Predator Mites

JayY2015

JayY2015

Well-Known Member
I just caught a mild mite infestation. I am using big time exterminator and azamax in the veg, in flowering I sprayed all the lower branches with big time exterminator only, hoping to slow them down. I have 2 kinds of predator mites in route how long after spray application before I can release predator mites.

I was also wondering about breeding these predator mites does anyone on here produce there own ?
 
Predatory mites and wasps are awesome, i always tried to apply a couple different species rather than rely on just one. I mainly used them at the start of problems and doubt their effectiveness once the problem is full blown as they are a slow but steady process.

I believe breeding them is very difficult unfortunatly but been a while since i used them or googled how to breed them :-)
 
Give them a food source, place to lay eggs, and good environment/shelter, and they'll stick around and reproduce.

That may mean keeping spider mites, though, heh.
 
Some species eat.pollen when their.isn't any prey around..

I've used a couple different species of.predatory mites (ordered through a local farm supply store) I don't remember the names of them but.one was quite large for a mite and bright bright red. The other looked more like a.dull version of the red spider mite (which I.didn't have).
The problem I.had with them was keeping a good environment for them (ultimately leading to.them dying off). I keep my veg area around 55% humidity and.flower around 30%. These damned mites needed it.to be 90%+ ... so I was having to run humidifiers 24/7 to maintain that, I was getting standing condensation on all my walls and.my plants didny like it too much... so I dropped my humidity back to normal and.the.predators died out....just my experience, definitely make sure you can.keep whatever you use alive.
 
I ordered Mesoseiulus long pipes-supposed to be good for 40-80% humidity and I got some Phytoseiulus persimilis
For my veg since it's usually 65-80% humidity.
 
caveman117 said:
Some species eat.pollen when their.isn't any prey around..

I've used a couple different species of.predatory mites (ordered through a local farm supply store) I don't remember the names of them but.one was quite large for a mite and bright bright red. The other looked more like a.dull version of the red spider mite (which I.didn't have).
The problem I.had with them was keeping a good environment for them (ultimately leading to.them dying off). I keep my veg area around 55% humidity and.flower around 30%. These damned mites needed it.to be 90%+ ... so I was having to run humidifiers 24/7 to maintain that, I was getting standing condensation on all my walls and.my plants didny like it too much... so I dropped my humidity back to normal and.the.predators died out....just my experience, definitely make sure you can.keep whatever you use alive.
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Probabaly somthing like Phytoseiulus persimilis or similar, you can google your preadatory mites breeding info to see what your up against.

There are a few different types but the ones i used were barely visable as really tiny and were more for thrips not mites. The preadatory wasps i had must of been really really small cause i never seen them once.
 
You can raise predatory soil mites in a worm bin. It took a couple years but my fresh worm castings are loaded with them. They hunt down and eat the baddies. They are big enough to see but very tiny. When I harvest castings it's like a flea circus
 
Richard Drysift said:
You can raise predatory soil mites in a worm bin. It took a couple years but my fresh worm castings are loaded with them. They hunt down and eat the baddies. They are big enough to see but very tiny. When I harvest castings it's like a flea circus
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Do they jump about you mean?
 
Richard Drysift said:
Yeah if I take the cover off my worm bin they bounce around in there & crawl all over; think they hate light
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I wouldnt like to guess what they are but when someone describes mites as jumping i instantly think of spring tails which are a very common soil and organic matter dwelling bug thats totally harmless, dont think mites jump about.

Can you look futher into what they are as im sure your describing springtails not mites although its just a suggestion and ultimatley i wouldnt know without seeing them up close.

Springtails jump like crazy if disturbed, id assume most mites crawl not jump, springtails ive had were tiny white jumpy little guys, they are common the world over.
 
I have never used predatory mites. SO O.K. let's say it works and they munch on the spider mites. How do you get rid of the pedatory mites at harvest time. I sure wouldn't want to smoke them. Do they just leave during cure?
 
as far as i know when the predators have eaten all the mites they leave your area to find new cunts to munch on lol
 
If I just pull the top layer of castings away there are little soil mites; no idea what the difference between them and a springtail is but these guys are jumpy. I'll take video next time I pull castings from my worm factory.
I keep recycling my soil but do not notice them after a harvest so they must die off..I mean where would they go if they just leave to look for new cunts to munch on! Lol dead bugs are consumed by fungus in your soil which btw also eat dead worms yum- good nutrition for your plants. Don't worry your weed shouldn't taste like bugs or dead worms unless of course you smoke the roots.
 
Richard Drysift said:
If I just pull the top layer of castings away there are little soil mites; no idea what the difference between them and a springtail is but these guys are jumpy. I'll take video next time I pull castings from my worm factory.
I keep recycling my soil but do not notice them after a harvest so they must die off..I mean where would they go if they just leave to look for new cunts to munch on! Lol dead bugs are consumed by fungus in your soil which btw also eat dead worms yum- good nutrition for your plants. Don't worry your weed shouldn't taste like bugs or dead worms unless of course you smoke the roots.
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The difference between a springtail and a mite is vast but ultimatly its main difference to a mite is that it has a appendage under its body that when released allows it to jump into the air, a mite has no jumping capabilities and hence how you can tell them apart in soil.

A sprintail will eat your soil not the roots and why it lives there, its ability to jump is a defence mechanism allowing it to flee predators and hence if you disturb them they jump around like crazy.

Often you wont notice springtails till you water and they need to come to the surface for air. They are totally harmless and dont affect the plant or worms and i generalise about the soil springtail as they are very diverse and have colonized most habitats including the lakes and oceans.

Im almost willing to bet that you have springtails as no other soil bugs show the description youve given and although most might not have heard of them i assure you it is quite common on rollitup and a quick search for 'springtails rollitup' will shot you up a load of threads on them and maybe even one or two ive written on the subject over the years as i too have had them once or twice.

Im a gambling man and can deal with the shame of being wrong so im going to challenge you and say im 100% sure youve got springtails dude, prove me wrong :-)
 
No they don't look like that; not trying to prove you wrong homie . They appear in my worm castings not the soil & I've not seen any in my containers/plants. It is this guy right here:
image.jpeg
 
Maybe they don't jump as much as they move really fast lol. I know you can get those nematodes that you water & they are released into your soil directly....
 
Richard Drysift said:
No they don't look like that; not trying to prove you wrong homie . They appear in my worm castings not the soil & I've not seen any in my containers/plants. It is this guy right here:
View attachment 3686096
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He looks big and nasty and more a mite than a springtail, yer sorry when you said jumping i thought of springtails. Nice to see a pic of it, you should definatley find out what it is, looks interesting.
 
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