Lace bug damage causes leaves to be mottled on top and dirty underneath. The mines within leaves cause brown blisters. Mites suck out plant juices and cause leaves to become mottled and eventually drop. They are more closely related to spiders than insects and are smaller than the head of a pin. Mite feeding outside begins to increase in late March to April.
Mites feed year-round in greenhouses.
Use insecticidal soap or oils to control early-season mite populations. Alternate miticides used later to prevent resistance in the mite population. When immature, these are small, scale-like, and found on the undersurface of leaves. They damage plants by sucking out juices. Adults are small, white, flying insects.