spider mites on Schefflera
Quick answer
If your Schefflera has spider mites, the most likely cause is: Red spider mite (Tetranychus urticae) is a named pest of indoor schefflera and tends to build up on plants kept in hot, dry environments with low humidity, where light brown leaf discoloration and fine webbing on the undersides signal an established colony feeding on leaf cell contents.
Start here:
- 1. Rinse the entire plant, including the leaf undersides, under a strong stream of room-temperature water to physically dislodge mites and their webbing, then spray the foliage weekly with a recommended miticide or insecticidal soap focused on the underside of each leaflet.
- 2. Isolate the infested schefflera from other houseplants while you treat it so the mites cannot crawl across shared benches, and prune away the most heavily damaged leaflets so the spray contacts the surviving pests directly.
Why Schefflera gets spider mites
Schefflera spp.
Red spider mite (Tetranychus urticae) is a named pest of indoor schefflera and tends to build up on plants kept in hot, dry environments with low humidity, where light brown leaf discoloration and fine webbing on the undersides signal an established colony feeding on leaf cell contents.
How to reverse spider mites on Schefflera
- 1
Rinse the entire plant, including the leaf undersides, under a strong stream of room-temperature water to physically dislodge mites and their webbing, then spray the foliage weekly with a recommended miticide or insecticidal soap focused on the underside of each leaflet.
- 2
Isolate the infested schefflera from other houseplants while you treat it so the mites cannot crawl across shared benches, and prune away the most heavily damaged leaflets so the spray contacts the surviving pests directly.
Keep spider mites off this Schefflera
Raise the ambient humidity around the schefflera with a humidifier or a pebble tray, mist the foliage regularly during the indoor heating season, inspect the leaf undersides every few weeks with a magnifying glass for early stippling, and wipe the leaves with a damp cloth monthly so dust never accumulates as a foothold for new colonies.