Clover mites are tiny pests on the windowsill that try to make their way inside your home.
Though harmless, these tiny red bugs can invade homes in large numbers.
In this guide, you’ll find out why you have clover mites on windowsill and what attracts clover mites in your home.
You’ll also learn the hacks for clover mite control without hiring professional pest control.
And a lot more.
Keep reading.
How To Identify Clover Mites?
Many tiny bugs gather on the window sills trying to make their way inside your home.
You can easily confuse clover mites with spiders. But a clover mite isn’t an insect.
Clover mites are true mites belonging to the family of arachnids.
So, they’re a close relative of spiders.
Clover mites are easy to identify.
Clover mites are dark reddish black that grows only up to 1/30th of an inch long and oval-shaped.
Though small, like a pin head, you don’t need a magnifying glass to see them.
You can see an adult clover mite with the naked eye.
The most distinctive feature in clover mites is the front pair of elongated legs that protrudes out.
Clover mites have eight legs, and the frontal legs are the longest.
So, if you see any tiny reddish bug with two long legs extending at the front, those are clover mites.
Don’t try to crush clover mites.
It’s because there’s a red liquid inside the clover mites that splashes out when you squish them.
The red liquid creates red stains on the surfaces. The red stain is hard to remove.
To ensure that clover mites never appear on your windowsills, read on.
Why Do You Have Clover Mites On Windowsill?
Clover mites gather on the window sills when their numbers increase outdoors and when they search for moisture sources.
The heavily fertilized grass lawns on your property attract clover mites to your property.
Clover mites are garden pests. Clover mites feed on clovers and suck out the sap in grasses and ornamental plants.
But unlike spider mites, these tiny bugs don’t cause any damage to your plants.
They’re nuisance pests active during the warm days of early spring and fall.
Clover mites breed fast. A single adult female clover mite can lay up to 70 eggs.
The eggs hatch within a few days. And within a few weeks, these tiny mites can take over your entire yard.
When the clover mites population explodes in your yard, they try to find new food sources.
Clover mites are also heavily dependent on moisture. So, when the days are bright and sunny, sources of moisture dry up.
That makes the clover mites look for moisture sources.
Both these reasons make the clover mites move inside human homes. They’ll gather on the window sill, trying to make their way inside.
So, you’ll need to get rid of clover mites on the windowsills and in your yard to ensure they don’t get inside the house.
How Do Clover Mites Get Inside The House?
Clover mites in the outdoor area of your house invade your home for sources of moisture and food.
Clover mites will sneak inside your home through the gaps and cracks on the windowsills and the home’s foundation walls.
And when they do enter your home, clover mites become severe nuisance pests inside.
You’ll start to notice clover mites everywhere inside the house. They will even get on soft furnishings like couches, carpets, rugs, drapes, curtains, and even on your bed.
You can confuse clover mites in bed with bed bugs because of the clover mites’ red color, size, and the red liquid that splashes out when you smash it.
You think the reddish stain on the bedsheets after smashing the clover mites is blood stains from bed bugs.
But that’s not the case.
To prevent clover mites inside the house, you’ll also need to seal the gaps and cracks on the walls, windowsills, and door frames.
Also, use weather stripping to seal the gap between the window panel and the windowsill. You can also use door stripping to cover the gap between the lower edge of the door and the floor.
All these gaps and cracks are the entry points for clover mites and many other bugs and pests.
How Do You Treat Your House For Clover Mites?
Using a pyrethrin-based spray on the clover mites is the best way to eliminate clover mites indoors.
Products like white vinegar and soapy water spray kill clover mites.
Mix an equal amount of white vinegar and water and use the spray on the clover mites. Wait for a few minutes, remove the dead clover mites with a broom and dispose of them off your property.
As per Colorado State University, you can also scatter diatomaceous earth and baking soda on the mites to eliminate them.
They’re effective products for clover mite control both indoors and outdoors.
Baking soda and diatomaceous earth act as desiccants that penetrate these insects’ bodies and dehydrate them from the inside.
That causes the clover mites to die.
Many people also use a vacuum cleaner to eliminate clover mites indoors.
But there’s a drawback.
You’ll crush many clover mites while vacuum cleaning. The red liquid in the clover mite will splash out, leading to a reddish stain on the surface.
Those red stains on fabric and soft furnishings can be hard to remove.
So, be careful while using the vacuum cleaner, so you don’t crush the mites.
But don’t forget to dispose of the dead clover mites. If you leave them behind, the dead clover mites can attract bugs like ants and roaches.
Are Clover Mites Dangerous?
Clover mites are harmless bugs to humans and pets. They don’t transmit diseases, they don’t carry any pathogens, they don’t bite, and they’re not blood feeders.
Also, clover mites can’t cause any infestation in your home.
It’s because your home doesn’t have the food sources that clover mites need to survive. Your home isn’t an ideal habitat for them to breed and lay eggs, either.
So, eventually, they can die off.
However, clover mites become such a nuisance inside your home that they seem everywhere.
They’ll also sneak inside the gaps and cracks in the floor and furniture.
That’s why always eliminate clover mites from the outdoors of your home before you get rid of them indoors.
If you’re facing problems getting rid of clover mites on your property, it’ll be best to hire a professional pest control company to do the job.
Dr. Thomas Orbert, the Microbial Maestro, dances with the tiniest of creatures as an entomologist extraordinaire! With a PhD in entomology, his passion lies in unraveling the secret symphonies of insect-microbe interactions. From minuscule marvels to captivating complexities, Dr. Orbert unveils the hidden world of bugs, igniting curiosity one buzz at a time!