Spider mites are common on houseplants, balcony and terrace plants, all kinds of fruits and also on ornamental plants and ornamental shrubs. If you look closely, you will see tiny spider mites crawling on the underside of the leaves. As they suck out plant cells, yellow dots or spots appear at the top. In some houseplants, the edges of the leaves turn yellow. If the infestation is severe, webs form between the leaves.

If you do nothing against spider mites, the plants will eventually die. Do you notice spider mites on your plants? You can control spider mites biologically with predatory mites.

Forni-mite: Predatory mites against spider mites
Forni-mite contains predatory mites of the Neoseiulus Californicus type. These predatory mites suck out the spider mites. This can be seen by the empty insect skins left on the underside of the leaves. They eat adult spider mites, eggs as well as nymphs.

The most common spider mite is greenhouse spider mite. However, forni-mite also eats other spider mites such as fruit spider mite, strawberry mite, citrus mite and begonia mite. Moreover, they can survive in small numbers on pollen and plant juices.

When to use Forni-mite spider mites?
Both preventively and curatively a good option. For infestations, use Forni-mite in tubes and preventively Soni-mite breeding bags containing the same predatory mites.
For use indoors, in greenhouses or outdoors during the summer months.
Can control spider mites on houseplants.
Can control spider mites on vegetables such as aubergines, cucumbers, peppers, beans and melon.
Can be used on strawberries, grapes and fruit trees.
Works at high temperatures and low humidity.
Advantages of Forni-mite predatory mites
Can be used both indoors and outdoors (in the summer months)
Can withstand low humidity and varying temperatures (day-night)
Can be used on many types of plants
Combats different spider mite species
Available in small and large quantities
How to use Forni-mite predatory mites?
Predatory mites actively seek out spider mites. However, they have a small action radius, so you should take into account the following elements when introducing them:

Deploy in the spider mite hot spots and a few metres in front of and behind the hot spot.
Sprinkle the filler with predatory mites directly on the leaves if the leaves are large enough. Filler with predatory mites should not land on the ground.
If you have plants with small leaves, use bio boxes or coffee filter bags.
First hang the bio-boxes or coffee filter bags well distributed in the plants and then distribute the predatory mites over the bio-boxes.
If necessary, repeat the treatment after two weeks. The quickest results are obtained when predatory mites are used at the beginning of an infestation.
Combine with another predatory mite?
Forni-mite can be well combined with Phyto-mite. These two predatory mites work well together. They have different qualities, so they strengthen each other as a duo.

How many predatory mites do I need?
This mainly depends on your infestation. You have to make sure the army of attackers is big enough to fight the spider mites. Releases can range from 50 to 250 predatory mites per m2. The sooner you take action, the fewer predatory mites you will need.

Spider mites on houseplants
If you have a few small, lightly infested houseplants, a tube of 500 predatory mites is usually sufficient. If you have a few large plants that are heavily infested, you will easily need 2000 predatory mites or sometimes even more.

Spider mites on vegetables
Below is an indication of what to introduce, based on plants up to 60 cm high. Think of peppers, aubergines, strawberries, etc. With a crop of 180 cm (e.g. cucumber or melons) triple all quantities of predatory mites!

Light spider mite infestation shows little leaf damage and no webs: 30-50 predatory mites/m².
Moderate spider mite damage shows several leaves with yellow dots or spots: 50-100 predatory mites/m².
Heavy spider mite infestation shows webbing and many yellow leaves: Cut the worst affected leaves from your crop and release up to 250 predatory mites/m².
Spider mites in fruit trees or grapes
The amount in grapes is similar to that described above. You count the number of m2 of leaf area and multiply this by the number of predatory mites in proportion to the infestation.

Also for fruit trees such as peaches, kiwi, etc., estimate the number of m2 of leaf area and multiply by the number of predatory mites in proportion to the infestation.

Tip: You should see a clear improvement after two weeks. If not, use predatory mites again.

Can I store predatory mites?
When the predatory mites arrive, it is best to release them as soon as possible. If this is not possible, you can keep them in the fridge at 8°C for one to two days. Be careful, usually the fridge cools down much colder!

Spraying in combination with predatory mites?
Spraying chemical or natural products (e.g. Neem oil) in combination with predatory mites is not a good idea. If you have already sprayed and still want to introduce predatory mites, contact us first. We can check whether the spray is harmful for the predatory mites and how long you have to wait to introduce them.