2,000 Live Adult Predatory Mites - A Mix of Predatory Mite Speciesl - Ships Next Business Day!l

6'ft x 7'ft indoor grow. 7 medium to small plants. Temperature 65 to 75°F, RH 50 to 70%. Drip system using organics with synthetic inputs as needed.Purchased 2,000, then purchased a second 2,000 one week later. Each shipment arrived next morning and appeared to have lots of life. Under a microscope I could also see eggs. I'm not an entomologist and have no idea what species of eggs were in the vials. I can't even tell the difference between the predatory mites, the pictures of the different species all look the same to me.My first experience with bio control was almost a year ago. This was pure chance. I had a bad case of fungus gnats. The swarm kept getting larger and none of the bottled products seemed to do anything. After one day, my sticky yellow cards would almost be entirely covered. I did apply some mosquito dunks (BT) at the beginning of my battle. One night I noticed a mite in my growing media. No idea what species, but the body was a teardrop shape. Somehow, this predator found its way into my grow room. A week later I saw more of these mites and I could find them in all my pots. As this mite population grew, the swarm of fungus gnats shrank. It took time, maybe a month or two, now I only see an occasional gnat flying around and I can live with that! Bio control, in this case, worked. It was not immediate, it took patience. To this day, I still find these mites in my media. They never crawl up the plant, they only stay in the pots. Cannot rule out BT, it may have played a role.Now for the spider mite battle...I have tried everything over the past year to get these things in check. Even cleared out my room, no plants, bombed, sprayed, all the nasty stuff. Only to have them come back. I don't like the nasty stuff and have been spraying insecticidal soaps atleast once a week, more when needed. I thought this special blend of predatory mites would be the answer, since my fungus gnat experience went well. A week before I ordered these, I sprayed every other day. The last 2 sprays were straight water, I didn't want to take any chances with residues. I know the S mites have resistance, but wasn't sure what kind of resistance these predators have. My S mite problem has blown up into serious infestation since applying the predators. I continue to knock them down with water, waiting for these predators to get established. With S mites, time is something you don't have. They get out of control quickly. Each day I inspect the leaves and have only seen 2 of the red predators moving slowly. They were nice and plump, maybe pregnant? I hope! I know this will work, it will just take time. I will keep stalling the S mites as best as I can...My yard is filled with pests and very few predators. Thrips, mites, etc all around. I live in a rural farming community, so this may explain why. It's no wonder why I have this problem in my indoor garden. I think it might be helpful to get these outdoor pests in check.Bio control takes patience. I don't think it will ever completely rid your garden of pests. Life is resilient. But, it can keep the pests in check. My plants can deal with an occasional pest.

I ordered this product in August of 2015 with the intention of eliminating (or at least managing) an ongoing infestation of two spotted spider mites in an indoor garden. I live in an area where the mites have developed a resistance to common insecticides, and frankly I hate spraying (both in terms of labor as well as exposure of myself and others to chemicals). In theory, predatory mites seem to be a wonderful solution. However, as with so many things in life, the devil's in the details.I wish I had done the research I've done SINCE ordering this product before I had ordered it. I'm writing this review in an effort to save others the hassle of doing so. Specifically, the article "Population dynamics of interacting predatory mites, Phytoseiulus persimilis and Neoseiulus californicus, held on detached bean leaves." (NIH research paper - Google it) swayed me in favor of not introducing these predators into my garden at all. Never mind the fact that the order arrived late and with an estimated half of the population dead from lack of cold during transit (problem #1), but Californicus is a GENERALIST predator and will not just eat the spider mites - it eats the other predators! Thus, while it sounds good to "triple whammy" your garden with this blend of predators, the fact of the matter is, you're prolonging your infestation by introducing a predator who eats 2/3 of your solution! Yes, Calif. will eat spider mites along the way, but why would you put something in your garden that's going to reduce the effectiveness of your solution to the problem, then linger around and eat subsequent booster shots of any non-Californicus species you choose to apply later? You're really shooting yourself in the foot here.There were other problems with the shipment, but per the tips and guidelines, I'll address those in the feedback section rather than in the product review. However, per the guidelines which state "Do compare to similar products or services and share how long you've used this product", I'll state that after lengthy research and talking with those using predators exclusively for spider mite control, I went with natural enemies bio control in Oregon as my solution. Pricier, yes, but these guys have been at it for close to a decade and they know their stuff. I receive ZERO compensation from them, just one of a number of satisfied customers. I am confident in the results I'm already seeing in my garden.I encourage anyone reading this review to do a lot of research into the temperatures, humidities and tolerances of the predators you want to use, and also talk with other people who use predator mites to accomplish and maintain control and get their opinion on suppliers. I won't use this product or any similar "blend" product, personally - now that I understand what's really happening, such products don't make sense.Bottom line? Yes, predatory mites are the right answer, but drill down further and find the RIGHT blend of predators that work WITH each other rather than killing each other off - and buy them from someone who packs the product properly. Quick fixes often aren't - and this product is a prime example of that.

I'm one of the crazy plant people who not only has dozens of indoor potted plants, but added several aerogarden systems this past year. I absolutely love the hydroponic concept and use it for both seed starting and indoor food gardening. It's all fun and games until you get spider mites (which left unnoticed quickly advance to an aphid infestation fyi).I had to trash one complete gardening set up the first round of spider mites. My heart was broken, my aerogarden sat empty for months for me to work the courage back up to start again. I started back slowly with one unit at a time. I checked frequently for webs and mites as I proceeded with planting each week until I once again reached full capacity.And then they returned.I rotated between plant rinses, neem oil, miteX, and insecticidal soap. The only thing those seemed to be damaging were the plants.Which is what led me here. Ah, what a terrifying idea to fight bugs with MORE bugs INSIDE your home.10/21/23 I released them last night per instructions on several plants throughout the units. After emptying the tube, I noticed multiple red mites quickly crawling around on the cap. This was great verification that these things are alive and well.I checked on them this morning to see them making their moves on the plants I dumped them on. So I can report that they arrived alive and well.I'll be happy to report back in a few weeks on if they were able to tackle my spidermite problem.