Tetranychus urticae Koch, is a harmful pest and its control is usually performed with synthetic acaricides. However, T. urticae has developed resistance. Hence, control alternatives such as essential oils are needed. This research aimed to assess, under laboratory conditions, the acaricidal and repellent activities of essential oils of Eucalyptus globulus, Salvia officinalis, Mentha × piperita, Thymus vulgaris, Foeniculum vulgare and Dysphania ambrosioides against T. urticae. The main components were 1,8-cineole (92.57%) in E. globulus, thujone (25.44%) in S. officinalis, menthol (63.52%) in M. piperita, thymol (37.91%) in Thymus vulgaris, anethol (45.44%) in F. vulgare and ascaridole (33.23%) in D. ambrosioides. Thymus vulgaris achieved the highest mortality by contact toxicity with a CL50 = 1.71 µL mL− 1 water, but its contact toxicity did not significantly differ from that of F. vulgare (CL50 = 1.80 µL mL− 1), D. ambrosioides (CL50 = 1.99 µL mL− 1 water), M. piperita (CL50 = 2.73 µL mL− 1 water) or S. officinalis (CL50 = 2.82 µL mL− 1 water). In the fumigant bioassay, D. ambrosioides was the most toxic treatment, with an LC50 = 1.83 µL L− 1 air, although it did not significantly differ from that of M. piperita (LC50 = 2.10 µL L− 1 air) or T. vulgaris (LC50 = 2.58 µL L− 1 air). All the treatments resulted in at least 30% repellent activity at the lowest concentration assessed (5.0%), and as the concentration of essential oil increased, the repellency potency also increased. Thymus vulgaris, Dysphania ambrosioides and Mentha × piperita essential oils are promising for managing Tetranychus urticae.