1 YEAR UPDATE | Breeding predatory mites at home for pest control

[@RonBailey-sw3nl]

Checked the cotton balls and they have lots of mites in them. I think this might work very well. Genna, I think you have created a monster with bug farming.

[@alibauer73]

Thanks for the update! My predatory blend is doing amazing. I haven’t had to buy mites in about 6 months. I’m happy since the shippings is always way more expensive than the mites! I’ve been looking for empty sachets I’ve been reusing my optional ones from old order. I fill them from my Petrie dish and we are good for another month!

[@gennasplants]

That's awesome!!

[@katyamaji2887]

@@alibauer73 So you just put the cotton rounds in the sachets? Do you seal the top up at all? I'm waiting for my supplies to come.

[@montuckyhomegrown]

May i suggest a few thing to you some parafilm strips for your petri dishes and some micropore tape to tape the little air holes for fresh air on your dishes from the inside out so the mites don’t get stuck to the tape and it will let air exchange

[@katyamaji2887]

Parafin strips? Where would that go in this process? I'm a newbie to breeding these. Getting ready to start soon.

[@Vanessa-mp2ec]

Making my cultures while watching your update! I’m so excited to see how they turn out. I appreciate your videos SO MUCH. It gets too expensive buying live insects as shipping is general $30/$40 per order where I’m located. Just wanted to leave a comment & say THANK YOU!!!!

[@gennasplants]

Thank you so much for commenting! I really hope they work out for you 🫶🏻

[@beachvibeslive9758]

If you already have some around, Vermiculite seems to work well to keep humidity levels up instead of cotton rounds. This would eliminate the need for the plastic barrier.

[@gennasplants]

smart! the cotton is there for the mites to lay eggs on though so you could put vermiculite on the bottom but I feel like you'd still need the top layer?

[@kitina]

Thank you for sharing this method, Genna! This is so helpful. My local plant store sells the exact same beneficial mites and they used to sell them for C$2.75 / packet and now they sell for C$3.50 / packet 🙃

[@TreebloodYT]

2:06 Stratiolaelaps scimitus are also called 'Dutchy's' (or 'dutchies') by some bird fancier groups in Canada (Dutchy's is a brand in the Netherlands, and Canadian fancier groups often keep in touch with the Dutch groups). Scimitus is used not just in gardening or reptile enclosures, but also in bird rooms to deal with the mites that would otherwise drink the bird hatchlings to death.

[@KnittedSister]

I don't know how i ended up on this video. I was looking for tips on soil for my monstera. Then i fell down a rabbit hole. Now i'm here, and i MUST know; is that a giant crochet Gecko?? 😱 If so, that is awesome!

[@gennasplants]

Yes it is! My sister crocheted it for me :)

[@RonBailey-sw3nl]

I checked on the mite cultures. I still see a few mites. It looked like they ate most of the pollen and yeast. I think I am going to setup a small tent to keep them in so I can keep humidity up without having high humidity in my grow room. I ran out of cotton rounds, so I substituted cotton balls. If this works, the cotton balls will be easy to hang around. Thanks Again for your time.

[@gennasplants]

Yay! The cotton balls should work just as well 🤞🏻

[@JeemsJustJeems]

I found your videos on a whim, now I'm thinking about designing a 3d-printed box that can mount on tent poles or hang off a plant like the sachets do. I'm thinking a drawer for a sponge you can soak with water for humidity, then an upper chamber above the sponge, with a textured shelf for the mites to live on, and for food, and then one can just put some cotton rounds or cotton balls on top of the shelf. The top section will have a simple swing-top lid for easy access to swap out the cotton, or to add food. The sponge drawer can be changed as needed. Might add a small humidity sensor in there to know when to change the sponge. The enclosure walls can then just have tiny slits in the walls for airflow and mites to escape. And also depending on the life-cycle of the mites trying to breed, I'm guessing one could just swap out the cotton every couple of weeks and place the old cotton somewhere in the garden out of direct light to disperse. I'm thinking soak the sponge in HOCl or h202 solution to prevent it getting too yucky too quickly. I dunno got more to learn.

[@gennasplants]

That would be so cool, I'd love to know if you build it!

[@RonBailey-sw3nl]

I forgot to mention, small fast food drink lids work well to keep the bran in the cultures, just tape up straw hole.

