Bermudagrass mites are microscopic pests that feed inside the leaf sheaths of bermudagrass, causing distinctive tufted growths called “witch’s brooms” and, in severe cases, large dead patches in your lawn. They’re too small to see with the naked eye, so the damage they cause is usually the first and only sign you’ll notice. Here’s what to look for and how to fight back.
How to Spot Bermudagrass Mite Damage
The first signs typically show up in late spring. Some areas of the lawn may look yellow, low in vigor, or simply fail to green up after winter dormancy. That alone can mimic several other problems, from drought stress to fungal disease. The telltale clue is what happens next.
As the mites feed by sucking plant sap from stems beneath the leaf sheaths, they prevent normal stem elongation and cause the leaf sheaths to swell. The result is a bunched, rosette-like cluster of shortened leaves at the tips of stems, known as a witch’s broom. These stubby tufts look nothing like healthy bermudagrass growth and are the single most reliable way to diagnose a mite infestation, since the mites themselves are invisible without magnification.
In heavy infestations, stems and stolons die outright, leaving dead patches during the summer months. Witch’s broom symptoms are most noticeable around the edges of these dead zones, where the infestation is actively spreading into healthy turf.
Why Stressed Lawns Get Hit Hardest
Stress is the single most important factor driving bermudagrass mite infestations. Lawns that are under-watered or subject to heavy foot traffic are more vulnerable. Proper irrigation does double duty: it keeps the grass healthy enough to tolerate some feeding, and research from Clemson University shows it directly reduces the number of mite-infested shoots, likely by relieving drought stress.
Nitrogen fertilizer creates a counterintuitive problem. While you might think feeding your lawn would help it outgrow the damage, higher nitrogen rates actually worsen infestations by giving mites more of what they need to thrive. In infested areas, apply only enough fertilizer to maintain basic turf health and avoid pushing lush new growth that fuels the mite population.
Mowing and Clipping Removal
Scalping, or mowing the lawn down to about 1 inch to remove all aboveground green tissue, is one of the most effective cultural controls. It physically removes mites and the witch’s broom growth they’ve caused. This explains why bermudagrass mite is rarely a problem on golf course greens, where turf is kept extremely short.
What you do with the clippings matters just as much as the mowing itself. University of Georgia research found that mites in discarded clippings can move to healthy, non-infested bermudagrass within just two hours. Removing clippings from the lawn and disposing of them away from any bermudagrass can reduce witch’s broom symptoms by at least 65%. This one step is considered critical regardless of any other treatment you use.
Even clippings that look perfectly healthy can harbor mites. If you’ve seen any sign of infestation in your yard, bag and remove every mowing’s clippings rather than leaving them on the lawn or composting them nearby.
Chemical Treatment Options
Chemical control of bermudagrass mites is notoriously difficult. The mites live tucked beneath leaf sheaths, making it hard for sprays to reach them. Most conventional insecticides are ineffective.
Pesticide trials at Clemson University found that repeated applications of abamectin (sold under the trade name Divanem) can reduce mite populations, though the optimal timing, whether spring or early summer, is still unclear. The product needs to be tank-mixed with a wetting agent (surfactant) to help it penetrate the tight gaps between stems and leaf sheaths, followed by light irrigation of about a tenth to a quarter inch of water. This is a restricted-use product that requires specific label documentation, so it’s typically applied by licensed professionals rather than homeowners.
Because chemical options are limited and imperfect, most university extension programs emphasize cultural controls (scalping, clipping removal, proper irrigation, and conservative fertilization) as the backbone of any management plan, with chemical treatment as a supplement rather than a standalone solution.
Putting a Management Plan Together
Treating bermudagrass mites effectively means combining several strategies at once. No single tactic is enough on its own. A practical approach looks like this:
- Irrigate consistently. Don’t let the lawn go through prolonged dry spells, especially during the warm months when mite populations are building.
- Scalp infested areas. Mow down to about 1 inch to remove witch’s broom growth and exposed mites.
- Bag and remove all clippings. Dispose of them in sealed bags away from any bermudagrass. This alone can cut symptoms by more than half.
- Reduce nitrogen. Apply only what’s needed to keep the turf alive, not what you’d normally use to push thick, green growth.
- Consider professional chemical treatment. If cultural controls aren’t enough, a licensed applicator can apply abamectin with proper surfactants and irrigation.
Recovery takes patience. Bermudagrass is a vigorous grower in warm weather, so once mite pressure is reduced and the turf is properly irrigated, healthy stolons will begin filling in damaged areas. Severely thinned patches may take several weeks to several months of active growth to fully recover, depending on how much of the root and stolon network survived. Keeping mite numbers low through consistent clipping removal and irrigation gives the grass its best chance to bounce back during the growing season.