Spider mites on houseplants
Common causes of spider mites and the first things to check, summarized from 163 PlantGrail care records across 155 plants (as of ).
What causes spider mites on houseplants?
It depends on the plant and how it is kept, so check the plant pages below. For Rubber Plant, the records explain it like this: Fine webbing on leaf undersides, stippled yellowing, and premature leaf drop indicate spider mite (Tetranychus urticae) infestation. These arachnid pests thrive in hot, dry indoor conditions common in heated homes during winter. Populations explode exponentially when humidity drops below 40%, with a single female producing 100+ offspring in her lifetime. Unlike scale, mites are mobile and spread rapidly between plants via webbing that catches air currents.
Common first steps
- Follow the rinse with insecticidal soap sprayed across the top and underside of every leaf, repeating on a weekly basis until no moving red or yellow specks shake loose onto a white paper held beneath the foliage.
- Apply a miticide following the label directions closely and plan on multiple treatments, since one application is virtually never 100 per cent effective against either the mites or their eggs.
- Release predatory mites, which hunt and eat the pest mites, as a biological control that targets the colony without damaging the cactus.
Plants with records for spider mites
Most records first. Open a plant for its own causes and fixes.
- string of pearls Curio rowleyanusPlant care guide
- pothos Epipremnum aureumRead the guide
- fiddle leaf fig Ficus lyrataPlant care guide
- anthurium Anthurium spp.Read the guide
- alocasia Alocasia spp.Plant care guide
- calathea Goeppertia spp.Plant care guide
- philodendron Philodendron spp.Plant care guide
- rubber plant Ficus elasticaRead the guide
- boston fern Nephrolepis exaltataRead the guide
- schefflera arboricola Plant care guide
- alocasia polly Read the guide
- croton Codiaeum variegatumPlant care guide
- dieffenbachia Dieffenbachia spp.Read the guide
- chamaedorea elegans Plant care guide
- rose Rosa spp.Plant care guide
- monstera deliciosa Monstera deliciosaPlant care guide
- hoya Hoya spp.Read the guide
- bromeliad Bromeliaceae spp.Plant care guide
- snake plant Dracaena trifasciataPlant care guide
- alocasia frydek Alocasia micholitziana 'Frydek'Plant care guide
- phalaenopsis orchid Plant care guide
- lipstick plant Aeschynanthus radicans
- zz plant raven Zamioculcas zamiifolia RavenPlant care guide
- african violet Streptocarpus sect. SaintpauliaPlant care guide
- christmas cactus Schlumbergera bridgesiiPlant care guide
- jade plant Crassula ovataPlant care guide
- maranta Maranta leuconeuraPlant care guide
- pitcher plant Pitcher PlantPlant care guide
- aglaonema AglaonemaPlant care guide
- ficus Ficus spp.Plant care guide
- pilea Pilea
- scindapsus treubii Scindapsus treubiiPlant care guide
- syngonium pink Syngonium podophyllum 'Pink'
- mammillaria MammillariaPlant care guide
- aloe AloePlant care guide
- echinopsis EchinopsisPlant care guide
- epipremnum pinnatum variegated Epipremnum Pinnatum Variegated
- rhaphidophora tetrasperma variegated Rhaphidophora Tetrasperma Variegated
- phoenix canariensis Phoenix Canariensis
- fruit trees Fruit Trees
- oleander OleanderPlant care guide
- thai constellation Thai Constellation
- echinocereus engelmannii Echinocereus Engelmannii
- mammillaria baumii Mammillaria Baumii
- mammillaria grahamii Mammillaria Grahamii
- astrophytum asterias Astrophytum Asterias
- echinocereus coccineus Echinocereus Coccineus
- echinocereus dasyacanthus Echinocereus Dasyacanthus
- echinocereus fendleri Echinocereus Fendleri
- echinocereus pentalophus Echinocereus Pentalophus
- caladium Caladium bicolorPlant care guide
- string of bananas Curio radicans
- string of hearts Ceropegia woodii / Ceropegia linearis subsp. woodiiPlant care guide
- syngonium Syngonium podophyllum / arrowheadPlant care guide
- thaumatophyllum Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum
- watermelon peperomia Peperomia argyreia
- venus flytrap Dionaea muscipulaPlant care guide
- asparagus fern Asparagus setaceusPlant care guide
- coffee plant Coffea arabicaPlant care guide
- snake plant moonshine snake plant moonshinePlant care guide
- ficus elastica shivereana ficus elastica shivereana
- pothos cebu blue pothos cebu blue
- cactus-and-succulent cactus-and-succulentPlant care guide
- anthurium clarinervium anthurium clarinervium
- variegated philodendron variegated philodendron
- asian taro asian taro
- philodendron white wizard philodendron white wizard
- bromeliads BromeliaceaePlant care guide
- philodendron white knight philodendron white knightPlant care guide
