The other week Thomas County Ag Agent Andrew Sawyer and I stopped in a pepper field here in Colquitt County where Tim Flanders had found broad mites. It takes the right conditions for the broad mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus, to become a problem. Broad mites enjoy high humidity and cool temperatures. Low populations typically go undetected since broad mites are less than half the size of spider mites.
Adult females lay eggs on the underside of leaves and in the depressions of small fruits. Mites are usually seen on the newest leaves and small fruit. The first noticeable signs of broad mites are twisted curled leaves and deformed fruit.
Below are some pictures taken by Andrew Sawyer:
It may take several weeks before damage from broad mites appear on the fruit, therefore, if damage is seen in a field then mites have been present for quite some time and the field should be treated with a miticide/insecticide such as Agri-mek.