Nematode Steinernema feltiae & Hypoaspis miles: War?

Lagged

Well-Known Member
Hey all,

Quick question just want to verify something.

I have a fungas gnat problem (did the title give it away??). My nematodes just came in today. I have some high quality EWC coming in that carries with it some Hypoaspis Miles.

My question is: Will the nematodes and hypoaspis miles eat/fight eachother? Or will they live happily ever after in a fungas gnat free soil?


Would hate to kill one or the other from not knowing.



Thanks!
 

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
Hey all,

Quick question just want to verify something.

I have a fungas gnat problem (did the title give it away??). My nematodes just came in today. I have some high quality EWC coming in that carries with it some Hypoaspis Miles.

My question is: Will the nematodes and hypoaspis miles eat/fight eachother? Or will they live happily ever after in a fungas gnat free soil?


Would hate to kill one or the other from not knowing.



Thanks!
You're all good man. They will live happily together in a fungus gnat free soil once they have time to take them all out.

predator.jpg


 

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
I dont know what hypoaspis is. But I do know a layer of perlite on top of your soil will break the breeding cycle of fungus gnats.

Generally fungus gnats are the result of over watering.
They're predatory mites, and their favorite food is fungus gnats. Also some fungus gnat larvae is actually not a bad thing in organic soil. They are decomposers. You just don't want them outta hand. Personally I haven't seen a gnat in like 2 years, since when I first started with FFOF. All I did was add EWC that had hypoaspis miles mites and they took them out.

It's too bad you missed out on the Black Friday special @Lagged and I got. Especially him because I think he saved another $5 with my link that I can't use, lol. Oh well get some EWC from somewhere anyways since you're gonna turn to the darkside.

 

BeastLebanese

Well-Known Member
You're all good man. They will live happily together in a fungus gnat free soil once they have time to take them all out.

View attachment 4770514


Gonna have them gnat larvae screamingiphy.gif
 

Week4@inCharge

Well-Known Member
They're predatory mites, and their favorite food is fungus gnats. Also some fungus gnat larvae is actually not a bad thing in organic soil. They are decomposers. You just don't want them outta hand. Personally I haven't seen a gnat in like 2 years, since when I first started with FFOF. All I did was add EWC that had hypoaspis miles mites and they took them out.

It's too bad you missed out on the Black Friday special @Lagged and I got. Especially him because I think he saved another $5 with my link that I can't use, lol. Oh well get some EWC from somewhere anyways since you're gonna turn to the darkside.


If your a prime member you'll save on the overnight shipping going with the above link. They ship strictly on Tuesdays anyways with an ice pack in there and my order seemed to be intact, hard to tell, seems like I just bought saw dust..lol, did see one tiny little critter moving around and I mean tiny. Enough in there to spread around across eight 7gallon pots. Hoping the BTI I poured in there (prior to adding the miles) won't do anything to them and I did remove half of the yellow traps in there. Feeling organic-like at the moment, dropped some red worms in the pots 5 days ago and now miles.. :) Thinking I'll dump some more miles in there (two weeks from now) for good measure.

Hypoaspis-mile-Denis-Crawford-low-res-scaled.jpg

copy n pasted from here---> https://www.biconet.com/biocontrol/infosheets/hypoaspisBulletin.html

Target Pest:
Primarily for control of fungus gnats (Bradysia spp.) and for supplemental control of western flower thrips (Frankinella occidentalis).

Description:
Hypoaspis is a native species of soil-dwelling mites which feed on small insects and mites. Adults are tan in color and less than 1 mm long. Hypoaspis are used primarily to control young larvae of fungus gnats in the soil or planting media. They also help control soil stages of thrips and may account for up to 30% of thrips control. Hypoaspis does not control shore flies of moth flies, but will feed on other soil organisms such as springtails and root mealybugs. They have been used successfully in bedding and potted plant production, seedling and cutting propagation and poinsettia stock. Hypoaspis adapts well to the various growth media and capillary mats used in plant production, but do not survive freezing of flooding conditions.

Product information:
Hypoaspis is supplied in a pasteurized peat/bran mixture in 1 liter (1 qt) containers with a shaker lid for distributing the mixture over the soil. There are 15,000 to 20,000 predators per liter or about 15 to 20 predators per cc. The mixture may also contain another species of mite as a food source for the predators. To check the product for live mites, inspect under 10-15X magnification. The predators are tan and move quicly compared to the food source mites, which are white or translucent and move slowly.
The predators should be applied as soon as received. Do not refrigerate. If necessary, containers can be held, stored on their side out of direct sunlight, at 16-21°C (60-70°F) for up to 7 days.

