [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=\"2\/3\"][vc_column_text el_class=\"introtxt\" el_id=\"introtxt\"]Predatory mites are effective in controlling various pests. - Predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis controls Red spider mites (Tetranychus urticae). This predatory mite is bright red and very mobile. She is only half a&hellip;' class=\"encyclopedia\">predatory mite<\/a> <em>(Phytoseiulus persimilis)<\/em> is mainly used in professional (greenhouse) cultivation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prevention<\/strong><br>\nPredatory mites and ladybirds are the natural enemies; in professional horticulture they are also used for control. In particular, the predatory mite <em>Amblyseius californicus<\/em> is effective in controlling all growth stages of mites.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&rdquo;1\/3&Prime;][vc_single_image image=&rdquo;16168&Prime; img_size=&rdquo;medium&rdquo; add_caption=&rdquo;yes&rdquo; style=&rdquo;vc_box_rounded&rdquo; onclick=&rdquo;img_link_large&rdquo; img_link_target=&rdquo;_blank&rdquo; css=&rdquo;&rdquo;][vc_single_image image=&rdquo;16169&Prime; img_size=&rdquo;medium&rdquo; add_caption=&rdquo;yes&rdquo; style=&rdquo;vc_box_rounded&rdquo; onclick=&rdquo;img_link_large&rdquo; img_link_target=&rdquo;_blank&rdquo; css=&rdquo;&rdquo;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":14,"template":"","categories":[],"tags":[],"encyclopedia-category":[663],"encyclopedia-tag":[],"class_list":["post-16170","encyclopedia","type-encyclopedia","status-publish","hentry","encyclopedia-category-garden-bugs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia\/16170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/encyclopedia"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16170"},{"taxonomy":"encyclopedia-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia-category?post=16170"},{"taxonomy":"encyclopedia-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia-tag?post=16170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}