[@History_Hub101]

Do you think it be possible to conduct this type of method in a larger container. (I..e.. a bucket or tank)

[@gennasplants]

Yep, I know other people have done it like that. I've found it a bit harder to control the moisture levels but it can be done.

[@andrewz689]

This is a great resource! Do you happen to have a video specifically about culturing the Stratiolaelaps scimitus mites since it seems like they're easy but perhaps a little different?

[@gennasplants]

I haven't perfected the method but this is what I've tried: kzbin.infoo-ENo2lSv4M?feature=share

[@Steve-f7e]

Hi Genna, if I place the container inside the greenhouse with high humidity (70%+), do I still need to have the bottom cotton pad layer to increase the humidity? I feel removing that wet layer will make maintenance much easier in the future.

[@gennasplants]

Try it out and see! I've been taking cotton pads out of the cultures and putting them in small sauce containers with holes without a wet layer and they seem to do fine in my cabinets.

[@Steve-f7e]

Thank you, ill try it out!❤️

[@katyamaji2887]

You could repurpose some slow release sachets for dispersion. Cut the top open and put the cotton inside it then tape it together? I love this vidéo i have an order of mites coming next week. They are so effective but so expensive.

[@gennasplants]

Yes I have done that before! I just found keeping the humidity correct was a challenge

[@katyamaji2887]

Yes even in my plant cabinets i feel like yhe humidity fluctuates so much from the time i water to when its time to water again. I know some companies sell sachets that are made with protective material if they will be exposed to excess moisture. Im really excited to try this. Just ordered my supplies. You made it look so easy so we will see. So do you recomend just using the sachets or can i use mites from the tubes?​@@gennasplants

[@katyamaji2887]

@@gennasplants Is this the only platform you use for these tutorials. I hope you don't mind but knowing me im going to have a bunch of questions as I go thru this process.

[@gennasplants]

mites from the tubes should work as long as they contains feeder mites. I'm on Instagram and Patreon too but these comments are generally the best place for questions since you benefit from others' experience too

[@Ann-js5lj]

The update is awesome

[@rexford9019]

Neoseiulis Californicus are growing on my radish leaf (eggs and mites) in my outdoor greenhouse after I hung (2) packets in the planter. They appear to have 6 legs and pale brown or pinkish which fits the description. They are not eating the leaf. I transferred several of these leaves to my garden tomato plants which have been plagued with spider mite infestations. Hope I did the right thing!

[@gennasplants]

That's great!

[@user-kw4uv7qo1f]

Hi Genna, thank you so much for your video! I encountered two problems with my brand new „breeding station“. The pollen is becoming liquid after just two days and the substrate in which the predatory mites came in (some grain type mixed with feeder mites) is getting moldy really quick. Do you have any more ideas how to get rid of these issues besides optimizing ventilation in my containers? I thought about adding springtails from the beginning as I breed them anyway (it‘s so easy to breed springtails, I hoped predatory mites would be nearly as easy). Do you keep a certain temperature for your petri dishes to prevent mold? Thank you so much in advance!

[@gennasplants]

If the pollen is getting wet it may be because of condensation. I keep mine around 21°C and try to keep them out of the sun since that will cause water from the bottom cotton round to evaporate and end up on top. You may also try omitting the wet cotton round all together if your setup is keeping things humid enough on its own. Adding springtails wouldn't hurt!

[@user-kw4uv7qo1f]

@ Thank you so so much Genna!

[@michaelarchambault217]

How are the different types mixing up since they are stored together and have holes on the containers?

[@gennasplants]

they're all labeled and I only keep the same types together in the same stack. Once they're deployed the mites only go so far, as long as your plants aren't touching they'll basically be isolated to where you put them and not cross paths with the other species on different plants.

[@michaelarchambault217]

​@@gennasplantsoh i see thanks! Somehow i assumed you stacked and stored them all together

[@richardglass1990]

@@gennasplants Have you seen any articles detailing which benificals can used in concert, and which varieties one should never mix? Great videos, love the conure. 🦜

[@gennasplants]

@richardglass1990 I haven't seen anything comprehensive, but generally it's only the generalist mites that can't mix

[@ikniet5032]

I love your videos about breeding mites. They are very helpful and I want to try it, but I'm scared that the feeder mites will get into my food. Most of my plants that have thrips are in my kitchen and I've been reading about the mites getting into rice and cookies and such. Have you experienced that problem? I asked some of the companies that sell mites for thrips here in the Netherlands, but none of them responed to my concern.