Release Rates:
Hypoaspis is most effective when appied before fungus gnat population becomes established or while numbers are still low (below 10/trap/week). One application of Hypoaspis per crop cycle is usually sufficient, if used early in the season.
Soil Culture: Apply 1 L/100 sq. m (100 sq. ft.) to the soil at the time of planting. Be sure to treat wet, exposed area os soil, where fungus gnats are likely to breed.
Sawdust bag or Rockwool culture: Apply 8-16 L/hectare (3-6 L/acre) to at least on eplant in every bag or rockwool slab. Vegetable transplants may be treated 1 week before planting out.
Pot Culture: Apply 1L/200 sq. m (2000 sq. ft.) of bench area. Treat the floor of the greenhouse if it provides conditions for fungus gnats to breed and occasionally treat the perimeter of the greenhouse.
It is not necessary to apply mites to every flat of bedding plants if applications are done early, at full rate, to allow them time to spread to all flats. Mites can also be applied to propagation media before striking cuttings.

Life span:
The complete life cycle takes about 18 days at 20°C (68°F). The sex ratio is equal, 1:1 females to males. Hypoaspis eggs hatch in 2 to 3 days into young numphs. Each Hypoaspis consumes 1 to 5 prey per day. It can also survive as a scavenger, feeding on algae and plant debris. Populations will naturally fluctuate throughout the growing season.

Strategic Considerations:
Do not mix predators into the growth media before potting because they do not survive. Apply Hypoaspis shortly after planting and before fungus gnat levels reach more than 20 adults/trap/week. To control high numbers of fungus gnats, use Hypoaspis can be integrated with insect parasitic nematodes (e.g., Steinernema spp.) and Bacillus thurinigiensis israelensis (BTI) (Vectobac¨), both of which control the larval stage of fungus gnats.
In general, do not apply Hypoaspis to soil that has been treated with lime or pesticides (particularly soil treated with diazinon). It is likely that foliar sprays are less harmful than soil drenches, depending upon how much pesticide reaches the soil surface. Fungicide drenches containing benzimidazoles are known to reduce reproduction of Hypoaspis. Microbial pesticides, such as Vectobac¨ (BTI) will not harm Hypoaspis.
 
Last edited:

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member

If your a prime member you'll save on the overnight shipping going with the above link. They ship strictly on Tuesdays anyways with an ice pack in there and my order seemed to be intact, hard to tell, seems like I just bought saw dust..lol, did see one tiny little critter moving around and I mean tiny. Enough in there to spread around across eight 7gallon pots. Hoping the BTI I poured in there (prior to adding the miles) won't do anything to them and I did remove half of the yellow traps in there. Feeling organic-like at the moment, dropped some red worms in the pots 5 days ago and now miles.. :) Thinking I'll dump some more miles in there (two weeks from now) for good measure.

View attachment 5061790

copy n pasted from here---> https://www.biconet.com/biocontrol/infosheets/hypoaspisBulletin.html

Target Pest:
Primarily for control of fungus gnats (Bradysia spp.) and for supplemental control of western flower thrips (Frankinella occidentalis).

Description:
Hypoaspis is a native species of soil-dwelling mites which feed on small insects and mites. Adults are tan in color and less than 1 mm long. Hypoaspis are used primarily to control young larvae of fungus gnats in the soil or planting media. They also help control soil stages of thrips and may account for up to 30% of thrips control. Hypoaspis does not control shore flies of moth flies, but will feed on other soil organisms such as springtails and root mealybugs. They have been used successfully in bedding and potted plant production, seedling and cutting propagation and poinsettia stock. Hypoaspis adapts well to the various growth media and capillary mats used in plant production, but do not survive freezing of flooding conditions.

Product information:
Hypoaspis is supplied in a pasteurized peat/bran mixture in 1 liter (1 qt) containers with a shaker lid for distributing the mixture over the soil. There are 15,000 to 20,000 predators per liter or about 15 to 20 predators per cc. The mixture may also contain another species of mite as a food source for the predators. To check the product for live mites, inspect under 10-15X magnification. The predators are tan and move quicly compared to the food source mites, which are white or translucent and move slowly.
The predators should be applied as soon as received. Do not refrigerate. If necessary, containers can be held, stored on their side out of direct sunlight, at 16-21°C (60-70°F) for up to 7 days.

Release Rates:
Hypoaspis is most effective when appied before fungus gnat population becomes established or while numbers are still low (below 10/trap/week). One application of Hypoaspis per crop cycle is usually sufficient, if used early in the season.
Soil Culture: Apply 1 L/100 sq. m (100 sq. ft.) to the soil at the time of planting. Be sure to treat wet, exposed area os soil, where fungus gnats are likely to breed.
Sawdust bag or Rockwool culture: Apply 8-16 L/hectare (3-6 L/acre) to at least on eplant in every bag or rockwool slab. Vegetable transplants may be treated 1 week before planting out.
Pot Culture: Apply 1L/200 sq. m (2000 sq. ft.) of bench area. Treat the floor of the greenhouse if it provides conditions for fungus gnats to breed and occasionally treat the perimeter of the greenhouse.
It is not necessary to apply mites to every flat of bedding plants if applications are done early, at full rate, to allow them time to spread to all flats. Mites can also be applied to propagation media before striking cuttings.

