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Broad and Cyclamen Mites

Broad and Cyclamen Mites

Polyphagotarsonemus latus, Phytonemus pallidus

Mitealso: Broad mite, Cyclamen mite

Microscopic mites that attack the buds and growing tips of peppers, strawberries, and many ornamentals, twisting and stunting the new growth. Too small to see without a strong lens, broad and cyclamen mites are often misdiagnosed, since the distorted, crinkled, bronzed new leaves they cause look like a disease, herbicide injury, or nutrient problem rather than a pest.

🔎 How to spot it

The mites themselves are invisible to the naked eye, so you diagnose by the damage to new growth: leaves that emerge cupped, curled, crinkled, thickened, and often bronzed or stiff, with stunted, tufted growing tips and deformed, discolored, or aborted buds and flowers. On strawberries the crown leaves are stunted and crinkled; on peppers the leaf edges roll and the tips distort. A 15x or stronger lens is needed to see the mites.

🥀 Damage it causes

By feeding on the tender buds, growing points, and undersides of expanding leaves, these mites distort and stunt the new growth, deform and discolor flowers and fruit, and can stall a plant and slash its yield. Strawberries, peppers, and many flowers are hit hard, and because the mites multiply fast, a small infestation can quickly ruin all the new growth.

🛡️ Prevent it

Start with clean, mite-free transplants, since the mites often arrive on infested plants, and isolate and inspect new or gift plants before adding them to the garden. Avoid moving the mites on hands and tools from infested to healthy plants. Encourage predatory mites, which help keep them in check, and remove and destroy heavily infested plants that serve as a source.

🧯 If it is already here

Remove and destroy badly infested growth or whole plants to cut the population. A hot-water dip, about 111 F for fifteen minutes, kills the mites on dormant or transplant material. Sulfur and a few labeled miticides give control, and predatory mites can be released, but coverage of the hidden buds and growing points is difficult, so catching it early and removing infested tissue matter most.

💡 Good to know

Broad and cyclamen mites are among the most-misdiagnosed pests, because the twisted, stunted new growth looks so much like herbicide injury, a virus, or a nutrient problem, and the culprit is invisible without magnification. The tell is that the damage is always on the newest growth and buds; when peppers or strawberries distort at the tips for no clear reason, suspect these mites.

🌱 Plants it attacks

245 plants in the library can be attacked by this pest

African MarigoldAgapanthusAgeratumAji Amarillo Pepper🍓Albion StrawberryAlice du Pont MandevillaAmethyst Falls WisteriaAmish Paste TomatoAnaheim PepperAnemoneAngelique TulipAngeloniaAnnabelle Smooth HydrangeaAnnual VincaApeldoorn TulipApril Tryst CamelliaArizona Sun Blanket FlowerAugust Beauty GardeniaAutumn Joy SedumBachelor's ButtonBanana PepperBarbara Karst BougainvilleaBecky Shasta DaisyBee Balm🍅Beefmaster TomatoBenarys Giant ZinniaBengal Tiger CannaBetter Boy Tomato🍅Big Beef TomatoBig Boy TomatoBlack Cherry TomatoBlack Krim TomatoBlack-Eyed PeaBlack-eyed Susan VineBlood OrangeBlue Bird DelphiniumBlue Bird Rose of SharonBlue Fescue🍅Box Car Willie TomatoBrandywine TomatoBrunneraBurning BushButterfly Blue Pincushion FlowerButterfly Marguerite DaisyButterfly WeedCafe au Lait DahliaCaladiumCalendulaCalibrachoaCalifornia Giant ZinniaCalifornia PoppyCampanulaCardinal FlowerCarolina GeraniumCarolina JessamineCarolina Reaper PepperCayenne PepperCelebrity TomatoCherokee Purple TomatoClimbing HydrangeaClimbing Prairie RoseCocktail Vodka BegoniaColeusCoral Drift Groundcover RoseCosmosCreeping PhloxCubanelle PepperCupani Sweet PeaDavid Garden PhloxDelft Blue HyacinthDenim n Lace Russian SageDusty MillerDutch Master DaffodilEarly Girl TomatoEastern Red ColumbineEndless Summer HydrangeaEnglish LavenderEnglish Shelling PeaEvening PrimroseFanal AstilbeFeather Reed GrassField PeaFireworks GoldenrodFlamingo Feather CelosiaFlower Record CrocusFountain GrassFoxgloveFreesiaFrench MarigoldFresno PepperGarden GladiolusGarden PrimroseGarden SageGarvinea Sweet Glow GerberaGateway Joe Pye WeedGaura🍅German Queen TomatoGhost PepperGlobe AmaranthGlobemaster Allium

For educational and informational purposes only. Pest control advice is general guidance drawn from university cooperative extension sources; always identify a pest positively and read and follow the label on any product before use, especially around food crops, children, and pets.