[@gennasplants]

I've never had a problem with mites getting into food. The thing with mites (especially the feeder mites, which are the only ones I'd be concerned about) is that they can't travel that far. As long as your food is separate and in containers you should be good.

[@photoboothkiss]

I started my own cultures, all thanks to you! They seem to be doing ok so far, but I noticed what I think are springtails in with the mites. Admittedly, I didn't get all of the bran or whatever out very well on a few, and those seem to be the ones I'm seeing these other bugs in. Have you ever experienced anything like that?

[@gennasplants]

Yes, I get lots of springtails and sometimes fungus gnat larvae and even booklice. As long as the mites are doing well I don't worry about the other critters.

[@BrawneLamia582]

Would it work if i used reuseable cotton cloth rounds, rather than the cotton puff rounds? Or, maybe cheesecloth? Also, can i use little pebbles to hold my plastic shelf up off the wet cotton underneath?

[@gennasplants]

I'd say just try it and see! The mites just need fibers to lay their eggs on so it depends on the texture of the cotton you have, but I think it would work. The pebbles seem like a good idea too!

[@Anton_Kraev]

Please tell me, is flower pollen (granules) or pine pollen suitable as food for predatory mites?

[@gennasplants]

Yes I use pine pollen

[@D0J0Master]

Thanks for this update! Very useful

[@Michael-do2xf]

Hey following your first video I tried breeding californicus mites but failed twice. You've motivated me to give it another try! Thank you, I'll be back with more feedback!

[@gennasplants]

I'm sorry it didn't work out for you the first time, I hope things go better! Californicus mites seem to be a bit more expensive and I wonder if they're slightly more difficult than swirskii and cucumeris.

[@Michael-do2xf]

@@gennasplants I worked with a few small plastic tubs, moist cotton pads at the bottom to maintain humidity beneath a meshed waxed square following your instructions, I added the mites along with their substrate on to the square along with pollen from the mite vendor and finished with dry cotton pads for egg-laying. I supplemented with the occasional leaf infested with spider mites. The lid remained loosely on top of the tub, to allow for air and passage to the plants. I've since read that the biggest hurdle for establishing populations of predators in biocontrol is the environment, I reckon the moist cotton pads were undersized for my tubs and while they remained wet (and moldy), the tub itself might have still been to dry, whereas with your Petri dish setting the cotton pads might release just the right amount of moisture into the ambient air. I'll finish by saying that your first video nearly made me pick my bachelor's thesis' subject, I toyed with the idea of developing an easy-to-sustain breeding box geared for small-scale farmers and homeowners. Who knows, I'll might still end up designing it in the future. There is scant information out there, I found some studies and reviews, I have no doubt the most efficient methods are industrial secrets. Either way, thank you for your time!

[@gennasplants]

That is so cool! Definitely interested in any more research you do. I've had many people say there isn't much info out there and I think you're right, a lot is industry secret. Apparently there was also a thread going around in German with someone's method...but alas because it's in German I haven't seen it 😅

[@erdbeerzwiebel3404]

​@@gennasplants can you point me into the direction of the German one? I could give you info on the method the person is using

[@gennasplants]

@erdbeerzwiebel3404 I only heard about it second-hand from one of my subscribers but I forget the details. If anyone reading this knows what I'm referring to, feel free to share!

[@user-ek7kd3il5m]

Thank you very much. I think I am going to give it a try since I do order quite a large portion of beneficials, which have to be exchanged every 6-7 weeks, and I have a feeling there are still some in the hanging bags. May I ask, do you habe butterflies coming around? I keep seeing some sweet critters flying around. Thank you ver much for such detailed information.

[@gennasplants]

Is it my parrot you're seeing? 🙂

[@user-ek7kd3il5m]

@@gennasplants I just realized. 😍

[@dankhazeberry9086]

The petri dish can be sealed with Parafilm (50% paraffin and 50% polyethylene) which is permeable to oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapor. The humidity can be controlled with cigar humectant( Boveda)

[@katyamaji2887]

I don't understand this. Can you explain this further. Sealing it so it doesn have to be watered?

[@sheezee]

Thank you for this tutorial! Any tips on watering plants when we've applied beneficial mites? Is bottom watering best?

