How to Spot Spider Mites on Crotons

Croton Plants are known for their vibrant and colorful foliage, which makes them a popular choice among indoor plant lovers. I don’t know if the colorful leaves taste better or not, but I do know I have battled spider mites on my Crotons more than once. In my experience, spider mites seem to be the most common pest that I encounter on my Crotons, although they can be infested by aphids, thrips, scale, and mealy bugs as well. Spider mites can wreak havoc on your Croton's health causing discoloration, leaf damage, and overall stress to the plant. In this post, I will walk you through the process of identifying spider mites on your Croton and share my latest strategy to eliminate spider mites.

How to Identify Spider Mites on Crotons

Spider mites are very small which makes them difficult to spot with the naked eye until they have already established themselves on your plant. They are typically less than 1mm in size and vary in color from red and brown to greenish-yellow. You can identify their presence by looking for the following signs.

Webs

Spider mites produce a fine webbing that can be hard to see until there is a large amount. Common places to fine the spider mite webs are under leaves and where new leaves are emerging. See the picture below for some examples. In this case, I caught it pretty early, the webs are not overly developed.

Leaf Damage

Spider mites feed on the sap of your Croton's leaves, this leaves tiny yellow or white stippling marks on the top of the leaf. This type of damage is more difficult to spot on Crotons versus other plants because a lot of Crotons sport a speckled pattern. As spider mites feed on a leaf the damage spreads and can be enough for the leaf to completely yellow and fall off.

Leaf Curling

Like leaf damage, another early sign of pest presence is leaf curling. In fact some times spider mites make their webs on the tips of leaves because there is a small natural curl there. When they infest a leaf it can cause further curling.

You See Tiny Dots

Any foreign dot on your plant is suspicious. As I mentioned earlier, with Crotons it can even harder to find notice these pests with just your eyes because Crotons are already speckled. If you’re investigating, here are some tips: look on the underside of leaves, look where leaves connect to the stem, and look where new leaves are emerging. In addition, I like to use a flashlight to search for spider mites and their webs, the flashlight helps illuminate the contrast. I don’t look for spider mites without one.

How to Get Rid of Spider Mites on Crotons

After you have confirmed the presence of spider mites on your Croton, it's crucial to take immediate action to prevent the spread of pests and further damage to your Croton. This is what I do to get rid of spider mites.

Quarantine Your Croton

Isolation of the infested Croton is an important first step. This will hopefully protect the other plants in you collection. Spider mites can travel on wind or an indoor draft using their web! They can also overwinter at different life cycles on your plant or in the soil.

Removal

Spray your Croton with a strong jet of water to remove spider mites from the foliage. You can do this outside with a garden hose, which I recommend. If you don’t have an outdoor space you can also use a bathroom shower sprayer. I personally don’t like the idea of spraying these guys off in my house given the knowledge that they float around on the their webs.

While spraying for removal focus on all areas of the plant. Spray under the leaves especially, because that’s and often forgotten area and a favorite spot for spider mites. You can also wipe your Croton down with a wet rag as well. Continue removal until you do not see the presence of spider mites or webs.

Insecticide

There are organic and non-organic versions of pesticides. In my long plant-loving career I’ve used both with success. Although I’ve been using neem oil more over the last few years. That’s partly because one bottle lasts forever.

Neem oil is an organic pesticide that can help control spider mites. As I mentioned earlier, one bottle lasts a long time because you have to dilute it according to the package instructions. When you apply it, be sure to cover both sides of the leaves.

Insecticidal soap is the typical non-organic option. These typically come in premixed spray bottles which is convenient for many. Apply as directed on all sides of the leaves.

Repeat

It’s so important to repeat the Removal and Insecticide steps more than once. Spider mites have a very short life cycle, and just because you didn’t see any spider mites for one day, does not mean your infestation is over. The general recommendation is to go at least seven consecutive days without seeing a spider mite to confirm that your infestation is over.

Unconventional Methods

Some things like to eat spider mites. Both ladybugs and beneficial nematodes feast on spider mites. You can purchase them and release them on your plant or in your soil. I think most people, including myself aren’t really interested in releasing bugs in their house to fight other bugs. Beneficial nematodes aren’t visible to the naked eye so that might be more palatable for some though. The nematodes also eat fungus gnats too if that’s a problem for you.

Although spider mites are tiny, they are a giant headache to eradicate. Expect to keep you Croton quarantined for about two weeks. Afterward, it’s also a good idea to keep a close eye on your plant in order to catch a re infestation as early as possible.

Have any additional questions? Share them in the Comments section.