The gall protects the larvae of insects, but it also provides a safe place for oak mites to live and feed. ), which is a genus of deciduous trees growing in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 9. Although this would normally be a fairly disturbing trend, because spindle gall mites are so small, the leaf is barely affected. Alternatively bin the plant in your local council green waste. Oak leaf gall mites are parasites that live inside galls on the leaves of oak trees. How to get rid of fuchsia gall mites. Inside the gall, the mite … They are able to endure extreme weather conditions and begin feeding with the onset of spring. This has proved to be an efficient way of keeping mite damage under control. Linden gall mites are eriophyid mites that attack lindens (Tilia spp. Usually, the most serious effect is that infected leaves are tricked into encapsulating the mite, thus forming the very noticeable gall. Prune away any new growth that is showing early symptoms. Apply a dormant spray before bud break in early spring to reduce the number of gall mites that overwinter on the tree. But if you have fuchsia gall mite, this is our best advice: Cutting off the infested shoot tips will remove many mites but regrowth can become infested and so a weekly follow-up check of your plants is required. Once the larvae are fully developed and leave later in the year, the mites drop down in search of a new food source. Better instead to remove the whole plant and then burn or bury the material. How to Get Rid of Gall Mites on Red Maples. Eriophyid mites are known by many names including blister mites, gall mites, bud mites and rust mites, depending on the type of damage that they cause. Remove damaged leaves by hand to reduce mite populations. When the larvae hatch from the eggs of the insect, the oak mites feed on it. You can try cutting off affected stems but as the mites are microscopic the chances are pretty high that you won’t get them all. Female mites spend the winter in the cracks of tree bark, in leaf buds or in leaf litter.