{"id":1640,"date":"2026-09-22T19:41:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T19:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/?page_id=1640"},"modified":"2026-09-22T20:17:48","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T20:17:48","slug":"seasonal-mites","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/seasonal-mites\/","title":{"rendered":"Seasonal Mites"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Seasonal Mites (<em>Tetranychidae<\/em>)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Mites are major economic pests in New Jersey nurseries and commercial landscapes. Mite species fall into two seasonal categories based on optimum temperature thresholds for reproduction and feeding.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cool Season Mites<\/strong> are active during the spring and fall months, at temperatures that fall between 45 and 80 degrees F, and reaching a dormant state as eggs in the hotter summer months, when temperatures consistently exceed 85 degrees. Damage from cool season mites often goes unnoticed until summer heat reveals earlier spring feeding as leaves turn brown.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Warm Season Mites<\/strong> are active in mid summer, at temperatures between 80 and 90 degrees F and above, and reproduce quite rapidly in high heat, with new generations arising every 5-7 days. wr<\/p>\n<h5 class=\"mceTemp\"><strong>Quarantine and Management Policies<\/strong><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li>Mites can spread quite rapidly through nursery production blocks via wind currents, infested propagation stock, clothing, and machinery. Establishing sanitation and quarantine protocols can prevent costly nursery-wide outbreaks.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Preserving Natural Enemies:\u00a0<\/strong>Avoid unnecessary broad-spectrum pyrethroid or carbamate sprays that can eliinate native predatory mites (<i data-path-to-node=\"13,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"133\">Phytoseiulus<\/i>, <i data-path-to-node=\"13,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"147\">Neoseiulus<\/i>, <i data-path-to-node=\"13,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"159\">Typhlodromus<\/i>), minute pirate bugs (<i data-path-to-node=\"13,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"194\">Orius<\/i>), and ladybeetle predators (<i data-path-to-node=\"13,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"228\">Stethorus<\/i>).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Isolating Incoming Stock: <\/strong>Quarantine incoming woody ornamental liners, container plants, and greenhouse stock in an isolated area for 10-14 days. Inspect the leaf undersides with a hand lens before integrating the stock into the main growing area.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Environmental Management and Sanitation:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Avoid Plant Stress:<\/strong> Water-stressed plants attract mites and increase mite reproduction by producing high amino acid concentrations in their sap.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Border Controls<\/strong>: Maintain 10 to 15 feet of weed-free area around nursery containers and field borders, as broadleaf weeds can serve as reservoirs for mites.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Propagation Sanitation<\/strong>: Inspect plants before cuttings are taken, and treat propagation material with horticultural oil or insecticidal soap.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Equipment Practices:<\/strong> Disinfect pruning tools, gloves, and machinery when moving in between growing areas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Miticide Resistant Management<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>Mites (specifically Two-Spotted Spider Mites) can develop resistance to chemical miticides quite quickly.\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Targeting Life Stages:<\/strong> Pair chemicals that target adult insects with insect growth regulators (IGRs) that target eggs, treating with both early in the season to target all life stages and prevent rapid reproduction.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Chemical Rotation:<\/strong> Do not apply products from the same IRAC (Insecticide Resistance Action Committee) group more than twice in a row, or for more than two consecutive generations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5 class=\"mceTemp\"><strong>Diagnostic and Scouting Guidelines<\/strong><\/h5>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Monitor Emergence:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>Use a 10X hand lens for spider mites, eggs, and predatory mites.<\/li>\n<li>Scouting for <strong>Cool Season Mites<\/strong> should be done in early spring (March through May) and autumn (September through November). Pay close attention following mild winter conditions or early warm spells.<\/li>\n<li>Scouting for <strong>Warm Season Mites<\/strong> should be done during hot, dry summer periods (June through August). Increase scouting frequency every 3-5 days when the daily temperatures begin to exceed 85F, as hot weather can shorten reproduction cycles.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Symptom identification:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Foliar Stippling:<\/strong> Fine white, yellow, or bronze speckling on upper leaf surfaces<\/li>\n<li><strong>Silky Webbing<\/strong>: Webbing can indicate heavy populations of spider mites (<i data-path-to-node=\"8,2,1,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"60\">Tetranychus<\/i> or <i data-path-to-node=\"8,2,1,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"75\">Oligonychus<\/i> spp.).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>&#8220;Beat Sheet&#8221; Tests:<\/strong> A piece of white paper on a clipboard can be used to detect mites. Holding the paper under the branch in question, firmly strike the branch with a stick or your hand, and observe the paper for 10-15 seconds.