[@gennasplants]

The beneficials live on the foliage so you can water any way you want 🙂

[@sheezee]

​@@gennasplantsoh of course! That makes perfect sense! Thank you 🙏

[@TheAnnez0r]

Awesome update Genna! I took a break from my culture as manipulating pollen is making me very sick (I'm already at the height of my allergies right now). Do you think it would be possible to just take a plastic container, put a bunch of bran, maybe sprinkle it a bit of pollen (manipulating pollen once versus 10 times would be more manageable) and top it with cotton pads could work? Ideally I would keep this container in my high humidity tent. Any other insight on how to manipulate pollen less would be awesome 😷

[@gennasplants]

Thanks so much! Honestly you could probably skip the pollen entirely and just use yeast. For some of the cotton pads I've harvested I've just been stacking them in a plastic container with a few holes (no added water, just keeping them in 65+ humidity in my greenhouse cabinets). I've been throwing yeast in when it seems like they've eaten most of it and that seems to working.

[@TheAnnez0r]

@@gennasplants awesome thanks!

[@katyamaji2887]

So do you just continue this maintenance process so you have mites on hand ?

[@gennasplants]

Yes, I just feed them every week and scale the amount of cultures up or down depending on the amount of pests I'm dealing with

[@katyamaji2887]

@gennasplants My mites are coming tomorrow! A few questions. Can I use the adult mites in yhe tubes or does it need to be the sachets. I ordered boyh but i was just curious. Also why does the cotton round need to be smaller than the bottom of the container or is it just that the cotton round needs to be smaller than the plastic that goes over it

[@gennasplants]

@katyamaji2887 exciting! adults in the tubes you can definitely use. not sure if the tubes come with feeder mites but if they're packed in bran then probably. but you have the sachets so you're good either way. The wet cotton round just needs to be smaller than the plastic so it doesn't accidentally make contact with the dry cotton and get it wet. the container size doesn't really matter.

[@katyamaji2887]

@gennasplants The bran is such a hassle. I just started using mites about 6 months ago and i was sprinkling them on top of the soil. We'll I had to replace the top 1/4 of soil on all of my plants because of the mold. Lol. We'll I wasn't laughing at the time.

[@katyamaji2887]

@gennasplants ok gotcha. I've been reapeating this video a couple times a day over the last week so I'm not completely lost. I bought yhe plastic divider. They are pretty flimsy. I was trying to remember I'll need to remove the top with plastic to water the round in the bottom right? I'm sure i will be the one that gets the bran on yhe bottom when I do that. Any tips to prevent that from happening?

[@Anton_Kraev]

Please tell me, is it possible to feed hypoaspis miles with yeast and pine pollen? Will the population be preserved?

[@gennasplants]

Hypoaspsis mites are the same as scimitus mites which I talk about in the video briefly. I have a short on breeding them here: kzbin.infoo-ENo2lSv4M?feature=share

[@calib12345]

Would this work with Anystis baccarum ... taking into account their cannibalistic tendencies ?

[@gennasplants]

I assume they'd need a different setup due to their size, the fact they're cannibalistic, the fact they lay their eggs in moist substrate or leaf litter, etc. I'm not sure what they use commercially to feed them. Apparently they like eating cucumeris mites. But there's not a lot of information out there as they're a relatively new mite on the market.

[@Brian-bw3uu]

Can you feed them nutritional yeast rather than baking yeast? Great video, btw 😊😊

[@gennasplants]

I would think so but I've never tried it

[@SimplyGreenHomestead]

How many bugs did you start with in each culture? and how many do you get after they breed?

[@KnittedSister]

I don't think its possible to count them. They are too small.

[@gennasplants]

Yeah I honestly have no idea. The small packs you buy have around 250 mites.

[@SimplyGreenHomestead]

@@KnittedSister Usually it's called a dry count, and it's done by weight, I wasn't sure if she counted :)

[@erdbeerzwiebel3404]

​@@SimplyGreenHomestead there's no way to weigh the mites to guess how many there are. The weight of the cotton varies alot depending how moist it is, how much food, poop, eggs and insects stick to it and then I'm sure nobody would want to pay the money necessary to buy a scale that allows you to weigh stuff in this weight scale.

[@marcodipaola22]

Do you know what temp. I should be keeping my cucumeris mites at? My grow room gets a little cold at night. Starting my breeding today.

[@marcodipaola22]

Also, I added my scimitus mites in with the cucumeris. Is that ok?

[@gennasplants]

66-80°F is ideal but at lower temperatures they'll just breed slower, they won't die. And you don't want to mix the mites because they'll end up eating each other and you'll likely just end up with one species anyways.

