UPDATE VIDEO OUT NOW: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-syXq5D-dhbI.html Update March 2024: I've experimented adding instant yeast to the cultures for the feeder mites to eat based on some comments and they seem to love it! I plan on doing an updated video on my method soon. Update 8 months later: Mites are still doing well eating pine pollen! Instead of taking the cotton pads out and putting them in the paper hangers I've just been moving the petri dishes around to the plants that need them. I use an elastic to help keep the lid on. Update 5 months later: I'm glad this video is getting more visibility! Yes, my cultures are still alive. I ran out of ladybug food so I started using pine pollen from Amazon, which seems to work just as well. Many people have asked if bee pollen would work and I don't see why it wouldn't. Update 2 months later: Plastic squares/circles seem to work just as well as the wax squares. I've also switched to using just 1 cotton pad in the bottom of my petri dishes, which fits better and works just as well. In case I didn't make this super clear in the video, it can take several weeks for the cultures to develop! Be patient and don't worry if not much seems to be happening at first! You'll usually see movement before you actually see mites. Another note - if you're going to be stacking them, I highly recommend putting ventilation in the sides of the containers. I do so by using an old fork heated up to melt some holes 🙃
I just ordered 3 types of preditor mites and followed your instructions on the video. Started 1/9/24. I wil update on how it goes. I have a total of 10 petri dishes and I am using pine pollen as food. Temperature here in California in the house is 70 degrees though. Cold winter this year.
It's incredible that you're the only person on RU-vid talking about this so far. Everybody else is like, "they're amazing, buy more every 2-6 weeks! It can get expensive~!" Literally right as the question of breeding them had popped into my head, your video showed up on the end-screen recommendations for another video. Your video led me to the University's research paper, and I am now breeding my own. The supplies were only about $20. Liked, subscribed, and commented. All hail the Algorithm.
update: my petri dishes haven't worked out, most of the mites run away too fast (though neoseilius fallacis seems to stay in the dish longer than the others i got). what seems to be working the best for me so far is: two small stackable tupperware containers, a few holes in the bottom of the top one and a few holes in its lid, little bit of water in the bottom one, and then a loose stack of cotton swabs and plastic netting in the top container with the substrate and pollen sprinkled between them ('plastic netting' like what was used in the video for making the grid-lines on the waxed paper), one swab at the bottom, over the holes. just gotta make sure the bottom cotton swabs don't get too wet / that they don't touch the ones that are covering the holes i think the reason that works better for me is because it takes them so much effort to find the exit? so they actually have time to stick around and lay eggs edit: about five holes* not just one hole in the bottom/lid simultaneous edit: i unleashed about 50k mites in a small tent and my spider mite infestation practically evaporated in about a week. gonna keep this going. thanks again
@@gennasplants hi there, I have a question do the predator mites leave sweet shiny spots on the leaves. And I left the Petri dishes with the plants so they are thriving like crazy, they are all over the plants cause I had a male pollen producing plant with my girls. I am assuming that pollen is all over them as well. I am like freaking out, cause the infestation is giving me flash backs of spider mites.
update: i have the mites and they are great. i am doing a version of this project and it's working out really well. in the meantime i have just put little bits of pollen out for them on the edges of pots and ends of leaves etc to kind of lure them to the outer boundaries of the collection. *THEY LOVE THE POLLEN!* almost worried they'll ignore the spider mites but not really lol. they are having mite orgies rolling around eating and breeding in piles. i guess we'll see how it all turns out but it's pretty fascinating already for cheap pollen, get bee pollen from the health food store and cut it with corn starch to make it powdery
I love that I found this literally within days of considering predatory mites. I have a spider mite problem I’ve been battling for way too long and I’ve had enough lol.
