So I noticed last night that my rove beetles are now flying. At first I thought I had another fungus gnat bloom but the inspected one closer. Also found quite a few stuck to my buds.
I have had a very healthy population for over a year and never noticed them flying before and didnt even realize they could.
My question is, am I possibly doing something to make them to want to migrate? or the population is out of control maybe and they are trying to relocate?
This is a new one for me so wondering if anyone has any experience here.
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Rove Beetles are predators.
Maybe they have exhausted their food source. Some prey on springtails.
Cheers
G
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no more fungus gnats so that could very well be the case. I have grown quite fond of the little guys though, maybe i should get a few gnats back in to keep them around and the cycle moving 
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Harvested the tent and the rovies are out of control. I definitely want to address this before the next run goes into flower.
I had a thought. Would lizards eat them? I have a ton of little guys around the house in the spring. Maybe throw one In the tent for a week or so?
Looking for a natural predator for them to balance the equation maybe.
Rove beetles not only eat larvae and other insects they also eat decaying matter. So they will infest your soil and when they eat all the insect larvae will feed on the decaying wood and things in your soil. While they won’t harm your plants they can get out of control if they find a food source.
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Yeah, I believe that is the problem. They have exhausted the other mites and larvae and are now migrating looking for more food.
I like them, don’t get me wrong, I want a population, it’s now they have taken over.
They aren’t doing any harm other than being stuck all over the buds.
I just want them to stay put in the soil
If it were me I would remove all source of food and they will move on or die. Infesting my buds would be a problem I wouldn’t want to deal with, but that’s just me………
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Maybe keeping the top of your soil moist and hitting the soil occasionally with Kashi to promote breakdown. Not sure.
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Just a fyi:
They also can bite humans, don’t handle them!
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I put some Kashi and few cups of gnar bar down then some new oyster straw mulch. Before that I scattered a few handfulls of mite filled EWC over the top. New cover crop as well. Hopeing all that helps them settle down.
What do you think about the lizard idea though @CrunchBerries? I wonder if it would actually be of any benefit. At least maybe keep the ones that fly off in check. I dont even know if those little lizards would eat them or not.
Reviving this thread - noticed a lot of what I think are rove beatles after top dressing compost on my bed. Just want to confirm thats what they are- although I think theyre springtails after looking further.
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Geeeez , completely forgot about this thread.
Yeah, those look more like springtails to me too. My rove beetles are twice their size at least I’d say @ramblinrose
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Yeah thought so! Good to know on the size of your rove beatles.