[@marcodipaola22]

@@gennasplants how did you introduce your scimitus mites to the dishes then?

[@gennasplants]

@marcodipaola22 what do you mean? the same way. they come in their own packets.

[@marcodipaola22]

@@gennasplants so do you have separate dishes for the scimitus mites? It looked like they were in the same dish in the video

[@anitaalmqvist4704]

Thanks for this very informative video! I will definitely try this. Now when we’re going for winter I’m wondering about temperatures for breeding. We’ve it quite cold like about 18 degrees C. What temperatures do the mites need to breed?

[@gennasplants]

You're welcome! 18 degrees is fine, I think they're active up to like 13 degrees they just breed more slowly at lower temperatures

[@anitaalmqvist4704]

@@gennasplants Thank you Genna! This information is so much helpful for me. I’ve finally found some kind of pollen which I guess might be useful. It’s called Rawpowder Bipollen (bee pollen). Would this work do you think?

[@gennasplants]

@anitaalmqvist4704 It should work 🙂

[@anitaalmqvist4704]

@@gennasplants Thank you! 🙏 I'll try this 🤗

[@maidin5747]

I wish i could find a way to extract them from nature and then grow them. I do not have access to the first sachet to seed the farm. They do not deliver these to where i am.

[@gennasplants]

That's unfortunate! Are there different types of mites available where you live or you can't get beneficials altogether? I'm sure there is a way to collect native mites, I just don't know much about it

[@maidin5747]

@@gennasplants there are no companies who deliver beneficials to where i am. I am like on the other side. But then if there was i would have gladly paid to buy them and would not need to breed them. I could ask a friend coming from abroad but i am not sure how long they can stay in transit without the population dying out. It might take 3 days for the friends to get it to me from the day they receive it. Do you think it is possible that they survive this while?

[@sheezee]

How long until I know if the cultures are successful? Two weeks ago, I started swirskii cultures using your method, had a feeder mite explosion (I think they were feeder mites as they moved slowly and clumped together, and they were everywhere except on the plants! lol) but now I don't see much activity at all.

[@gennasplants]

I gauge how my cultures are doing based on how the feeder mite population is since they're the easiest to see. If you had a feeder mite explosion you were definitely on the right track. If you don't see any now they either ran out of food or if it's moldy the substrate may have gotten wet and they died. If they just ran out of food, adding more should make the population return.

[@sheezee]

@@gennasplants thanks so much, I'll make sure they've got food and are completely dry and will reassess in another week 🙏

[@storriecasaus5433]

Went to do culture maintenance today (one week in) and at least two of my 15 Petri dishes had thrips in them. Should I throw those out?? Or maybe buy more thrip-specific predators? I had bought a bottle with 2k mites: mixed species of persimilis, swarskii, and cucumeris. So there’s no way for me to tell now which species are thriving and which are gone.

[@gennasplants]

Couple things probably going on here... it's not ideal to have multiple mite species together because they end up eating each other instead of your target pest. Persimilis also don't work with this method since they need to be raised on spider mites. Thrips could be attracted to the pollen, and they make good food for cucumeris and swirskii mites so personally I wouldn't throw them out. But are you 100% sure they're thrips? Could they be something else, like rove beetles? Thrips tend to stay on plant foliage.

[@storriecasaus5433]

@@gennasplants thank you. I figured they would eventually outcompete each other. I got the mixed species because I wanted quick results for my infestation and wasn’t sure if I had spider mites or thrips. To your point, I wouldn’t do mixed species again for the purpose of breeding. I’ll probably allow my mystery cultures to continue since I do see some mite activity in most of the cultures. If my plants show signs of pests again, I’ll start again with species-specific cultures. For now they’re doing a little better :) I’m honestly not sure what the “long bugs” are. They are very small, black, maybe twice the size of a mite. They’re slender and can fly. I will be getting a microscope soon to try and identify all of my little dudes. If they are thrips though, I’ll probably throw them out. I don’t want to keep introducing them to the plants.

[@danielwebb1004]

@@storriecasaus5433 Fungus gnats?

[@hexbotnica]

Thank you so much for sharing! It's difficult to find more information on it, but I am enthralled and am going to try it. Most of my plants are outdoor tillandsias (humid subtropical climate, screened in balcony with lack of natural predators getting demolished by spider mites despite soaks). Do you think I could breed these outside on the balcony in a shaded spot near my air plants if I keep an eye on the moisture? Temperature and humidity ranges outside seem mostly compatible with the variety of them. The other option is to breed them inside and then place extras in the garden, which I'll probably try if I don't have success outside.