I hope they help! For spider mites definitely make sure you rinse off the plants and get rid of as many adult mites as possible, otherwise it can be to much for the predatory mites to keep up with
Anything labeled bee pollen would be obviously be collected from bees but pine pollen or any other kind of tree pollen would be collected directly from the trees. All the stuff I've used is vegan already 🙃
Thank you soooo much. I am dealing with thrips and have had them worse in the past than I do now. Before I spent about 6 weeks spraying with moneray and switched to mammoth cannatrol and beat them. I have had some success using neem cake in the soil as well. I have ordered a tube of cucumerus and will be trying them for the first time. I hate using chemical sprays on my plants. I saw your video and ordered some supplies to make cultures. Thanks again for doing the videos, I found them at the perfect time. Happy Gardening
@@gennasplants I feel like this will be successful. I have been using the Mammoth to keep a lid on populations. I didn't expect my mites until next week so last night after finding a few Larve on a plant I resprayed with mammoth. Well...my mites are coming today. I have a 50,000-tube coming and the supplies for my cultures too! I guess I am going to make cultures to save the mites for a week or so and hopefully start my mite farm at the same time. By doing this I can introduce the containers to the plants a few at a time. I have some ideas for a design for the mite tray that will be a 3d print file. it will be sort of like the plastic piece in a pizza box with a small rim around the edge to keep things in the top. Wish me luck on my 95.00 investment! Thanks again for your assistance.
Will do on the 3d printer file. Got my bugs today. the box and tube were smashed a bit, and the ice packs were very warm. I dumped container and even with my magnifier I didn't see anything moving. I contacted seller. They say they guarantee live bugs. Hopefully something good will happen.
They are replacing my order, yay! I am using the order I have to make cultures. The tube has a lotta stuff in it. I made 18 Petry dish cultures, 2 shoe box size cultures and a full size tote culture and sprinkled all my wifes plants outside. I dont see mites, but I do see eggs. I may have more than I bargained for, but if I don't have a thrips or spider mite issue again I will show my mites lots a love.
Hi, I wanted to say I started my cultures in November by following your method. I eventually moved a bunch of the yucky cotton rounds into a much larger container to start a huge culture. I used one of the plastic rectangle spinach/salad containers you get from the grocery store. I find maintaining the bigger container much easier then multiple petri dishes. I also noticed the mites went crazy when I added worm castings to the top of my pots. I've started a second large culture with worm castings covering the bottom. I have a open petri dish for water soaked cotton and a second for pollen. So far its doing well and I'm hoping the mites deposit their eggs in the castings, then there would be no need for the cotton rounds.
Thanks for the update! Stratiolaelaps scimitus mites will definitely live and breed in worm castings since they're soil-dwelling but I'm not sure about other mites. From what I've read it sounds like they need some sort of fiber to lay their eggs on. It might be worth just checking what kind of mites are living in your cultures.
If you want to prevent mites from escaping so that you can keep the top open and prevent mold, Vaseline applied at the top may prevent them from escaping!
This is AMAZING!!! I had no idea you could do this at home! I will definitely have a go as it's pretty much impossible to buy beneficials out of season where I live, thank you!!! ❤❤
I put decaying horse manure in my garden soil and 2 days later, my soil was dominated by mites. I freaked out and sprayed them, thinking they were spidermites. They luckily survived and are now my friends. Whirligig mites
Great work Genna! Do you which type of feeder mites you have or which are often used? Do the feeder mites also eat the pollen? I live in Europe and bought some ""Neoseiulus cucumeris" but I might also have some feeder mites in the mix, since I think I can spot two different mites species (based on size and crawling speed). Your are setup is pretty interesting, also have found and read the protocol. I just wonder if the wax step is really necessary or if it could be replaced by a simple plastic card.
Ok found some more info for the ones who also like to know the names of prey/feeder mites... www-pub.iaea.org/mtcd/meetings/PDFplus/2010/38586/Presentations/AMRQC12_0041.pdf
@dichlor.methan That's a great source. I was just looking up feeder mites yesterday to respond to a similar comment. You're right, the wax paper isn't necessary. If you read my pinned comment you'll see I've switched to using plastic instead. I plan on doing an update video soon!
