In this article, I will look at the causes, how to identify white mites, and how to get rid of white mites in bedrooms.
Table of Contents
White Mites are teeny, tiny, dull-white, (sometimes) brown insects that can easily be found infesting plants and can even spread to other areas of your house. They are a species of the spider family. These spider mites look like miniature versions of spiders due to their eight legs. Identification is just one step; getting rid of white mites from your surroundings is another.
Have you recently spotted tiny white bugs in your house? It is possible that you may have white mites. White Mites or spider mites can infest areas in your house, your favorite vegetables, flowers, and plants. If you are sure you have spotted them in and around your house, be quick to act.
What causes white mites?
Mites and their Plant connection
Plants, grasses, trees, and shrubs- mites are commonly associated with green. Therefore, look around for all green things nearby if you have seen white mites indoors. An infected plant is highly likely to serve as a breeding ground for mites. The most common plants infected with these mites are berries, melons, and fruit trees.
In addition, you should check your house for cracks, holes, and gaps in and around sanitary fittings that can lead to the entrance of mites from the outside.
Dead skin and humidity
Infestations of white mites are most likely to occur in humid and dead skin areas. That dampened wood sitting in your garage likely is one of the best breeding grounds for mites. Hence, it is crucial to locate and eliminate the source of moisture.
Watch this informative video on white mites and their removal
How to spot White Mites in your House?
White mites are not harmful to humans in general, but they affect the immediate surroundings of humans, which is why getting rid of them becomes imperative.
Good luck if you are going to deal with mites for the very first time.
Due to their size and color, they are sometimes difficult to spot. You will likely end up thinking of white mites as nothing more than dust particles because they are so tiny. However, if you look closely, you will discover something suspicious.
Dark Colored Surfaces
White mites are easily noticeable against a dark background, but you cannot control this. It doesn’t matter how dark or light the surface is; the mites will go wherever they please.
Blow over the surface
Take your time blowing over the area where you can see the tiny white things. A disturbance and change in their movement mean they are mites, but you will see them fly off with fine skill if they are dust particles.
Use a light
As an alternative, you can use this hack. Use the flashlight on your smartphone to illuminate the surface where you have been looking for the white mites. Pay close attention to the movement patterns in the shadows of the mites when you use the light.
White Threads
Moreover, not many people know mites leave thin white threads, so you can be sure what you have found are mites if you spot them.
Check Your Plants
Check with all green friends around your house to know which plants are infested and, accordingly, begin treatment for the same. The undersides of the leaves are generally where spider mites lay their eggs and, hence, easily go unnoticed. These eggs are generally not visible to the naked eye, but they are woven with white mites’ silky white thread characteristics.
Misidentification
The possibility of error is always present, so if you have the slightest doubts, avoid any treatment as it will only waste money and time.
How do white mites get in your house?
It is likely to begin in dampened wood or plants in your garden. Eventually, these mites can infest indoor plants and enter indoors. Check around plumbing fixtures, electrical fixtures, all possible places which have gaps and spacing worthy of serving as an easy entry point for the mites.
How to get rid of mites naturally?
Getting rid of mites is a not-so-easy task. It is not a one-minute job. However, you can apply the following methods immediately to kill white mites with simple and basic ingredients from the house.
Water
All you need is a spray bottle that produces a fine mist when sprayed. Then, each part of the leaf/room wall infested with mites must be treated with a high-pressure spray. The goal is to knock off the mites off their current location using pressurized water spray.
Water might be a good solution for situations where the mites have just started reproducing and are hence in low numbers. Additionally, if you choose to use this method, there is no need to worry about water damaging the accent wall of your bedroom as it won’t.
Essential Oil
The oils of chamomile, spearmint, neem, clove, rosemary are naturally effective at disinfecting surfaces. If your favorite plants are infested with white mites, you may want to use neem oil to treat them. Neem has excellent medicinal properties. Sadly, this one is toxic for pets, so please take precautions not to let them around. Clove Oil is also effective against mites.
Also, if you have an allergy to the same, be utterly cautious and use gloves of good quality. If you have clove oil, you can put that on a cloth piece or dilute neem oil and spread that on the cloth piece. Clean the infested surfaces using this cloth piece. Alternately, you can put the solution in a spray bottle and spray, spray, spray.
How to get rid of mites chemically?
If things from your kitchen and all sorts of DIYs are not working for the mite problem, it is time to try chemical pesticides.
Soap Solution
Millennials who grew up around their grandmother are likely to know about the homemade insecticidal soap, which consists of diluted soap solution in water. What’s the best part? The product is not toxic to children or pets. The soap solution penetrates the body of mites and, as a result, decays their cells, drying them out.
