# Spider Mites question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-mites-question/302958>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 8, 2005, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-mites-question/302958 "2005-05-08T21:24:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-mites-question/302958/1 "2005-05-08T21:24:42Z")

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I found spider mites all over some of our plants. I sprayed them all with a insecticide soap, but I’m wondering: the little suckers ARe small, if someof them managed to get on me, could they bite me, or harm me in some way?

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**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-mites-question/302958/2 "2005-05-08T21:28:31Z")

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If you happen to smish one one your clothes, it might leave a stain (if you’re talking about the red ones.) Otherwise, I’m not qualified to tell you if a bite would hurt you.

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**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-mites-question/302958/3 "2005-05-08T22:13:33Z")

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They’re harmless to people.

Not so to plants. By the time you see webbing, an infested plant is on the express to oblivion. (If you catch the damage at the leaf-speckling stage, there’s a chance to save the plant).

One shot with insecticidal soap is almost certainly not enough to eliminate these pests. It will take repeat spraying (try rinsing off all surfaces of the plant well in between sprayings) to kill all the little monsters.

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**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-mites-question/302958/4 "2005-05-08T23:48:09Z")

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> [@Jackmannii](#):
>
> They’re harmless to people.
> 
> Not so to plants. By the time you see webbing, an infested plant is on the express to oblivion. (If you catch the damage at the leaf-speckling stage, there’s a chance to save the plant).
> 
> One shot with insecticidal soap is almost certainly not enough to eliminate these pests. It will take repeat spraying (try rinsing off all surfaces of the plant well in between sprayings) to kill all the little monsters.

Thanks so much for the advice. We put the plants in the bathtub and srpayed them all twice, then rinsed them out. Should we do it again?