OK, so I just watched this. WOW. I'm fascinated by this. I will be doing more research on this, thanks so much for sharing. Question, what level of home humidity do you need? Right now ours is sitting at 41%.
Minimum for most mites is like 60%. Most beneficial insect distributers have fact sheets where you can look up the humidity preference for your specific mite. If you can, putting plants in bags or containers helps increase the humidity if your room humidity is low.
Wow you're a visionary! I don't have the energy to do this project anytime soon but saving it for the future, it's amazing! Thank you so much for your service 🫡
Hi Genna, thank you so so much for your detailed tutorial, it really helps a lot! Just a quick question, I wonder if it is possible to have both N.californicus and A.swirskii in one container? Or they have to be separated?
From the Koppert website: "Inside each sachet is a breeding system consisting of; bran, a select type of bran yeast, one or more types of bran mites and the predator mite. In this system the yeast grows on the bran acting as a food source for the bran mites which in turn acts as a food source for the predator mite." So they're some type of bran mite, just not sure exactly which one. Tyrophagus putrescentiae is one type that is used. Adding yeast is a good suggestion. I'm definitely going to try that and see if it makes a difference. Although I've kept my cultures for many months with just pollen and still notice 2 distinct types of mites, one that is slower moving and has dark head and legs and then the faster-moving predatory mites that I find on my plants. Somehow the feeder mites are staying alive, perhaps they're feeding on fungi?
This was incredible! You did a great job researching and also explaining this. If I use a systematic on my plants, how long do you think I should wait before trying predatory mites?
Thank you so much! According to this link at least 2 weeks www.naturesgoodguys.com/blogs/a-bugs-blog-natures-good-guys-to-the-rescue/what-chemicals-are-harmless-to-predatory-mites
Good question! It varies but I would say 2 weeks. They may not last as long if there is no food (pests) for them to eat or if the humidity is low. I've started adding additional pollen to the sachets when I hang them to try and keep the mites breeding in there a bit longer.
@@littleheaven70 Hi Littlehaven70. I just have soil with some mushroom spores and springtails and compost mites. The H.miles feed on the fungi mycillium, compost mites and springtails. They do not like it too warm, so keep them under 20oC. They have a natural die-back and resurrection type thing going where the H.miles numbers drop in summer (likely to warm) and come back in the Autumn till the following spring. I top up with springtails or compost mites every couple of months. I hope this helps.
@@degu44 Awesome, thank you for the information! I seem to have a very active colony living in my jewel orchids, which are planted in tree fern, so I might try setting up in a bin of that. It seems to come pre-infused with springtails.
This is awsome. I wish I daw this video earlier.. my mom has been battling with thrips and now my aunt is fighting them off too.. tia the season, maybe.. 😮 My question to you is do they necessarily need that humidity? My mom has no lights and no humidifier. She uses her window sills only.. And winter get a bit more colder in Ontario as you know. Any suggestions? Also how can you tell if your breed multiplied? Thank you so much for sharing this video and I just subscribed to your channel to see some more great videos. 😃🐞
The humidity the most important for them to breed and develop into adults. The adults can survive without high humidity for a while. They just won't stick around as long. I've started keeping my cultures right on or near my plants so they can breed in high humidity while letting some adults escape onto the plants. If you really want to confirm you have mites breeding you can get a digital microscope. But I can usually just tell by seeing movement within the pollen.
I'm having difficulties finding a good way to deploy the cotton pads. Any recommendations? I do move the trays around which is good for the plants in my cabinet, but I have other plants that I want to spread the tiny heaven sent critters onto.
What I've been doing lately is putting my plants with pests in large clear bags and just throwing the cotton pads in the bags. Keeps the plants quarantined and the humidity high for the beneficials.
