Bartlett Tree Experts - Tucson

A close-up of two-spotted spider mites and eggs. The red dot in each egg is a developing mite.

Spider mites are a common pest of many trees, shrubs and plants. They are difficult to detect because of their size. At first glance, they look like small, moving dots. What they lack in size, they make up for in numbers. Spider mites reproduce rapidly and populations can grow quickly. High levels of infestation can stunt a plant's growth and even contribute to death of the plant.

Part of the Tetranychidae family, mites are arachnids - not insects. Common examples include the two-spotted spider mite, southern red mite and the spruce spider mite. They have needle-like mouthparts, which they use to pierce the leaves or needles of host plants and suck out the fluids from individual plant cells. Spider mites are known to feed on hundreds of plant species.