Organic Spider Mite Control: Predators

[ozzieAI]

does anyone know if spraying with neem will kill the persimillis predators as well as the spider mites???

i strongly suggest that neem will affect the predators just like the spider mites should they come in contact with neem oil spray...water the neem in the soil that way the predators will not come in contact with the neem, unless they are soil dwellers...neem systemically will get rid of spider mites but it does take a bit longer then most other pests...


good luck with it VG...

 

[moses wellfleet]

does anyone know if spraying with neem will kill the persimillis predators as well as the spider mites???

I have never tried this myself, but the literature says that residual neem won't do much harm. Direct applications of neem oil will however kill the persimilis. So you can spray neem to reduce the spider mite population in preparation for a release of persimilis. But if you are trying to maintain a persimilis population and you spray neem on them, then you gonna nuke 'em!

http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/37/6/906.full.pdf

 

[Seaf0ur]

Anyone have a link for the predetors? Cool thread.

Try THESE GUYS

 

[Dkgrower]

Hey Verdant green - if u had minor sucess with persimillis it could be because u enviroment favors spidermites.

When working with predators u have to understand what optimal conditions they work best at.

This is a guess - but i think the reason that persimillis is one of the top choices amongst professional greenhouse growers is that in combination with the 60-70% rel hum that they love - we disfavor the spidermites - also the 60-70% rel hum also favors healthy leaves - that also combate the spidermites...

Also enviromental fux in temperatur and humidity is also very important

Edit to note - that i have not sprayed or had any serious spidermite issue since i started using persimillis - and mine are outside in a greenhouse and i used to get serious infections if the spring was dry and warm, so i had a rutie of spraying every light dep crop 2 times, this is history i am saving money and time

 

[Dkgrower]

Also i read many comments by fellow growers that predator mites work to slow for shorth term crop - i agree that is not as fast as a systemic poison

Anyway my grow right now is starting week 4 - large plant number and 2 plants have an minor to medium infection - so 1 month left - i made my mind up that i ditten wanted to do anything - but my grow partner had ordered a fresh portion of 500 Phytoseiulus Persimilis.

Its very important that u get them fresh and from a professional source - rember they are living things

So i will today apply the predators to the 2 infected plants and see if they can kill off the infection before harvest time !

Time will tell

 

[Last stand]

I'm having serious issues with cyclamen mites at the moment, if you haven't had them consider yourself lucky you'll be wishing for spider mites or root aphids, these things are extremely nasty. I knocked them back with the hard stuff then used Beauveria bassiana and other funguses that seemed to maintain control up to flower. Today I hung 100 sachets 1000 per sachet in my flower room and will report back good bad or indifferent. I think I'll also order some swirskiis, if they eat each other that means there's nothing else to eat so no problem. I sacrificed one sachet for inspection, they're shipped in saw dust or something when I looked at it under the scope it was teaming with little critters mostly little nymphs, they were all white or translucent looking. I took a video with my scope but I cant upload it so I took a screenshot.

 

[Last stand]

I ordered from http://everwoodfarm.com/ Dave will answer your calls, when I called we talked about my problem for a half hour or so before I placed my order, he was very helpfull. I think they're the reps for koppert in North America but I could be wrong.

 

[SoilWatch]

Everwood Farm

Everwood Farm

I ordered from http://everwoodfarm.com/ Dave will answer your calls, when I called we talked about my problem for a half hour or so before I placed my order, he was very helpfull. I think they're the reps for koppert in North America but I could be wrong.

They are close by to me, and have been my goto for many years. They are an OMRI listed merchant, as well as a distributor for Koppert, LaMotte (soil and water testing) and Down to Earth (fertilizers). Dave has saved my girls on more than one occasion, and seems to have the patience of Job when it comes to listening and sorting out a problem. I definitely tip my hat. PS they also have an awsome lab and do HPTLC cannabinoid profiling, full Microbial Analysis, and GC pesticide testing.

 

[moses wellfleet]

Please post if you have any experience with the predators in the title?... This form of pest control has been around for a while now!

Lets hear feedback from the community?

