Mites.

Coir · Feb 18, 2014

The minute they arrive they will be released. One of the problems with the predators is it takes a week to get them. In most cases, it's far too late by the time the problem is discovered and most people don't order enough. It's a numbers game with the predators and having thousands more of them than the enemy works much better.
I learned this by accident one year fighting thrips on greenhouse cucumbers. My supplier informed me that someone had cancelled an order but it was 3X more than I was ordering. He sent them to me at the same cost of what I wanted so I released them at a much higher concentration than I normally would have. I never saw another thrip the rest of the season. I hope that by putting 10K on each plant I have now that they will at least keep them in check until they are done.
It will make me quite happy to see a close up of a broad mite being eaten alive!

PButter · Feb 18, 2014

Sounds like you are prepared to do battle. Good.
I can't wait to see some footage of the war.

Coir · Mar 1, 2014

So it's been 2 weeks(almost) since the release of the first predators and I added some Amblyseius Andersoni this week as well. I have spent the last 2 hours searching for broad mites and can not find a single one alive. I checked the smallest leaves and even clipped up a few buds trying to get down into where they seem to hide the best and still nothing. Obviously, it's not possible to search each and every leaf/bud on each plant but it's looking really positive at this point. 2 weeks ago, I could pick any leaf off of any plant and find them immediately and there were signs on the leaves/new growth as well. Having been adding aspirin at each watering, all of the signs are now gone as well. The leaves and pistils both look beautiful and happy. I have always had good luck with the predatory mites fighting thrips and fungus gnats in a commercial greenhouse but have never had to battle mites before. It appears they work equally as well with them. Again, I think the most important thing when using beneficial insects is to get them in as quickly as possible and also at numbers that far exceed the insect you are trying to get rid of.
Unfortunately(well, not really) I was not able to get a picture of a predator consuming a broad mite but I will keep looking just in case. The only thing I am finding on the leaves right now is dead broad mites and lots of cucumeris eggs which does show that they have been feeding in the areas I have searched but have moved on looking for more food. The cucumeris eggs are larger than a broadmite and oval shaped so they are quite easy to spot. The Andersoni mites are just starting to come out of the slow release sachets and should continue to hatch long past the end of the crop so if things stay the way they are today, all is well without a single drop of chemical pesticides needed.

ssteely71 · Mar 1, 2014

Good to hear your garden is recovering !

Coir · Mar 10, 2014

Hours of searching under the microscope and I have not found a single living broad mite. I have seen a few of the predators and lots of their eggs which is a good sign. I am actually surprised that they were as effective so quickly since the broad mites were thriving when I found them.
The microscope is a great tool as it allows you to see every minute detail down to the eggs and even the tiny hairs on the mites. The camera attachment is a bit disappointing as far as clarity but I'm sure it's just the cheap glass they use in the adapter optics. I did manage to catch an ablyseius cucumeris as it was hatching from it's egg. Although not as clear as I'd like, it's still pretty cool to see that they are reproducing and hatching. The small oval above it is the egg.

Madfarmer · Mar 22, 2014

I am growing in my closet and have a spider mite problem. Is it safe to release predatory mites in the same room that I sleep in?

(of course only on the plants, not on my bed or anything lol)

justanotherbozo · Mar 22, 2014

...while i've never had the opportunity to use them myself i'd bet my next crop you have nothing to worry about, ...considering predatory mites only eat spidermites after all.

...i wonder how many dust mites are living in your carpets and under your bed, lol.

relax grasshopper, they won't bite the hand that feeds them, as it were.

peace, bozo

We Solidarity · Mar 22, 2014

this is pretty awesome ~ great job killing those broads!

the only problem i see now is that your plants are still covered in mites :(

Coir · Mar 22, 2014

Madfarmer said:
I am growing in my closet and have a spider mite problem. Is it safe to release predatory mites in the same room that I sleep in?

(of course only on the plants, not on my bed or anything lol)

The predator mites are only interested in eating the bad guys. I have been using them for years in a commercial greenhouse and never had a problem with them bothering me or anyone working in there. I much prefer using them than any type of spray since I am in contact with my plants every single day and for in the house, there is no questions they are safer than any type of chemical.

hotRod · Mar 22, 2014

We Solidarity said:
this is pretty awesome ~ great job killing those broads!

the only problem i see now is that your plants are still covered in mites :(

The predatory will soon die after the bad guys are gone
As long as it doesn't feed on pollen
Is that correct Coir??

Coir · Mar 22, 2014

We Solidarity said:
this is pretty awesome ~ great job killing those broads!

the only problem i see now is that your plants are still covered in mites :(

What is interesting is that the mites migrate to their food source so that when they run out of food on the plants, they move on looking for something to eat which means nothing left on the plants since there is no food left. I have been spending hours with leaves under the microscope and can't find much at all. When the leaves are cut off, anything left on them(empty mite shells since the predators consume everything inside) will be gone with them. All of the new plants are spotless and it seems the predatory mites have run out of things to eat which means they quit reproducing and die off. While sad to lose the army, the war has been won! Quite honestly, I thought it would take a lot longer than it did to get to this point but I am quite happy at the efficiency of the cucumeris and andersoni.

