Tips for Successful release of Predatory mites in Crops

To obtain excellent results follow these steps

1.       Check chemical toxicity sheet and check what chemicals you have sprayed over the last 5 weeks, and determine if the residue has broken down. Prior use of Nitofol means that you cannot release for 28 days in outside crops, and 56 days (twice as long) for greenhouse or strawberry crops under plastic covers (cloche).

2.  Each bag or bucket of predators will contain around 100 bean or strawberry leaves. The leaves contain between 30-100 females, males, nymphs and eggs and also some two-spotted mites for the predator’s food supply while in transit and to enable good establishment. Without two-spotted mite on the leaves, the predators would have disappeared by the time of release or would have eaten themselves as there would be no food source.

3.  Most important areas to place predators

              *Start and end of all rows.

              *along eastern walls in greenhouse, as they warm up first,        

              *where previous mite hotspots have appeared before,

              *and where mites are in high numbers (hotspots).

4.  It is very useful to mark some release sites with silver spray paint, this allows easy monitoring of the predator’s activity in the first few weeks after release.

5. Be careful to wash out spray-tanks if any highly or moderately toxic chemicals have been used. If unsure check the toxicity sheet.

6.     Watch drift when spraying adjacent crops or other varieties with toxic or moderately toxic chemicals, as it may result in the death of the predator population.

7.      Try not to apply any sprays for at least 4-7 days after release.