spider mites on Jade Plant
Quick answer
If your Jade Plant has spider mites, the most likely cause is: Spider mites are tiny arachnids that pierce jade plant (Crassula ovata) leaf cells and drain the contents, leaving fine webbing and stippled yellow dots on the smooth, waxy cuticle. They thrive in dry, warm indoor air and reproduce rapidly when a jade plant sits in low humidity without airflow. Jade's tight leaf clusters around stem tips create protected feeding sites where mite colonies expand before growers notice the damage.
Start here:
- 1. Saturate the entire jade plant with a neem oil solution, covering top and bottom of every leaf and the stem, to damage the waxy coating on spider mites and kill them on contact
- 2. Mix 1½ teaspoons of regular Dawn dish soap with water and spray the jade plant until dripping wet to dehydrate and kill spider mites through their waxy cuticle
Why Jade Plant gets spider mites
Crassula ovata
Spider mites are tiny arachnids that pierce jade plant (Crassula ovata) leaf cells and drain the contents, leaving fine webbing and stippled yellow dots on the smooth, waxy cuticle. They thrive in dry, warm indoor air and reproduce rapidly when a jade plant sits in low humidity without airflow. Jade's tight leaf clusters around stem tips create protected feeding sites where mite colonies expand before growers notice the damage.
How to reverse spider mites on Jade Plant
- 1
Saturate the entire jade plant with a neem oil solution, covering top and bottom of every leaf and the stem, to damage the waxy coating on spider mites and kill them on contact
- 2
Mix 1½ teaspoons of regular Dawn dish soap with water and spray the jade plant until dripping wet to dehydrate and kill spider mites through their waxy cuticle
- 3
Quarantine the infested jade plant away from other houseplants and reapply neem oil every three weeks to break the spider mite life cycle
Keep spider mites off this Jade Plant
Inspect jade plants regularly and wipe leaves with a damp cloth to disrupt early spider mite colonies, raise ambient humidity with a pebble tray or periodic misting, and provide bright indirect light plus good airflow to discourage dry-air outbreaks. Quarantine new plants before integrating them with established succulents.