Coir · Mar 22, 2014

hotRod said:
The predatory will soon die after the bad guys are gone
As long as it doesn't feed on pollen
Is that correct Coir??

Certain mites will feed on pollen but my plants that had broad mites on them are non pollen producers!

We Solidarity · Mar 22, 2014

Coir said:
What is interesting is that the mites migrate to their food source so that when they run out of food on the plants, they move on looking for something to eat which means nothing left on the plants since there is no food left. I have been spending hours with leaves under the microscope and can't find much at all. When the leaves are cut off, anything left on them(empty mite shells since the predators consume everything inside) will be gone with them. All of the new plants are spotless and it seems the predatory mites have run out of things to eat which means they quit reproducing and die off. While sad to lose the army, the war has been won! Quite honestly, I thought it would take a lot longer than it did to get to this point but I am quite happy at the efficiency of the cucumeris and andersoni.

that's awesome. How long did it take? I've used andersonii with fallacis mites to eliminate russets before in veg - I've always been scared to use predators in flower because...well...bugs are gugs....

Coir · Mar 22, 2014

We Solidarity said:
that's awesome. How long did it take? I've used andersonii with fallacis mites to eliminate russets before in veg - I've always been scared to use predators in flower because...well...bugs are gugs....

The cucumeris are on week 4 and the andersoni on week 3. There were 50,000 loose cucumeris released first on plants that were still in veg with a slow release bag also placed on each plant. A week later, one slow release andersoni bag was also placed on those plants. The flowering plants just had slow release bags of each type placed on them a week apart. Those plants are now finished and the slow release bags were removed and placed on to the new cuttings that went into that tent. They are still showing signs of activity(the bags have new mites hatching still) so I am keeping them in there as a preventative at this point. After reading all the horror stories about broad mites hiding everywhere and returning with a vengeance, I am not going to give them a chance to make a comeback. I can't find any mites left on the plants that were chopped so I am not worried about that. Like I said, I have spent hours looking for them under the microscope to be sure. By the way, the microscope I purchased was worth every penny. It makes scanning for mites a breeze and it's also really nice for checking plant maturity compared to anything hand held!

burn4me · Mar 22, 2014

Could someone post a link to a place to order such predators? And I'm in the closet with my veg too, is a good safe measure to get some just in case? Or will they just die off since I don't have mites. Kinda as a preventive measure. Coir I'm glad your crop is pulling through

Edited... Sorry re read this and seen a couple answers to my questions. Just not where to order them from

Coir · Mar 22, 2014

burn4me said:
Could someone post a link to a place to order such predators? And I'm in the closet with my veg too, is a good safe measure to get some just in case? Or will they just die off since I don't have mites. Kinda as a preventive measure. Coir I'm glad your crop is pulling through

Edited... Sorry re read this and seen a couple answers to my questions. Just not where to order them from

Send me a pm as I am not sure if it's ok to post my supplier here.

Seamaiden · Mar 22, 2014

Post it up! Does not violate rules UNLESS you're a sales rep for them and you start spamming the board with the repping. Make sense?

Coir · Mar 22, 2014

Thanks for the clarification. I didn't want to break the rules!
For those interested, here is the supplier I use. I have no affiliation with them other than being a very satisfied customer for over 20 years and I shoot their website images.
http://www.evergreengrowers.com/

Seamaiden · Mar 22, 2014

Thanks for the link. ;) I happen to have permanent populations of spider mites in every toyon we have on our property, so this is useful. If I can find a good 'tode for dealing with the fungus gnats...? Aaahhhhhh.....

Coir · Mar 22, 2014

Seamaiden said:
Thanks for the link. ;) I happen to have permanent populations of spider mites in every toyon we have on our property, so this is useful. If I can find a good 'tode for dealing with the fungus gnats...? Aaahhhhhh.....

Hypoaspis miles for fungus gnats FTW! They are all that I use. First thing I do before I plant out the greenhouse slabs is to put a tablespoon of them onto each one. They last all season and you never have to worry about gnats being an issue. They work in soil, coir, rockwool, and other soilless mediums. For water culture, there are some better alternatives.

Mites.

Mites.

Coir

PButter

RUN!!!

Coir

ssteely71

Coir

Madfarmer

justanotherbozo

We Solidarity

Coir

hotRod

Coir

Coir

We Solidarity

Coir

burn4me

Coir

Seamaiden

Living dead girl

Coir

Seamaiden

Living dead girl

Coir

Mites.

Mites.

Coir

PButter

RUN!!!

Coir

ssteely71

Coir

Madfarmer

justanotherbozo

We Solidarity

Coir

hotRod

Coir

Coir

We Solidarity

Coir

burn4me

Coir

Seamaiden

Living dead girl

Coir

Seamaiden

Living dead girl

Coir

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