\n<ul>\n<li><b data-path-to-node=\"8,0,1,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Spider Mites (<i data-path-to-node=\"8,0,1,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"14\">Tetranychidae<\/i>):<\/b> Appear as tiny, slow-moving specs (green, yellow, or dark red). Crushing them with your finger leaves a green or red streak.<\/li>\n<li><b data-path-to-node=\"8,0,1,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Predatory Mites (<i data-path-to-node=\"8,0,1,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"17\">Phytoseiidae<\/i>):<\/b> Move significantly faster across the paper, hunting other mites. These are beneficial insects and should not be targeted in management practices.<\/li>\n<li><i data-path-to-node=\"8,0,1,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"97\"><\/i><b data-path-to-node=\"8,0,1,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Thrips:<\/b> Elongated bodies that crawl rapidly or hop.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Identify Weak Plants and Risk:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Protective scouting and early identification is crucial for detection and management of mites to keep their populations down.<\/li>\n<li>Take special care of plants to avoid plant stress. Pay close attention to plants when they are stressed, particularly in hot or dry weather.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Submit Samples<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>If you are unable to identify an insect, submit samples to the <strong>Rutgers Plant Diagnostic Laboratory<\/strong>.\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"40\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Website:<\/span><\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/njaes.rutgers.edu\/plant-diagnostic-lab\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Rutgers Plant Diagnostic Lab<\/span><\/a> <span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"40\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Location:<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> Ralph Geiger Center, CVI, 20 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, NJ 08901<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"40\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"3\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Contact:<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> 848-932-9140 | <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=mailto%3Aplant-clinic%40njaes.rutgers.edu\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">plant-clinic@njaes.rutgers.edu<\/span><\/a><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"40\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"3\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Seasonal Mites (Tetranychidae) Mites are major economic pests in New Jersey nurseries and commercial landscapes. Mite species fall into two seasonal categories based on optimum temperature thresholds for reproduction and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/seasonal-mites\/\" class=\"\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3407,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1640","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Seasonal Mites - Nursery IPM<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/seasonal-mites\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Seasonal Mites - Nursery IPM\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Seasonal Mites (Tetranychidae) Mites are major economic pests in New Jersey nurseries and commercial landscapes. Mite species fall into two seasonal categories based on optimum temperature thresholds for reproduction and &hellip; Read More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/seasonal-mites\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nursery IPM\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-22T20:17:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/seasonal-mites\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/seasonal-mites\/\",\"name\":\"Seasonal Mites - Nursery IPM\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-22T19:41:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-22T20:17:48+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/seasonal-mites\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/seasonal-mites\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/seasonal-mites\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Seasonal Mites\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/\",\"name\":\"Nursery IPM\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Seasonal Mites - Nursery IPM","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/seasonal-mites\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Seasonal Mites - Nursery IPM","og_description":"Seasonal Mites (Tetranychidae) Mites are major economic pests in New Jersey nurseries and commercial landscapes. Mite species fall into two seasonal categories based on optimum temperature thresholds for reproduction and &hellip; Read More","og_url":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/seasonal-mites\/","og_site_name":"Nursery IPM","article_modified_time":"2026-09-22T20:17:48+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/seasonal-mites\/","url":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/seasonal-mites\/","name":"Seasonal Mites - Nursery IPM","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-09-22T19:41:10+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-22T20:17:48+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/seasonal-mites\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/seasonal-mites\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/seasonal-mites\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Seasonal Mites"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/","name":"Nursery IPM","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1640"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3407"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1640"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1645,"href":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1640\/revisions\/1645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/nursery-ipm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}