How I Used 25,000 Beneficial Mites to Fight Thrips

After finding thrips in my houseplant collection, I decided to stop relying on sprays and try something completely different. In this video, I walk you through exactly how I introduced 25,000 beneficial predatory mites into nearly 100 houseplants, where I placed the sachets, how I applied the live mites, and the biggest mistakes to avoid if you’re considering biological pest control. Whether your plants are growing in soil, bark, LECA, PON, or semi-hydro, this video covers what I learned during my first beneficial mite application and answers the questions I had before getting started. This is Part 2 of my year-long biological control experiment. I’ll be documenting the results every quarter to see whether beneficial mites can keep thrips under control in a large indoor houseplant collection. 📺 In this video you’ll learn: ✔ How to apply beneficial mite sachets ✔ How to release live predatory mites ✔ Where to place sachets ✔ Common mistakes to avoid ✔ Watering and fertilizing after release ✔ Semi-hydro considerations ✔ Greenhouse cabinet considerations ✔ My long-term biological control strategy If you’ve used beneficial mites before, let me know in the comments: • What worked? • What didn’t? • What do you wish you knew before getting started? If you’re new here, consider subscribing to follow this experiment over the next year. ⸻ ⏱ CHAPTERS 00:00 Why I Chose Beneficial Mites 00:44 Unboxing 25,000 Live Predators 02:26 Meet Your New Pest Control Team 04:26 Where Should the Sachets Go? 05:24 Sachet 101: Don't Do This 07:34 Releasing 25,000 Predatory Mites 08:24 9 Mistakes That Could Ruin Your Treatment 14:58 Things I Wish I Knew 18:54 Next Steps / What You Need to Know 21:00 The Experience / My 1-Year Thrips Elimination Plan 22:36 What I Would Do Differently ⸻ 🪴 Products/Items Discussed • Neoseiulus swirskii beneficial mites • Stratiolaelaps scimitus • Beneficial mite sachets • Sticky traps • GT Foliage Focus • Yucca extract • Semi-hydro • PON • LECA This is not a sponsored video. Thanks for watching! — Rooted N’ Reckless #Houseplants #BeneficialMites #Thrips