THE BUG LADY
Fungus Gnat & Thrips Control
Fungus Gnat Control:
Stratiolaelaps (Hypoaspis) should be used only once, on new areas as an inoculation as they will stay in the soil for the life of the crop. They are primarily purchased as fungus gnat egg and larvae predators, but they also help with thrips control by going after immature thrips pupae that live in the soil. This generalist mite will also go after diapausing pest mites when they leave the crop, and are a great treatment for immature stages of weevils that also live in the soil.
The nematode Steinernema feltiae (sold as Entonem) should be used every 2 weeks up to 3 times to help break the life cycle of an established fungus gnat infestation. The nematodes are not very persistent so that is why follow up treatments are needed. It can take up to 6 to 8 weeks for the adult population to crash, once 2 or 3 generations of larvae have been removed by the nematodes.
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However, if the room is not tight, and fungus gnats keep getting in, re-infestation will take place and they will continue to cycle. And this also happens if there are areas of soil that are not treated, like walkways and under benches, for example. They are hard to eradicate, but perhaps a reasonable goal is to focus on the larvae, as they cause the direct feeding damage to seedlings and young plant roots. And in that case, you may have to decide to make it a regular practice to keep using the Nemasys. Or you can decide, once plants are hardy and there is not much fear of disease through root feeding, to live with the adults and ignore them if they are just a nuisance and not truly causing damage.
Atheta (Dalotia), otherwise known as Rove Beetle, is another product you can consider to introduce against fungus gnats. Rove Beetles do best in very wet environments, as they mainly feed on shore flies and fungus gnats present in moist areas. They have a longer life cycle and take longer to establish, so should be introduced alongside Hypoaspis for the best results and effectiveness. One application of Atheta per crop cycle is sufficient if introduced early in the season, and can be applied to the soil in the center of your greenhouse/growing area.
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Thrips Control:
This is our strategy for dealing with thrips. Each life stage has to be approached differently:
Adults can be trapped on yellow sticky cards and tape, or in shallow basins of water spiked with a few drops of soap and an aromatic scent (vanilla, peppermint, or almond work well) will attract and drown many. Use a shallow pan, filled with water and 1-2% of the scents, plus a couple of drops of soap to break the surface tension of the water and drown the pests.
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Or, you could do something similar by dabbing cotton balls with the scents and sticking the cotton ball to the middle of the sticky card. This should attract the adult thrips, so that more will end up stuck to the cards. It's also helpful to vary the height of the cards as you place them throughout your growing area. Hang some near the top of the plants, and others nearer to the pots.
Cucumeris is an older biological control, but still one of the best. On a cost basis, there is no other thrips predator that even comes close. You can apply cucumeris on foliage to eat young larvae that are on the leaves.
You can apply Hypoaspis (Stratiolaelaps) to the soil to help by consuming thrips pupae (and fungus gnat eggs and larvae) in the soil. Stratiolaelaps is a generalist soil predatory mite that is also capable of controlling fungus gnats, springtails, root weevils, etc.
You can use the nematode Steinernema feltiae, called Nemasys, as either a foliar spray to help kill thrips adults, or as a soil drench to help with thrips pupae. Nemasys is also very good on fungus gnat larvae control.
The cucumeris and Hypoaspis each cover about 1000 square feet and come in a 1L tube, $45.00 each for either the cucumeris or for the Hypoaspis. The Nemasys comes in a pack that covers about 1000 - 1500 square feet. (one pack costs $75.00) Nemasys come in packs that can be stored in the fridge for usually about 2 months, so you can buy more than 1 pack at a time for a repeated application. Yellow sticky cards start at $15.00 for a small pack.
If your crop is young, we would recommend using all aforementioned biological controls. If the crop is near harvest, then concentrate on the cucumeris and Nemasys as a foliar spray, plus the use of cards to trap adults.
No one product is better than another, as each concentrates on a different life stage of the pest.
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Anystis are a large, fast, red mite that are quickly becoming a popular bio-control agent everywhere from indoor house plants to agriculture, floriculture and retailers. It is already being used for both generalist preventative applications against pests as diverse as whitefly, red mites, and psyllids and to wipe out (or prevent) known pests like thrips, aphids and spider mites.
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These "Crazee Mites" require such large numbers of prey that they are quick to spread out and may cannibalize if there is a lack of food. All mobile stages of Anystis are predatory. The adults will immediately begin laying eggs and are capable of eating hundreds of prey daily. Eggs are laid in leaf-litter or loose, consistently humid growing media, making cycling possible in most crops. Some others may require regular reapplications.
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Thrips control is best achieved with an introductory rate of Crazee Mites (0.25 mites per square foot) and reapplied as needed, with regular releases of cucumeris every 4-5 weeks or as needed.
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Application rates are variable. 1 mite per square foot may be appropriate for both preventative and knockdown depending on environment, plants and prey. Generally, as a starting point, it is recommended that 0.25 mites be applied per square foot for prevention. However, contact us directly to discuss more individually-catered rates of application for the area you are treating.
Click here to go to Applied Bio-nomics thrips technical manual
Thrips info on page 44. Fungus Gnat ingo page 52.
No-Thrips (Neoseiulus cucumeris):
​10,000 Mites (22690): $25.00 cover up to 500 sq. feet of foliage
1L tube (50,000 mites) (22700): $45.00 suited for areas 1,000-2,000 sq. ft. Buy 3 or more: $35.00/1L
Hype-O (Stratiolaelaps scimitus / Hypoaspis miles):
​3,000 Mites (22742): $19.00 suited for areas up to 200 square feet
1L tube (25,000 mites) (22740): $45.00 for areas 1,000-2,000 square feet Buy 3 or more: $35.00/1L
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Anystis Baccarum (Hot Spot Treatment)
50 Mites (22680): $60.00
250 Mites (22685): $165.00
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Entonem (Steinernema feltiae):
​50 million (25251): $55.00 suited for areas of 550 to 1,650 square feet
Buy 3 or more: $50.00
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Rove Beetle (Dalotia (Atheta) coriaria):
100 Beetles (22712): $32.00) for areas up to 1,000 sq. ft.
1,000 Beetles in 1L tube (22713): $125.00 suited for areas 5,000 to 10,000 feet
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Yellow Sticky Cards:
Pack of 10 (10 x 25 cm) (23800): $15.00 (3 or more, $12 each)
Pack of 100 (10 x 12.5 cm) (23795): $65.00 (3 or more, $60 ea)
Combo packs:
SMALL: $52.00 (22820)
Contains: 10,000 cucumeris, 3,000 Hype-O, 10 pack Sticky Cards (Combined value of $59.00) Add 100 Rove Beetles for $25.00 more, for total of $77.00
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REGULAR: $96.00 (22822)
Contains: 1L tube cucumeris, 1L tube Hype-O, 10 pack sticky cards
(Combined value of $105.00)
Deluxe Thrips Combo (22825): add Entonem for total of $130.00, combined value of $160
Crazee Thrips Combo Pack: $120 (22823)
contains: 1L Cucumeris, 1L Hype-O, 50 Anystis . Combined value of $150.00.
*No sticky cards included*
*Add 10 yellow sticky card pack with this combo for $10.00*
