How to Treat and Prevent a Spider Mite Infestation

Updated on May 3, 2019
thoughthole profile image

I have experience in plant maintenance and love giving tips to others on how to take care of their garden.

Spider Mite In Action

What's the Cause of Houseplant Webbing?

Have you noticed your beloved houseplant is suddenly displaying a great deal of eerie mysterious webbing? Have you wondered how that webbing got there? Is it a spider perhaps, or could it be something more malevolent?

It is possible that the webbing is from a spider, but most likely, if you have seen a lot of webbing on your plant, and the plant has exhibited some signs that it is not healthy with yellowing leaves, many brown and crunchy leaves, and leaves that are stippled with discoloration, your plant most likely has been infested with a common houseplant pest; spider mites.

The spider mite is a very tiny insect that has eight legs like a spider and has many of the same characteristics as a spider. It is very tiny, incredibly prolific, and lives in a community with other little industrious spider mites. Once they infest a plant, they can form an entire bustling colony on that plant in a week, sometimes less depending on the environmental conditions. Spider mites will spin webbing all over the plant that they infest. Once they have created enough webbing to be noticeable, they have established a fairly large and prosperous community. Since the mites are so small, they are difficult to notice by most people until they really have done some significant damage.

Spider mites both live and feed on the houseplant that they choose to infest. They have tiny piercing mouth parts with which they bite into the plant cells of leaves to suck out the chlorophyll. As spider mites feed on the precious chlorophyll (the stuff that makes a plant green, and allows photosynthesis to occur) plant cells become damaged. The plant leaves will display a rough yellowing as they lose chlorophyll and cell walls are being punctured. All of this causes incredible and unsightly damage to your houseplant.

How to Treat a Spider Mite Infestation

Now you know that you have a colony of spider mites on your houseplant, is there anything that can be done to stop the spread and save your plant from being eaten alive? Absolutely!

In order to get those mites off the plant, try these methods:

  • Regularly rinse or spray the leaves off with cold water (mites hate both cold and wet) this will often wash many away.
  • Hand wipe all of the plant leaves with a wet sponge or baby wipe.
  • Spray or Wipe the plant down again with a light solution of dish soap and water. A soap called Dr. Bronners is also very effective and non-toxic for use in such situations. Use approximately 1/2 tsp soap to 12oz water.
  • Avoid placement in a hot dry place. Spaces near an open window, door, or by an air vent should be avoided. If your plant is currently in such a space move it to a cooler place with less airflow. (Mites love hot dry conditions).
  • Use Neem Oil to wipe down the foliage of your plant. Neem oil will place an additional barrier on the foliage that is offensive to the mites, and as an added bonus will make your plants very shiny.
  • Leaf Shine can also provide an additional preventative barrier against Mites. Leaf shine should be used with discretion as too much can build up on the foliage and damage it. The best leaf shines are those that are in liquid concentrate to be combined with water. Aerosol Leaf Shines can be heavy and difficult to evenly apply.
  • A product called Pro tekt has had beneficial results in defending against Mites. It is watered in to the soil and absorbed, it then serves to strengthen a plants cell walls, making it much more difficult for a Spider Mite to bite through the cell to get to the Chlorophyll.

After these steps have been taken you should repeat some or all of them regularly, as mites have an uncanny knack for regaining their stronghold. Periodic hand wiping is really the most effective as it will crush and remove any spider mite squatters, and using the soap provides a new refreshed protective layer for the foliage.

Click thumbnail to view full-size
Ivy Croton Dracena MarginataBamboo Palm Aspidistra, Cast Iron
Ivy | Source
Dracena Marginata
Dracena Marginata
Bamboo Palm
Bamboo Palm
Aspidistra, Cast Iron
Aspidistra, Cast Iron

Common Houseplants Susceptable to Spider Mites

Spider mites are preventable, detectable, and controllable. Certain types of plants are irresistible to Spider mites and are very prone to infestation. Here is a list of a few that are well known to easily become infested.

  • Ivy
  • Croton
  • Cast Iron or Aspidistra
  • Dracena Marginata
  • Fishtail Palm
  • Bamboo Palm, Parlor Palm
  • Lucky Bamboo

Detecting and Preventing Spider Mites

Mites love hot and dry environments. You are almost guaranteed to have a mite infestation if you place one of the plants listed above in direct sunlight.

Also avoid:

  • Placing plants near or over a heat vent or fireplace.
  • Placing plants near windows or doors that open to the outside, especially if you live in a low humidity area.
  • Leaving houseplants outside.

To check for spider mite, take a paper towel, baby wipe, or something of the like and wipe the underside of the leaves on your plant (I recommend doing this if you have any of the above listed plants for sure) If you see green residue on your cloth after you have wiped, you have spider mites. You can also rub your fingers across the back of a leaf (this works well for cast iron) if it feels grainy, you probably have an infestation. Remember that by the time webs are visible the mites have overtaken the plant, it is best to detect them before they get to the noticeable webbing stage for the health of your plant.

Avoiding the conditions that mites like, cleaning your houseplants regularly by hand wiping with dish soaps, insecticidal soaps, or Neem oil (especially for the plants listed above), are the best preventative steps to take in the war on spider mites.


Questions & Answers

  • Once I remove the spider mite infested plant from the soil, is the soil still infested?

    Good question! Spider Mite is very prolific on plants that are susceptable to it. It is thought that the pests are either in some way already on the plant, or exist in the environment and are attracted if conditions permit. Given the environmental belief, I would say that there is a possibility that they can remain in the soil in some form, and are definitely present in the area. If Spider Mite has been a problem and you wish to replace a plant where there has been an infestation, replace everything, and try to replace with a plant type that is less susceptable to Spider Mites.

  • How often should you use neem oil to protect Dracena Marginata?

    If a Marginata plant is in a hot, dry, brightly-lit, or high airflow environment it is at risk of attracting spider mites, but it can be safely treated with neem oil about every two to three months.

  • Should I dilute neem before cleaning plant leaves with it?

    Concentrated neem oil is too caustic to put directly on plant leaves. It should be diluted with a mild mix of water, and dish or organic soap.

Got Spider Mites?

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    • profile image


      2 years ago

      Another great way to get rid of them is a compound called Kils all it works well also. It's basically a soap mixed with a few other Organics. It's safe smells good. But the problem is after you kill most of them and you've gotten your infestation under control they seem to come back. There may be some other biological instruments you can use. For example there are some killer mites you could have pain that will not only kill them or permanently keep them at Bay

    • profile image


      2 years ago

      I've had mites for quite some time and they are such a a pain. They seem to be gone and then always come back. I had a organic compound called "kills all" that seemed to work pretty well. Especially when there's a lot of nights and there's a lot of webbing and they have really crushed your plant using that compound helps your plants survive. But then it seems like the matter what happens if ventrally those little buggers come back. So my question would be if you get the killer mites what would they do if and when we completely wipe out the other ugly mites? Are they then a pedst themselves?

    • thoughthole profile imageAUTHOR


      8 years ago from Utah

      Thank you carcro. The soap is very useful for all common houseplant pests, and cleaning is beneficial for pests and so many other reasons. I am all about being useful, Thx 4 the vote.

    • carcro profile image

      Paul Cronin 

      8 years ago from Winnipeg

      We have used the soap method ourselves and it really does work against all kinds of bugs. Thanks for sharing! Voted Up and useful!


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