I know this is for breeding mites lol but this helped me so much for my springtails. I have a springtail colony getting destroyed by mites and I’m trying to figure out how to separate the two. I’m going to try to attract the mites with pollen and see how that goes 🥲
Hey this video is amazing I love the way you've presented it but one thing though..aren't Springtails bad for plants though? Wouldn't it be an issue having them breeding in your grow environment?
@@gennasplants ok I'ma try your technique then so just to confirm, the sachets they sell with the predator mites already, you just sprinkle them on the plastic squares then add pollen? Under that is the wet cotton and above the pollen is the dry cotton? Thanks!!
Awesome video, thank you! I’ve had issues with New Zealand’s only mite supplier and am keen to start my own breeding programme. Would the pollen/nectar powder that pet shops sell to feed rainbow lorikeets be suitable as food? Also have you tried breeding stratiolaelaps soil mites? I’d like to try those as well.
I image the lorikeet food would work! For the soil mites yes they're pretty easy to keep around. They seem to basically live anywhere springtails will live, so I use a shallow bin with moist soil with organic material. There are probably methods that are more efficient but I don't need a ton of them.
@@gennasplants Wonderful, thank you! I've found that the stratiolaelaps in my jewel orchids seem to do really well, and those are planted in tree fern fibre, so I will try setting up a bin with some of that. It seems to be the source of my ever-present springtails so hopefully it'll work!
Hello 👋 thank you so much for making this video! I had an ivy with thrips so im treating all of my other plants. I also got a new plant that turned out to already have adult thrips. I'm outta luck. I already bought swirskii sachets, loose cucumeris and loose mighty mights (Macrocheles robustulus). I'll have to purchase again and try to breed them. I also saw that you need another type of bug called Orius laevigatus that eats adult thrips. Would you know if i could breed Orius? I know macrocheles are soil mites that stay in soil for up to 6 months and they're affordable so those I can keep buying.
You're welcome! Thrips are the worst. 😑 The orius lay their eggs in plant tissue so the method in this video won't work for them. There is a method described for them here: www.researchgate.net/publication/259420994_A_rearing_method_for_the_production_of_large_numbers_of_the_insidious_flower_bug_Orius_insidiosus_Say_Hemiptera_Anthocoridae
@gennasplants thanks for a quick reply! This sounds more complicated, they need some kind of eggs to feed on, probably hard to source. Might be why they are much more expensive than other predatory mites. Can you recommend anything else for adult thrips?
There aren't any mites that eat the adult thrips. I purchase lacewing larvae and orius when I'm dealing with a thrips infestation. They are more expensive but worth it imo.
Regarding pollen, only product I can find is "bees' pollen" or "flower pollen", meant for human consumption and in form of granules. Do you think I can grind them up and it will work?
i'm about to break down and order mites and yeah they are pretty expensive so i'm thinkin there's gotta be a way to just... keep them? and here we are lol
Hello I wanted to ask if I can use this to breed Androlis predator mites? And I don’t think pollen will work as a feed so what feeder mites do you suggest for them? I was thinking of feeding them small insects
Hi, thank you so much for making this video. I really want to do this as I want to grow my plant collection but i haven't because of the fear of pests. I have a few questions. If I was to breed a colony like yours, could I put the dishes into a terrarium jar to stop the mites escaping? Could I also put moss in the jar so that if the mites get out, I could just put the moss onto the plants that I want them to feed on? Could I just get the predatory mites and continue to feed them pollen in the soil of my plants when I do not have pests? Thsnks in advance
Hi! Yes a terrarium should work to keep them in. I'm not sure about the moss, you'd have to try it and see. The predatory mites I use live on the foliage, not in the soil. Feeding them pollen outside the cultures may help them live longer, but they may not breed. To breed they need high humidity and some sort of fibers or filaments to lay their eggs on (that's what the cotton is for)
The main purpose of the cultures though is not just to keep them alive, it's to give them the right conditions to breed by providing fibres to lay their eggs in (the cotton) and high humidity, which your plants may or may not have
I followed your set up for this and was very excited to try it. But i have been having a lot of mold problems in my petri dishes. I think i need to restart all my cultures because of this. I will need to wait for another mite shipment to start them again. The survival rate of the mites is quite low. The top cotton pad is still getting wet from the humidity getting so high.
