Do you see yellow dots on the leaves of your plants or perhaps dull spots? Then look closely at the underside of the leaves. Very likely you will see tiny spider mites crawling there. These are only 0.5 mm in size and usually beige in colour with two dark spots on the side of the body. Are you suffering from spider mites? Then you definitely need to take action because in time the leaves will yellow completely, webs will form between the leaves and the plant will die.

The most common spider mite is greenhouse spider mite. To get rid of greenhouse spider mites, there are several predatory mites. Phyto-mite feeds exclusively on greenhouse spider mites.

Phyto-mite: predatory mites against spider mites
Phyto-mite contains predatory mites of the type Phytoseiulus Persimilis. This spider mite is about the same size as a greenhouse spider mite. It is red in colour and crawls much faster than spider mites.

Phyto-mite is the best predatory mite to contain a larger spider mite infestation because it exclusively eats spider mites. To give you an idea: every day an adult Phyto-mite eats about 20 eggs or about 5 adult spider mites. So the predatory mites actively search for their prey and suck it dry. You can see this by the empty insect skins left on the underside of the leaves.

When to use Phyto-mite spider mite predators?
Use Phyto-mite at the onset of spider mite infestation, not preventively.
For use indoors or in the greenhouse.
Can control greenhouse spider mites on houseplants.
Can control greenhouse spider mites on vegetables such as aubergines, cucumbers, peppers, beans and melon. In summer, better choose Forni-mite except on tomatoes. Spider mites in tomatoes should always be controlled with Phyto-mite.
Can control greenhouse spider mites on strawberries, grapes and fruit trees in a greenhouse, think of nectarines, peaches, apricots and kiwis. In summer, it is better to opt for Forni-mite.
The ideal temperature for Phyto-mite is between 22°C and 28°C. Above 30°C, Phytoseiulus predatory mites work much worse. At high temperatures, choose Forni-mite.
At night, the minimum temperature should remain 6°C.
The higher the humidity, the better for this predatory mite. If you don't have a humidifier, regularly mist the houseplants with a plant mister. In a greenhouse, you can spray the soil wet every morning to keep the humidity up.
How to use Phyto-mite predatory mites?
Phyto-mite comes in a scatter tube. Use the predatory mites as follows:

Scatter the predatory mites in the spider mite hot spots and two metres in front of and behind the hot spots.
Sprinkle them directly on the leaves or work with bio-boxes or coffee filter bags that you hang on the plants.
Hang the bio-boxes well spread out and afterwards distribute the predatory mites among the bio-boxes.
Repeat after two weeks if necessary.
Combine with another predatory mite?
Phyto-mite can be combined well with Forni-mite, they can be released together.

Phyto-mite feeds exclusively on greenhouse spider mites, which is an advantage in case there is a lot of spider mites. Besides greenhouse spider mites, Forni-mite also eats other spider mites (fruit spider mite, strawberry mite, citrus mite, etc.), pollen and plant juices. As a result, Forni-mite can survive longer on the plants than Phyto-mite.

Forni-mite is less sensitive to hot and dry environments. They can withstand varying temperatures and low humidity better than Phyto-mite.

Conclusion: On houseplants and tomatoes, use Phyto-mite in combination with Soni-mite and on all other Southern vegetables and on ornamental plants, use Forni-mite in combination with Soni-mite .

How many predatory mites do I need?
This depends mainly 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 smaller the infestation, the fewer predatory mites you 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 houseplants 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

Do predatory mites breed on their own?
Humidity plays an important role in the reproduction of predatory mites. The eggs of Phytoseiulus need 80% humidity to hatch. At lower humidity levels, they dry out and therefore do not reproduce.

Basically, you shouldn't count on offspring in spider mite control. The aim is to solve your problem with the purchased generation. That is why it is essential to introduce enough predatory mites.

Can I store predatory mites?
Predatory mites are living insects that are contained in a tube together with carrier dust. It is best to release the predatory mites the day you receive them. You can store them until evening in the packaging provided. We supply daily fresh product that is shipped daily. This way we can always guarantee optimal quality.

If you do need to store the predatory mites, put them in the fridge at 6° and 8°C for a maximum of 1 to 2 days.

Note: most refrigerators cool much colder! Always store the tubes horizontally.

Spraying in combination with predatory mites?
Chemical or natural spider mite control products should not be sprayed in combination with predatory mites. If you have sprayed beforehand, contact us. We can check whether the spray is harmful for the predatory mites and how long you have to wait to release them.