Preditory insect collecting. Does anyone use native insects in their IPM??

I live in the great lakes region and was wondering if anyone has used native preditors for IPM? Like rove beetles, mites of differing types, preditory flys . . .so on?
Also does anyone have suggestions on getting insects for use? I have used Buglogical, but I didn't use the microscope to see if they were in good shape.

living gardening said:

I live in the great lakes region and was wondering if anyone has used native preditors for IPM? Like rove beetles, mites of differing types, preditory flys . . .so on?
Also does anyone have suggestions on getting insects for use? I have used Buglogical, but I didn't use the microscope to see if they were in good shape.

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Get a microscope so you can check your beneficial insects. Shit like the blister packs end up with a lot more dead bugs than the vials/bottles/satchet.

I use Persimillis when there is heavy pest pressure. They only eat two spotted spider mites. So they will ravage the two spotted mite population then kill each other.

Californicus can eat a few different things but they aren't aggressive like persimillis. Persimillis will go into webbed areas in pursuit of spider mites californicus will not. Californicus is better for maintenance it can survive on more than 1 food source and can live in a Wider range of temperatures and humidity. You can release both together. But the Californicus mites will eat the eggs of the persimmillis. They won't kill the Persimillis mites though cuz the persies are larger and feisty.

If you have a heavy infestation Persimillis is the only thing that will out breed and out eat the spider mites. Most other predators are good for keeping shit under control so thenever get out of hand. I like lady bugs and Californicus mites. Lady bugs are nice because they provide a good visual marker for where the spider mites are hanging out. Lady bugs are harder to get in canada and they are seasonal.

The million dollar question is how long do they usually take to get them under control?
Also what does control look like? Gone? . . or just a lot less?

living gardening said:

The million dollar question is how long do they usually take to get them under control?
Also what does control look like? Gone? . . or just a lot less?

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About 2 weeks and even wild infestations get under control. They will seem gone. But predators are animals at the end of the day. They aren't perfect so it doesn't mean they will get every single mite or every single egg. But with multiple applications over a few months ya sure you should be able to accomplish complete eradication .

But IMHO it's easier to apply predators every couple weeks and not worry about it. All the girls just need to make 2 months in the flower room. So if you start flowering and your plants are clean. Applying predators is more like insurance that the spider mites don't surge during the cycle.


I think the only real way to be truely free of mites is to kill off every plant and bleach the entire room before next grow and start with new seeds, new soil new everything.

MidnightSun72 said:

About 2 weeks and even wild infestations get under control. They will seem gone. But predators are animals at the end of the day. They aren't perfect so it doesn't mean they will get every single mite or every single egg. But with multiple applications over a few months ya sure you should be able to accomplish complete eradication .

But IMHO it's easier to apply predators every couple weeks and not worry about it. All the girls just need to make 2 months in the flower room. So if you start flowering and your plants are clean. Applying predators is more like insurance that the spider mites don't surge during the cycle.


I think the only real way to be truely free of mites is to kill off every plant and bleach the entire room before next grow and start with new seeds, new soil new everything.

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With living soil I won't be Nuking everything. It's all about adapting and figuring out a solution. I will be bleaching the tent but the soil will be moving onto the next grow.
At least now I have an idea of the length of time it takes to get them under control. I will say, I never had an IPM regimen until three weeks ago. It is never a problem until it is . . .
Thank you for your input.

living gardening said:

I live in the great lakes region and was wondering if anyone has used native preditors for IPM? Like rove beetles, mites of differing types, preditory flys . . .so on?
Also does anyone have suggestions on getting insects for use? I have used Buglogical, but I didn't use the microscope to see if they were in good shape.

Click to expand...

Have you hear of an insectary? It's a garden designed to attract beneficial insects. Usually, the same plants attract a variety of insects. What I mean is that plants that attract lady bugs will also attract green lacewings and others. What works best is cross referernce plants that are native to your area that also attract beneficial insects. For instance, yarrow is natural in my yard, so we used plants in the yarrow family and they flourished. Cat mint worked very well too, it exploded and was loving life in our climate. I was focused on lady bugs and green lacewings, but what got us in the end was corn earworms, so next time, we are going to add predatory wasp to our list of beneficials to attract. Bugs have different mouth parts, so not all pollenating plants will work for all insects.

So does anyone know of a really quality reference book I can acquire to really learn pest and bene' insects?? I'm planting alysumm and lavender right now.
I am planting some hubbard squash plants and I really would love to know what you do for vine borer control? I have to think there is some bugs that would help to keep them dead or not at my place. I am prepared to spray JS to get them but I really don't want to spray at all.
Funny thing . . .At this point I could sell the JS and JWA for a lot more that it costs to make. I work in commercial ag and the amount of new gardeners/farmers that are wanting organic solutions and just can't find them or like most of us Afford them.

Few weeks back i saw someone in a thread talk about their ladybugs they released indoors and how well it worked. Im very sorry i dont remember who it was or what thread, but they legit got a bunch of ladybugs and let em loose on their plants indoors. That's final boss stuff right there.