Has anyone tried to keep predator mites for spider mites in their soil and or grow pots/bags ?
I have a very limited experience with keeping the Hypoaspis miles for fungus gnats going in my last grow and my bonsai moms. Really no effort required once they are there and I have successfully “transplanted” them to new moms. For me not another fungus gnat to be seen. Unfortunately I lost them all when I totally got rid of everything recently due to spider mites. I tried using spider mite predators after I discovered two spotted spider mites and had applied the predators but that’s when powdery mildew joined the party and I just shitcanned everything preemptively.
Tried to learn about what it takes to have a standing army of predator mites that target spider mites and what I can find is the Phytoseilus persimilis is the top choice but once spider mites are gone they leave or die unless fed. They are supposedly able to live on a few types of pollen and vendors of mites sell some kind of feed presumably similar for that purpose. I’m still trying to find more info.
Neoseiulus (Amblyseius) californicus is a more general predator but a top choice for spider mites and can survive on other food if no spider mites are present and more tolerant of environmental conditions. I found several reads and one of ones that seems to have information.
Anyone have any real world experience with keeping predator mites on hand as part of their IPM ?
I don’t have a big enough grow or experience with mites to know any more other than what I can find and read.
Not sure about Californicus or Persimilis but I have read and was told by someone with knowledge of the industry that Cucumeris and Hypoaspis both come packaged with a common mold mite Tyrophagus putrescentiae as a food source. I was also told the companies being worked with are using what they are calling banker plants or open rearing units, though this is probably more geared towards a scale where some degree of pest presence is inevitable such as large greenhouses and might not be suitable for a smaller setup with 0 pest tolerance.
I can’t watch the linked vid on my phone but reading it yeah that’s kind of the goal but not on that scale as you mentioned but not having to use a banker type plant, for small indoor tent growers just having a suitable alternative food source like cat tail pollen applied occasionally is my goal depending on how much of a hassle it is. I had the Hypoaspis in my grow area for over a year taking care of fungus gnat larvae if they were there. Don’t know because I have not seen a gnat at all in that time and I scooped out a teaspoon or so to look under my usb microscope and could always see some roaming around if I gave them a few minutes to scuttle across my field of view. Never had to buy more and they eat decaying plant matter as well so easy peasy. Would like to get a decent count of the californicus doing roughly the same. I just was hopeful that someone or many someone’s are doing it and have the easiest way figured out. Or I’m way out in the weeds with this line of thinking
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Seems like I rotate between mites, trips, and aphids. I recently had lady bugs breed in my closet which was pretty cool. But even with tons of ladybugs, they couldn’t even dent a heavy aphid infestation in flower because the buds block the ladys and their nymphs from traveling the whole plant.
I used to breed roaches, crickets, mealworms, superworms, fruit flies, wax worms, and probably a few others I forgot. They are all pretty easy. Maybe ground up waxworms would be enough food for them to survive and breed? Then maybe use something like a fruit fly breeding setup, which is basically just a deli cup with a vented lid and some coffee filters inside for surface area to climb on.
I have had no problems with gnats now that I use microbe-lift bmc. But I would love an option for thrips, mites, and aphids, especially during flower.
Added some ladybug shots cause its coooool.
I missed that line about mold mites as food. I also use to breed springtails. lol. You periodically add rice, and the rice molds to feed the springtails. Super easy.