Yeah if the top cotton pad gets wet in mine the same thing happens. What helped for me was going down to only 1 cotton pad in the bottom so the top pad isn't touching the top and putting more holes in for ventilation.
@@gennasplants have you tried doing a larger culture box? I am going to try that next. Usually the bigger the space the margin for error or something bad happening is less. I am going to add more air flow, definitely too humid lol
@FinalFlameXD I experimented with a larger container in the beginning but I found the petri dishes made the most sense for me space-wise. Also if something went wrong in one then I didn't lose all my mites at once! But if you find a larger container works better, go for it!
Hi, thanks a lot for the guide! I tried setting up my own last week but unfortunetaly, mold started growing in the petri dish very fast, its that white hair like one with little black dots at the end, I thought it might not be too much of a problem at the begining but it has now taken over and I dont know what to do about it, any tips?
There are a lot of reasons mold could be taking over but a few things you can try are melting more holes for ventilation in the petri dishes, using less pollen, and making sure the top cotton rounds are staying completely dry. If they're touching the wet cotton at all or if condensation is building up the mites won't be able to live there and you'll just get mold.
I am getting started on this. I even used your Amazon links ;) do you have any updates on your method? Have you changed anything at all? Do you provide extra heat in winter? (Also Canadian)
I've put some updates in a pinned comment but other than that I haven't changed too much! I have started adding some additional pollen to the sachets when I hang them up to try and make them last a bit longer
I tried using this method to breed persimilis mites but I was unsuccessful! Not sure if it’s the method, or the mistakes I made in the process. I’m trying again using Swarovski sachets! My cotton round at the bottom released water onto the bottom of the dish, and my wax paper square was slightly smaller than the cotton round. I think a lot of them drowned. Mold appeared after 2 days. Would love to breed Swarovski mites! Wondering if you had any insight on this!
I've never tried with persimilis mites but apparently they don't eat pollen and are quite voracious so they probably need a different setup. As long as the cotton round that's on top stays dry, you should be okay. That has happened to me where the paper was too small and the water from the bottom cotton round bled into the top cotton round and led to the culture dying.
Phytoseiulus persimilis only eats spider mites. You would need to find and breed a feeder spider mite they are moderatly happy eatting. Maybe the grain mites would work. 🤷♂️ IDK. "Evergreen Growers Supply" Website and "Mathew Gates; Zenthanol IPM Consulting" RU-vid channel offer quite deep resources on target pests and predators.
Ohhh what a nice and quick answere ❤ thank you! Do i ned one cotton per plant or will they spread over multiple plants if i keep them together? And i heard some outdoor plants could help too like lavender, catnip and citronella to keep the preditors out. Did you try something like that?
@gjannabananahammock1263 They will spread as long as the plants are touching and the humidity is high enough. I've never tried using lavender etc but there is research out there about using essential oils for pest control.
ah. I guess it wouldn't be The Internet if we didn't laugh at how people pronounced words. Fun fact, "fault" in English used to be pronounced without the "l". It comes from French and used to be spelled "faut(e)." In the 15th century they added a silent "l" to reflect the Latin origin/spelling. Only in the 18th century did people start mispronouncing the word as "fault" instead of "faut" because that's how it was spelled.
I’m from BC originally and live in the states now. I love hearing the Canadian pronunciations. Sachets is an interesting one bc usually Canadians say things more French-ish (i.e., foy-YAY vs. FOY-er), so you’d think it would be the Canadians saying sah-SHAY but nope. Sadly, most of my Cdn pronunciations have disappeared from my vocab but I refuse to give up the correct way of saying PAH-sta (not PAW-stuh). 😂 Great info and exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!
