FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I spotted some mites on my flytraps, but I read that not all mites are bad. The mites I saw moved around fairly quickly, and I was able to see their legs with a naked eye. Should I be concerned? (I will try to get a picture when I see one again.)

Are they bright screaming red? Running around like they're late for work and can't find the car keys?

DragonsEye wrote: ↑Mon May 09, 2022 1:08 am Are they bright screaming red? Running around like they're late for work and can't find the car keys?

I've seen those before. Not sure what they are.

I just had clover mites feeding on my vft plants in early April. I used a "light misting" of 3 in 1 which seemed to work without plant damage but the vft's that I "wet down" completely didn't like it much but no more mites.

Description
Adult clover mites are one of the larger mites that infest plants. They are 0.75 mm long, reddish or greenish in color, and have a greatly elongated first pair of legs. The mites are frequently encountered on windowsills, concrete sidewalks on the sunny side of homes and will move about at a relatively rapid pace.

I'll try to get that picture. They are red. I don't exactly how fast they move.

thepitchergrower wrote: ↑Mon May 09, 2022 1:15 am

DragonsEye wrote: ↑Mon May 09, 2022 1:08 am Are they bright screaming red? Running around like they're late for work and can't find the car keys?

I've seen those before. Not sure what they are.

Red Velvet mites. Highly predacious, preying mainly on other mites and other tiny critters.

Sounds like a Whirligig mite, they’re beneficial. They’ll eat pretty much any tiny pest and are good to have on your vft.

I've been trying to find them again, but it seems like the mites aren't there anymore. (Maybe the ones I squished were the only ones there.)

Ok, I finally spotted another mite. I took a close up. The legs are blurry in the picture because the mite wouldn't keep still. The front legs are longer compared to the other legs. Are these clover mites? Do I need to get rid of them?

That looks like a clover mite. If you’re only seeing one a week, just squish them as you see them.

Clover mite, that's what I found feeding on my traps but there were just a few here and there, when I squished them, they left a green stain, so I figured they were feeding on the plants and sprayed. If you spray just use a light mist - don't drench the plants - they will be happier. I now see the bright red mites on the pots but not on the plants so maybe the spray is keeping the at bay, when squished they leave a red stain.
The attached pic is a "feeding" clover mite on one of my traps which kind of freaked me out at the time.

What exactly did you spray them with?

I used the Bioadvanced 3 in1
I think a light mist works without any trauma to the plants, spray from above about 2 feet and let the mist settle on the plants, (the plants I soaked with the 3 in 1 didn't like it too much.)