clover mite questions

[JeenLeen]

I've got a lot of clover mites on my front and back porch, and basically any plastic things in the yard. I've read up on them and think I found some safe (enough) pesticides to spray to help with the problem.

But one question Google didn't solve: They eat the sap of plants. So why do I find so many on my porch, and especially on plastic stuff on my porch, where there aren't plants to feed on? I get my front porch as it's close to plants, but my back porch is raised off the ground and not relatively close.

And finding a few in one bathroom, but not so many that look like an infestation. Like 5-10 a day. Unlike the 100+ I see in a few square feet outside. Really hoping they just get in on our clothes.

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I'll also take advice on pesticide stuff, but really wondering about the above. Figured here makes sense under a Biology question.

[farothel]

Those clover mites can also live off mould and mildew. So maybe you have some of that on the underside of your raised porch (those are places where moulds can grow quite often) or on the plastic (like plastic chairs that have been outside all winter can have some of that before you wash it off and that can attract the mites).

Or (and this is pure speculation) some plastics give of a smell that the mites associate with good food.