Home > Pest Identification > Clover Mites

Clover Mites are close relatives of ticks and spiders and are considered true mites, not insects. They are tiny, household-invading mites that are red in color with long front legs. To the naked eye they are no more than tiny red bugs and appear no larger than a pinhead. They feed primarily on clover, grassy lawns, plants and weeds and tend to appear by the thousands in the spring and fall months. 

Clover mites typically crawl from the ground to invade your home through cracks and tiny openings around windows and doors. Inside, you may find them crawling around window sills, on walls, or directly on windows. No larger than a pinhead, these red bugs will leave behind a tell tale stain when smashed. On the exterior, you may find thousands of tiny red bugs congregating in large numbers on siding, brick walls, and other outside surfaces. These household mites are often attracted to the sunniest side of the house or foundation.

While clover mites are considered nuisance pests because of their penchant for invading homes and businesses in large numbers, they are cannot bite and not harmful to humans or pets. While they do not cause structural damage they may leave stains on walls, carpets and furniture when or if they are accidentally crushed.

Clover Mites can be a particularly difficult pest to eradicate due to the fact that they tend to infest homes in significant numbers. It is important to locate and seal potential entry points around the home, however, because clover mites are so small, they will easily get through even the tiniest of openings. Clover mites are typically treated from the exterior with a residual insecticide, paying special attention to doors and windows.  In some cases a granular material may be spread onto the grass or mulch within 1 foot of the foundation.

Do-It-Yourself methods of clover mite control are not often successful. Many over-the-counter pesticide products for consumer purchase are not an adequate means to control clover mite populations because they are not customized or suited to treat the particular species you are having a problem with. American Pest professionals are trained to seek out clover mites that are residing in or around your home and property, in an effort to locate and eradicate the nuisance pests. Oftentimes, this may eliminate the need to use pesticides on the interior of the home.

At American Pest, we pride ourselves on our speed and delivery of service. For that reason we make every effort to be with you the same or very next day.

We put your health and safety first: Every product used by American Pest has been registered by the EPA for pest control use. We then follow a strict set of guidelines in every application of product to ensure that no harm will come to your family or pets. Furthermore, our state-accredited training and continuing education programs set us above the rest: All of our pest control professionals are registered and licensed by the state or local jurisdictions where we provide service and many have achieved Applicator Certification under the category of Industrial, Institutional, Structural and Heath Related pest management.

Preventing clover mites from invading your property can be extremely difficult. You can reduce the number of instances by creating an area between your foundation and lawn that is free of grass and weeds.  Generally an 18-20" gravel or stone barrier between the lawn and the foundation will reduce the incidences of clover mites.  Also sealing any cracks around windows and doors with caulking materials can help deter these nuisance pests but may not effectively resolve your problem.  American Pest professionals will consult with you to provide a customizable solution to your tiny red bug problem using our S.T.A.R. system of integrated pest management.