White Mite Control: How to Get Rid of White Mites

This page is an expert guide on getting rid of White Mites in your home using the products and methods suggested by our experienced pest control specialists. Follow this guide and use the recommended products. We guarantee you will successfully eliminate White Mites from your home.

White Mites are tiny clear bugs that live indoors or around yard plants. They reproduce rapidly, and if left untreated, they soon multiply in large numbers and can potentially damage garden plants and ornamental bushes.

Despite being difficult to see, white mites are not entirely invisible; it’s just that they are extremely small. If they find their way indoors, you will find them on your furniture, carpets, curtains, bed linen, and all other house furnishings.

Follow our DIY white mite control guide below to learn expert techniques and what professional product recommendations will best help to get rid of White Mites quickly and affordably.

Identification

Before you can carry out a treatment program, you need to be sure that what you are dealing with are white mites. Misidentification can lead to using the wrong treatment products, leading to a waste of time and money. Below is some info about white mites that can help with identification:

• White Mites are also called spider mites because they share one very obvious feature with spiders—eight legs. Mites, and even ticks, are actually arachnids; having eight legs is a common trait between arachnid species. 
• White mites come in different colors, but there is a species known as the two-spotted spider mite, which is white.
• A white mite is also used to describe wood mites, a tiny translucent bug known to infest old, moisture-ridden, or damp wood.
• White mites are also incredibly tiny, measuring just 0.5 mm or 1/50th of an inch in length when adults. What can make them easy to identify as spider mites is their production of a fine silken thread that they leave behind on plants that resemble cobwebs.
• White mites are considered harmless because they don’t bite or cause any structural damage. But in truth, they are harmful because they shed long hairs frequently. These airborne hairs are notorious for carrying allergens and will cause allergic reactions to those in the house.
• If these white mites are lucky enough to find their way to your yard, your plants may be at risk. White mites love to feed on plants, especially in the springtime. And when these white mites are indoors, they will take over everything: your furniture, carpets, curtains, linens, and more.

Use the description and image to help you identify white mites on your property. If you are not entirely sure, contact us, and one of our pros will help you with the correct identification.

Inspection

Inspecting white mites can be difficult since they are so tiny, but there are prime areas where they can be discovered and treated.

Where To Inspect

White mites are typically found in greenhouses, gardens, bushes, shrubs, and house plants. If they have found their way indoors, it's often because they wandered away from a house plant. If you have an infestation, check plants to find out where they are concentrated.

Check the indoor and outdoor perimeters (along baseboards, around plumbing, behind electrical plating, etc.) alongside any points of entry that the white mites may use to access your home.

What to Look For

You should look for leaf damage, cast skins, webbing, or the white mites themselves. Because they are such small, clear bugs, white mites may look like a tiny white speck on a plant in motion. Another thing to watch out for are the silken threads they leave behind, which look like little white cobweb-like hairs.

Treatment

Once you are certain you have white mites and know their prime locations, it is time to begin treatment.

Follow the steps below, and your white mite problem will disappear. Before conducting treatment, make sure your personal protective equipment is put on and keep people and pets away from treated areas until the application has dried.

Step 1:  Apply Supreme IT Outdoors

Supreme IT is a bifenthrin-based insecticide concentrate that controls white mites and over 70 other pests, including cockroaches, termites, fleas, and more. You can safely spray Supreme IT both indoors and outdoors, and it will remain effective for up to 90 days.

Calculate the square footage of your target area to determine how much Supreme IT you will need. Mix the appropriate amount of Supreme IT with water in a gallon handheld pump sprayer.

The typical amount we recommend is between 0.25 to 0.5 fl. oz. of Supreme IT per 1 gallon of water per 1,000 sq. ft.  You could also mix the Supreme IT with a surfactant (such as Nanotek Surfactant) to ensure the product sticks better to the surface area.

Once the product and water are poured into the sprayer, agitate it until thoroughly mixed, then pump the sprayer a few times to produce a low-pressure spray.

Start by spraying the entry points around the structure of your home, including doors, windows, vent openings, and other voids in the wall. Then, perform a perimeter treatment, starting at one point of your home and spraying along the foundation, 3 feet up the structure, and 3 feet out.

Next, spray the Supreme IT onto treat trunks, ornamental plants, and bushes at low to medium pressure, preferably in a mist setting, thoroughly coating the leaves to the point of wetness but not runoff. Be sure to treat the underside of leaves as well. Spray on calm days when wind speeds are low to minimize drift.

Spray Supreme indoors around baseboards, cabinets, windows, doors, and other crack and crevice areas. Outdoors can be used as a broadcast spray on the lawn and vegetation or around your structure's foundation, windows, doors, eaves, and plumbing/electrical penetrations.

Step 2: Spray Supreme IT Indoors

Indoors, you should perform a spot treatment of areas where you suspect white mite activity.

Supreme IT applications are limited to cracks and crevices and infested house plants. Prior to spraying house plants, clean them outside or in the sink with water and soap to remove all traces of White Mite activity. Once that is done, you can treat them with Supreme IT.

Next, spot-treat indoors in cracks and crevices you noted earlier, such as around plumbing, along baseboards, and other suspect areas of White Mite harborage.

Prevention

After you have treated the white mite infestation, implement preventative measures to ensure they do not reinfest.

• Clear excess foliage two feet away from your structure to keep host plants away. Remove points of entry by placing screens on windows and doors and using caulk to seal cracks and crevices.
• Watering regularly outdoors has been shown to discourage White Mite activity. Water weekly at a rate of 1 to 1.5 inches, but be sure not to overwater, as this may invite more pest activity to your yard.
• Finally, perform a quarterly preventative application of Supreme IT around your yard and perimeter to ensure total control of White Mites and other pests all year round.

Key Takeaways

What are White Mites?

• White Mites are a species of spider mite. They are tiny clear bugs known to infest outdoor garden plants and house plants, but they can also infest areas of the home.
• White mites are also used to describe wood mites, a type of mite known to frequent damp wood.
• While harmless to humans, white mites can damage host plants when they are present in large numbers.

How To Get Rid of White Mites In Your Home or Yard

• Apply Supreme IT in areas where you have noticed white mite infestations indoors and outdoors to protect your plants and create a barrier that will keep them out.
• Supreme IT should be mixed in a pump sprayer at a rate of 0.25 to 0.5 fl. oz. per 1,000 sq. ft and sprayed on shrubs and plants to wet but before the point of runoff.

Preventing White Mite Reinfestation 

• Prevent future white mite infestations by sealing up points of entry, watering your yard regularly, and applying follow-up treatments of Supreme IT every 90 days.