 

[Granger2]

http://www.buglogical.com/
http://www.naturescontrol.com/

Predatory mites in overwhelming numbers, followed by Green Lacewing larvae a couple of weeks later has worked for me. Good luck. -granger

 

[moses wellfleet]

Are you referring to persimilis?

And please explain for the benefit of other forum members, what is the function of the green lacewings?

 

[120Octane]

Why not use mosquito dunks?

 

[frankenstein2]

I have been using the predators mentioned in the title of this thread for years. They work, but only with overwhelming numbers, and weekly re-applications. When you think the amount your about to order is insanely high, order another couple bottles, lol. Then do that the following week. It can get kinda pricey, but well worth it. Then right when you think you have them under control, order more predators, then wait a week and order more.

They can be stored in your fridge while your waiting for the lights to come on. Then take them out and set them in the grow room with the lights on for 10 mins. They should be plenty "alive" by then. I love watching them crawl from the bottle onto the leaves of the plants. When that's happening I usually chant "die motherfuckers, die!!"

 

[Mikell]

Has anyone tried the pollen feed to accentuate using predators?

I'm about to order cucumeris and the bottle o' pollen is a cheap add-on. I was figuring to apply it after the two week mark, to maintain population, and periodically after that.

 

[moses wellfleet]

Has anyone tried the pollen feed to accentuate using predators?

I'm about to order cucumeris and the bottle o' pollen is a cheap add-on. I was figuring to apply it after the two week mark, to maintain population, and periodically after that.

You can also try growing pollen producing plants in your grow space, I believe the castor oil plant is one option.

I have seen swirskiis head for male cannabis flowers when their prey ran out, I was tapping the flowers to collect pollen for a breeding project and they dropped out with the pollen.

 

[VerdantGreen]

just bought some Amblyseius californicus. the blurb says they can eat pollen if there are no mites to predate on.

i hope these work well. not got a big mite problem but always a few here and there.

never had any luck with the persimilis. they hibernate in day lengths less than 14 hours so bloody useless for your flower room.

VG

 

[moses wellfleet]

just bought some Amblyseius californicus. the blurb says they can eat pollen if there are no mites to predate on.

i hope these work well. not got a big mite problem but always a few here and there.

never had any luck with the persimilis. they hibernate in day lengths less than 14 hours so bloody useless for your flower room.

VG

Californicus do indeed eat pollen, I have seen them congregating around male cannabis flowers. it can be a nuisance when you are collecting pollen for storage and you want it to be free from matter that could potentially cause decay.

In my experience persimilis will control tetranychus urticae in a room set to 12/12. The main setback they suffer is the heat in a flowering room as they don't like heat above 25C and humidity lower than 70%. I have never heard of them hibernating but it is not impossible.

If you have the luxury of controlling temperature in your flowering room it may be useful to lower temps for a week, to allow Persimilis to get on top of a major infestation of t. urticae. Californicus do not feed as aggressively as p. persimilis but they are useful as they tolerate hot dry conditions!

 

[CimeTempestose]

these are Phytoseiulus Persimilis i have had them in my rooms for one year now and they have been very effective in keeping mites under control, i love the little bastards they have become my friends!

Hi Guys, I can only confirm what MW says ..I succesfully employed them during the 2014 summer field campain war here in South Italy

Also, at a certain point due an enemy'allied force joint strike, I deployed in combo a squadron of adalia bipunctata larvae..

http://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adalia_bipunctata_1475004.jpg

With a perseverant sunset water nebulizzation at the end of august 2014 enemy'allied force were defeated !! Hurrà :yay:

 

[VerdantGreen]

thanks guys, i have tried persimilis 2 or 3 times with little success. i have read in a couple of places that they enter 'diapause', some kind of dormancy, in photoperiods under 14 hours (although the people selling them dont widely publicise this)
perhaps its the less tha ideal conditions that didnt help either.

from what ive read the californicus isnt quite such a ferocious predator but it is useful in a wider range of conditions.

i had wondered about them being a problem when collecting pollen but hopefully i can get round that...

would love to find a bio control that actually works reliably!

VG

 

[moses wellfleet]

if you only have a few mites as you stated earlier then I think the californicus will work for you!