Spider Mites and Biological Predators

December 19, 2009

The most upsetting thing in gardening is to find your garden the victim of spider mites. They suck the very essence of survival the moisture that they hold in the leaves and fruits. But there is a natural solution to the problem. They are called predators or Persimilis Predatory Mite. Once released in your garden (best when either the sun goes down or the lights go off for indoor) they march off in search of food and good laying sites. It can take up to two weeks for them to gain control but you should notice a decline within a day or so. Once they have eaten all your pests they keep going until all the food is gone then they die leaving no trace that they were ever there. The perfect house guest if there ever was such a creature. The cost is a little more than spraying but the benefits far outweigh the cost. No pesticides means organic crops that will always taste better and sell for more at the end of the line. The trick to using them effectively is read the date they were shipped and allow three days all up of staying in the package at as cool as you can get them. This allows the predators to feed on the mites in the package and get really hungry. So when you release them they go marching off in search of food. This is the best method I have found using the predators.

Happy Gardening

Pepelapue

Photograph reproduced with permission by Bugs for Bugs http://www.bugsforbugs.com.au/index.php photos by Dennis Crawford

Written by jason · Filed Under Pest Control