Life span:
The complete life cycle takes about 18 days at 20°C (68°F). The sex ratio is equal, 1:1 females to males. Hypoaspis eggs hatch in 2 to 3 days into young numphs. Each Hypoaspis consumes 1 to 5 prey per day. It can also survive as a scavenger, feeding on algae and plant debris. Populations will naturally fluctuate throughout the growing season.

Strategic Considerations:
Do not mix predators into the growth media before potting because they do not survive. Apply Hypoaspis shortly after planting and before fungus gnat levels reach more than 20 adults/trap/week. To control high numbers of fungus gnats, use Hypoaspis can be integrated with insect parasitic nematodes (e.g., Steinernema spp.) and Bacillus thurinigiensis israelensis (BTI) (Vectobac¨), both of which control the larval stage of fungus gnats.
In general, do not apply Hypoaspis to soil that has been treated with lime or pesticides (particularly soil treated with diazinon). It is likely that foliar sprays are less harmful than soil drenches, depending upon how much pesticide reaches the soil surface. Fungicide drenches containing benzimidazoles are known to reduce reproduction of Hypoaspis. Microbial pesticides, such as Vectobac¨ (BTI) will not harm Hypoaspis.
I'd go through these guys.

 

Week4@inCharge

Well-Known Member
They'll breed if they have food and stuff.
And just for shits and giggles.. used that link you provided just now, they get here next Tuesday or Wednesday. I'm amending the soil Monday (the home stretch of flower) so can imagine a few dying off just from that, so why not top it off with some decent miles afterwards.
 

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
And just for shits and giggles.. used that link you provided just now, they get here next Tuesday or Wednesday. I'm amending the soil Monday (the home stretch of flower) so can imagine a few dying off just from that, so why not top it off with some decent miles afterwards.
Probably next Wed. They ship on Tues if I remember right.
 

Week4@inCharge

Well-Known Member
Microbe-Lift BMC + Spinosad = No more questions.
I got bored with my last method that really worked, wanted to try out the predotory bug thing for a change, but this morning..way to many in the tent for my comfort. And come to find the predotory bugs are best before it becomes a problem, so this morning I'm back to what worked for me last time.
PXL_20220108_171739878.jpgPXL_20220108_171431875.jpgPXL_20220108_171301942.jpg
 

pizzahutlol

New Member
I got bored with my last method that really worked, wanted to try out the predotory bug thing for a change, but this morning..way to many in the tent for my comfort. And come to find the predotory bugs are best before it becomes a problem, so this morning I'm back to what worked for me last time.
View attachment 5062834View attachment 5062835View attachment 5062836

bump. soz 4 bumping old thread, but is this all you use? what's the application and how often to apply? thx <3
 

Week4@inCharge

Well-Known Member
bump. soz 4 bumping old thread, but is this all you use? what's the application and how often to apply? thx <3
capful to 32 oz water bottle. Not directly on the plants, top soil. With the predatory mites/bugs mentioned on this thread, get them in early before it gets out of control, them yellow sticky traps help as well. . another predator are ladybugs. they go after aphids and spider mites. BAS BuildABloom compost comes with predatory mites as well.
PXL_20240712_165506563.PORTRAIT.ORIGINAL~2.jpgPXL_20240715_163229980.PORTRAIT.ORIGINAL~2.jpgPXL_20220130_001322337.PORTRAIT.jpgPXL_20220130_001505805.PORTRAIT.jpg
 

pizzahutlol

New Member
capful to 32 oz water bottle. Not directly on the plants, top soil. With the predatory mites/bugs mentioned on this thread, get them in early before it gets out of control, them yellow sticky traps help as well. . another predator are ladybugs. they go after aphids and spider mites. BAS BuildABloom compost comes with predatory mites as well.
View attachment 5409285View attachment 5409286View attachment 5409287View attachment 5409288
I'm having some issues with them and did nematodes early, but seems like it's still getting out of hand. Could you please explain how do you exactly use those mosquito bits and that hemp soap? Is it similar to neem oil or do I need that one? I've been doing resesarch on mosquito bits and diatomaceous earth, can I combine those two or not really? If not, which one is better? They are still babies but soon going to bigger pots. Sorry if I sound annoying, I just want a step by step so I avoid any fuckups, thx
 
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