[@gennasplants]

I see no reason why they wouldn't work outside!

[@hexbotnica]

@@gennasplants I'm doing a full on science project now where I am doing cultures inside and outside. Almost immediately my outside cultures attracted hungry ants, but some cinnamon did the trick :)

[@gennasplants]

Ahh cool, let me know how it goes!!

[@akebbg]

beautiful instructions thank so much

[@TheRealTerpinator]

Do u sell these i need some for broad / cyclamen mites

[@gennasplants]

I don't sell them, you'll have to look for beneficial insect suppliers in your area

[@gjannabananahammock1263]

Is there also bugs you can bread against food moths? With the same technic?

[@andrewdohtor3978]

cool, very interesting. Thank you

[@Herondalyn]

Is pine polen an bee polen the same thing?😢

[@gennasplants]

Pollen is pollen. Bee pollen is collected by bees and it's a mixture of whatever type of plants the bees visit. Pine pollen comes from pine trees and is collected by people.

[@gjannabananahammock1263]

Does any kind of yeast work?

[@gennasplants]

It should

[@QuentinWllt]

Do you ever use cucumeris outside your greenhouse ?

[@gennasplants]

Yes I do - I usually put clear bags around those plants to increase the humidity

[@photoboothkiss]

I am battling an infestation of thrips and spider mites and someone suggested your video after I purchased predators that didn't end up breeding. They definitely helped the pest problem but did not eradicate it. I was thinking of trying some other pesticides but now I also want to try breeding beneficials. I would think this isn't a good combination - I don't want to kill any of the predators. Is there a time line you are aware of regarding the use of pesticide and beneficials in conjunction? Or is it just a big no no? Thank you so much for these videos, I think it is going to help save my collection!

[@gennasplants]

You just have to look up the specific chemical in the pesticide you're trying to use. Here's a good resource (although I haven't tested a lot of these myself, and some people say waiting 2 weeks is not enough): www.naturesgoodguys.com/blogs/a-bugs-blog-natures-good-guys-to-the-rescue/what-chemicals-are-harmless-to-predatory-mites I like to spray infested plants with horticultural oil or insecticidal soap because it kills on contact by smothering the pests but doesn't leave any toxic residue so it's safe to release beneficials as soon as it dries. Hope your pest journey goes well 🤞🏻

[@photoboothkiss]

⁠@@gennasplantsthank you so much! You are so helpful. I am excited to get going on my new project. I will definitely take your suggestion with insecticidal soap or horticulture oil. I know both thrips and spider mites build immunity to pesticides, so if there's a safe alternative that is different from what I've been using and non toxic to the predators, I'm definitely going to go with that. You rock!

[@QuentinWllt]

thanks for the update, last time I tried was a failure due to mold, trying again now with ventilation holes this time, hopefully it'll work. Dealing with thrips for the first time and I'm not sure what course of action to take. Should I count on my predatory mites to do the job or go all out with soap sprays and diatomeatous eart? any advice?

[@gennasplants]

I hope it goes better this time around! For thrips mites alone are not usually enough because they don't eat the adults. My routine for thrips is spray the plant off with water, spray with horticultural oil, put the plant in a clear plastic bag for quarantine, add swirskii mites, and then periodically release lacewing larvae or pirate bugs to take care of the adults

[@akebbg]

You are awesome very please to find this vdo.

[@katyamaji2887]

I've ordered my supplies! I'm so tired of paying 100 bucks a month for mites.

[@RonBailey-sw3nl]

After my 1st order not having much life, I was going to have the order replaced, but I had changed my mind. I cancelled my order and got the refund confirmation, and the mites showed up the next day anyway. I super spiked my cultures and put more on my wife's plants. I looked today and have lots of mites inside the cotton rounds and actively crawling around in my containers. I put the mites in a 2x4 grow tent and put a swamp cooler in it. I am keeping humidity between 65 and 85% Going to put a humidifier in the tent soon to see if that works better. So far all is well in the mite village.

[@marie-joseelanglois1333]

Pretty cool girl

[@lesspaul2241]

too much work, I will buy them if needed.

[@gennasplants]

that's fine...I buy them too when I need a lot at once