Little Red Bugs on Your Patio in Arlington?
Find Out How to Get Rid of Them
In Virginia, there are many bugs around that can be an annoyance to people. Most of them are pretty well-known and easily identified. However, if you've been seeing tiny red bugs around and you don't know what they are, you are not alone. What are these little red bugs? Are they dangerous? Should you ignore them?
These are all very common questions, and we'll tell you everything you need to know right here.
What Are These Little Red Bugs?
The tiny red bugs you may be seeing on your patio or around your house are none other than clover mites. These are tiny arachnids that are only about 1/64th of an inch in diameter. They live outdoors, but when it comes time for them to migrate, they often accidentally move into people's homes. Their bodies are flat and often rust-brown or dark red.
Are Clover Mites Dangerous?
No, clover mites are not dangerous at all. In fact, they are completely harmless. Clover mites do not sting or bite, and they don't infest your stored food either. They are also not capable of causing damage to your home infrastructure like termites. They don't do anything at all other than exist where you don't want them to in great numbers.
Clover mites do not even reproduce inside the home. All of the clover mites you see in your house came in from the outside because these animals reproduce outdoors. Basically, you don't have to worry about them causing any harm to you or your home at all.
How To Get Rid of Clover Mites
Clover mites may not be a hazard, but they are still a nuisance. "What are these little red bugs" has been answered, but now we need to talk about how to get rid of them or prevent them from getting into your home in the first place.
First of all, it's important to know what attracts them. Clover mites feed on sap from grasses. This means that you are more likely to have clover mites around if you have a lawn with abundant, well-watered grass. Of course, we get the feeling you don't want to get rid of your nice lawn. So what else can you do?
You can try to increase the buffer space between your grass and your house using mulch or rocks, but clover mites can still migrate over those buffers and get into your home by accident. Fortunately, since clover mites live outside and don't intentionally come into your home for any purpose, managing them is pretty straightforward.
All you have to do is create an insecticide barrier around your home. You'll want to spray the bottom of your foundation, including the crevice between it and the ground. You'll also want to extend this barrier to about 6 to 10 feet out from your foundation. Of course, it will need to be very thorough and leave no gaps.
Be sure to apply the pesticide as per the instructions on the product. You should see a noticeable reduction in clover mites in your home within two weeks if the pesticide is applied correctly. Of course, you'll need to get rid of the mites inside your home as well, since they won't be able to leave with a pesticide barrier blocking their path.
Do not crush them under any circumstances. Clover mites tend to leave very noticeable red or brown stains when they are crushed and these stains are quite difficult to get rid of. A better option would be to use a vacuum cleaner to get any clover mites that are still inside your home. It's quick, efficient, and avoids any unnecessary mess.
Contacting a Professional For Help
While you can certainly apply pesticides yourself, it can be difficult and time-consuming to do it correctly. You could spend hours applying pesticides, only to misapply them or use the wrong product for the job and still have a clover mite problem. Needless to say, this kind of scenario is a waste of both time and money.
For that reason, it can often be a good idea to call a professional pest control company such as My Pest Pros to take care of the problem for you. My Pest Pros can ensure that every step that needs to be taken to stop these tiny red bugs is taken, and you can have absolute certainty that it will be handled appropriately.
Plus, this can give you some peace of mind if you aren't used to dealing with pesticides, which many people aren't. The clover mite experts at My Pest Pros have the training and experience to properly treat your home.
If you're dealing with a clover mite problem or other pest issues, contact My Pest Pros today at 703-665-4455. We'll Get Rid of What's Bugging You!