[3] There are several causes for the increasing problem of foliar nematodes in agriculture, greenhouse nurseries, and personal lawns, but there are no systemic nematicides available to growers due to the hazards they pose to people handling the plants.

Plants are also moved long distance to growers across the country and internationally, thus nematodes can easily spread to new areas where infection was previously not a problem.

[1] It is difficult to quantitatively estimate the value of the amount of damage caused by nematodes because they are a persistent pathogen once they are introduced to the soil.

Local symptoms appear above ground, and plant leaves are typically distorted in shape, crinkled, and discolored with hard surfaces.

[2] Because infected strawberry plants are less vigorous in growth, the stolon does not grow well, which results in reduced fruit size and number.

[6] Nematodes can also move over large distances through soil transportation, as a result of human and animal movement, or through insect and bird travel.

[citation needed] After the growing season, Aphalenchoides fragariae adults and juveniles may remain in soils for up to three months, while eggs may stay dormant for years until favorable conditions arise.

Overwintering only occurs in dead plant tissues, and nematodes may successfully remain dormant in temperatures as low as 2 °C.

[7] Once moist conditions return in the spring, nematodes become active and feed ectoparasitically on crowns, runners, and new buds of their host strawberry plants, only occasionally being found in leaf tissue.

Nematodes can be dispersed within an area through irrigation, direct contact of healthy plants with infected, or poor sanitation techniques.

A study showed that Aphalenchoides fragariae is more attracted to CO2 than oxygen emissions in a controlled environment using artificial stomatal openings which expelled each gas respectively.

Researchers were able to make these conclusions based on the obvious accumulation of the nematodes on and within artificial stomates expelling CO2.

They are found in most foliar tissue, including the leaves, stems, buds, and crowns, making it difficult to control the disease on the plant itself once it has been infected .

An alternative method of control is a hot water treatment, which affects all stages of the life cycle and can be used on whole plants.

In the greenhouse or nursery, soils, containers, and tools should be sterilized on a regular basis, and the floor and storage areas should be free from plant debris.