MSU Extension Integrated Pest Management

Sucking pests

Twospotted spider mite has piercing-sucking mouthparts and is usually found feeding on leaf undersides. Leaves heavily infested with twospotted spider mites may appear yellow to bronze, turn brown, dry up and fall off. Webbing may be present on leaf undersides and plant stems when populations are large. This spider mite prefers hot, dry conditions.

Twospotted spider mites are 2 mm long, oval-shaped, and green, yellow or reddish orange. Adults have two dark spots on both sides of the body.

Management

A hard water spray directed at leaf undersides will quickly remove twospotted spider mites from plants and minimally affect any beneficial insects and mites.

Twospotted spider mite damage appears as small, white to yellow specks on plant leaves. This damage is often referred to as stippling.

Avoid over-fertilizing and overwatering plants. Remove weeds from adjacent areas – weeds serve as overwintering sites for twospotted spider mite. Contact miticides and those with translaminar properties may be effective in controlling twospotted spider mites.

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