- syngonium podophyllum syngonium podophyllumPlant care guide
- schefflera Schefflera spp.Plant care guide
- anthurium crystallinum anthurium crystallinumPlant care guide
- rattlesnake plant rattlesnake plant
- philodendron moonlight philodendron moonlight
- alocasia dragon scale alocasia dragon scalePlant care guide
- philodendron pink princess philodendron pink princessPlant care guide
- calathea makoyana calathea makoyana
- calathea ornata calathea ornata
- syngonium neon robusta syngonium neon robusta
- croton petra croton petra
- rubber plant tineke rubber plant tineke
- silver sword philodendron Philodendron hastatum
- asplenium nidus asplenium nidus
- rhapis excelsa rhapis excelsa
- maranta leuconeura maranta leuconeura
- stromanthe triostar stromanthe triostar
- syngonium podophyllum albo syngonium podophyllum albo
- philodendron congo philodendron congoPlant care guide
- philodendron giganteum philodendron giganteum
- alocasia amazonica alocasia amazonica
- anthurium andraeanum anthurium andraeanum
- goeppertia makoyana goeppertia makoyana
- philodendron atabapoense philodendron atabapoense
- philodendron painted lady philodendron painted ladyPlant care guide
- philodendron dark lord philodendron dark lordPlant care guide
- philodendron xanadu philodendron xanaduPlant care guide
- philodendron stenolobum philodendron stenolobum
- philodendron black cardinal philodendron black cardinal
- philodendron scandens philodendron scandens
- alocasia african mask alocasia african mask
- anthurium sp delta force anthurium sp delta force
- anthurium portillae anthurium portillae
- calathea makoyana peacock calathea makoyana peacock
- calathea corona calathea corona
- calathea rufibarba bluegrass calathea rufibarba bluegrass
- philodendron imperial red philodendron imperial red
- philodendron squamiferum philodendron squamiferum
- philodendron red congo philodendron red congo
- alocasia lauterbachiana variegata alocasia lauterbachiana variegata
- alocasia corallina alocasia corallina
- anthurium regale dark anthurium regale dark
- calathea roseopicta dottie calathea roseopicta dottie
- calathea crocata calathea crocata
- begonia rex shadow king begonia rex shadow king
- monstera adansonii archipelago monstera adansonii archipelago
- monstera lechnotophila monstera lechnotophila
- aglaonema pictum tricolor mint aglaonema pictum tricolor mint
- syngonium confetti syngonium confettiPlant care guide
- syngonium red spot syngonium red spot
- syngonium holly m syngonium holly m
- syngonium imperial white syngonium imperial white
- syngonium chiapense syngonium chiapense
- syngonium angustatum syngonium angustatum
- dracaena marginata bicolor dracaena marginata bicolor
- alocasia frydek albo alocasia frydek albo
- zz zamioculcas zamiifolia zz zamioculcas zamiifoliaPlant care guide
- philodendron white princess philodendron white princess
- musa acuminata dwarf cavendish musa acuminata dwarf cavendish
- caladium red flash caladium red flash
- neoregelia carolinae neoregelia carolinae
- vriesea splendens vriesea splendensPlant care guide
- cyrtomium falcatum cyrtomium falcatum
- schefflera amate schefflera amate
- schefflera elegantissima schefflera elegantissima
- string of dolphins string of dolphins
- philodendron nangaritense philodendron nangaritense
- alocasia lowii alocasia lowii
- anthurium sp dark phoenix anthurium sp dark phoenix
- peperomia watermelon variegated peperomia watermelon variegated
- pothos cebu blue silver pothos cebu blue silverPlant care guide
- pothos pinnatum baltic blue pothos pinnatum baltic blue
- dracaena warneckii dracaena warneckii
- sansevieria black gold sansevieria black gold
- anthurium crystallinum x magnificum anthurium crystallinum x magnificum
- maranta red maranta red
- impatiens walleriana impatiens walleriana
- majesty palm Ravenea rivularisPlant care guide
- dracaena Dracaena spp.Plant care guide
- indoor lemon Citrus limon
- hydrangea Read the guide
- parlor palm Chamaedorea elegansRead the guide
- cast iron plant Aspidistra elatiorPlant care guide
- peace lily SpathiphyllumRead the guide
- spider plant Chlorophytum comosumPlant care guide
- english ivy Hedera helixRead the guide
Questions about spider mites
Which plants have the most records for spider mites?
string of pearls, pothos, fiddle leaf fig, anthurium, alocasia and 150 others.
Can spider mites be prevented?
Maintain humidity above 50% year-round. Inspect undersides of leaves weekly. Mist surrounding air (not leaves) to increase humidity. Quarantine new plants for minimum 14 days.
What are these records?
This page summarizes 163 PlantGrail care records on spider mites. Records describe care topics; they are not counts of observed plants or treatment outcomes.