The key to success here is patience. If you don’t feel like adding a few drops of soap to water, you can purchase ‘insecticidal soap’ from your nearest grocery store. You should spray the solution for a few days, and You should check the results.
Rubbing Alcohol
Don’t you have neem oil or clove oil? Use rubbing alcohol as a surface disinfectant to eliminate dirt, traces of sweat, and dead cells. Take a piece of cloth or cotton, and soak it in rubbing alcohol for a while. Then, rub it across the leaves. Next, rub the rubbing alcohol on the plant and let it work for a few hours before rinsing it with water.
Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous Earth is an organic pesticide made from fossilized marine organisms. It is non-toxic to humans, but it is toxic to insects and arachnids. You can buy the plant food variant in this one and sprinkle it on your infected indoor and outdoor plants. Eventually, the mites will die.
Pesticides
Often conventional pesticides contain pyrethroids, which are not thought to be effective on spiders and their relatives. Please do not use your conventional pesticide at home since it’s likely to contain pyrethroids. Use of the same can further encourage mite reproduction, which is an utterly undesirable scenario. Instead, walk into your nearest pest store and get your hands on the one suitable for white mites.
Mites and their colonies grow so quickly that you cannot eradicate them with continuous chemical pesticide application. Ask your pest control company for recommendations on how to get rid of mites if you feel things are getting out of control. Now that you’ve done your best leave the situation in the hands of the experts.
Dealing with an infected plant
What should I do with my plant? Would you suggest throwing it away? If these are the thoughts ransacking your brain, keep reading ahead.
Extent of infest
Examine the extent of the infestation in the plant. Do you have an ‘out-of-control situation in your plant? If it is, put it in the trash with plastic-wrapped all over. Due to mites’ rapid reproduction rate, they can spread to other plants outdoors, indoors, and even in your bedroom. The removal of such a plant, especially if it is indoors, is imperative since it will do more harm than good.
Try to Revive the plant.
If your plant is not fully infested with mites but just showing symptoms, you can rescue it from further damage. Try and save it. You can use chemical pesticides or DIY methods. However, it would help if you kept in mind that leaves and branches infested with mites will never recover. They will dry and eventually fall off.
However, if rescued in time, You can revive your plant, and its recent growth will be free of any mite infestation. The rotten and infected leaves need to be trimmed by your gardener. You will save plants if this is done.
How to prevent future mite infestations?
It is always better to prevent than to cure. In addition, cleanliness is important. Your home deserves as much care as your body, so do not skip out on your cleaning rituals.
Hoover mattresses, sofas, and everything
You shouldn’t be lazy. Hoover, your carpets, cushions, and mattresses from time to time as this will help trap the mites in the dust bag and not in your home.
Bug Resistant Bedding
There is a reason why bug-proof pillow covers, bed covers, and mattress covers exist, and you need to make sure that you know about them because they will save you from a tiresome and gruesome situation.
Deep Cleaning
With kids and pets around, you have to be double sure. Deep clean, launder all the bed linen, curtains, carpets at high temperatures. Laundering like so will reduce the chances of any mites or their species developing and thriving.
Clean the nodes
The door hinges, the keyboard keys, the wooden skirting detail, the PlayStation: all look so beautiful but can be secretly serving as breeding houses for mites. Do not overlook them while cleaning. Use a surface disinfectant spray and an appropriate tool to clean the nodes regularly.
Dehumidifiers
Moisture is another favorite breeding ground of mites. If the moisture content in your surroundings is around 70% for most of the year, consider finding a solution to control it. 50% would be a good figure to have.
Check your plants, bedding regularly.
While life gets unfair in many instances and all your hard work can go to vain in an instant, be extra careful to survey all vulnerable spots in your house for these tiny creatures. Take out some time and survey your house closely to ensure whether you have completely gotten rid of the mites or not. Eggs of mites can hatch in as many as three days in optimal temperature and humidity conditions. Hence a regular check on mites becomes utterly important.
Can white mites live in your hair?
As unbelievable and ridiculous as this question sounds, the answer to it is a resounding yes. Mites such as Demodex brevis, Demodex folliculorum exist on human hair and skin. A carrier of these mites may or may not be aware of the presence of these mites in their body because they are microscopic, asymptomatic at times. However, certain complications in the form of allergy and rashes in the chest and face can indicate the same. It is therefore imperative that one consults a dermatologist immediately to get treated.
Conclusion
White mites are a species of the spider family that generally infest plants but can spread indoors too.
Did you find answers to all-white mite-related questions in the article you just read? If you did, be sure to comment down below and share this piece of information with acquaintances who have similar questions.