Mighty mites

Amblyseius cucumeris

Amblyseius cucumeris is a tiny, pale coloured beneficial mite. It is used by professional glasshouse growers to control thrips, and can be used in gardens outside in the summer months in shelterd areas. These mites crawl around on the leaves and within the flower buds looking for their favourite prey which is thrips larvae These mites usually tackle the smaller, newly hatched thrips larvae. However they have been known to tackle larvae bigger than themselves..

Amblyseius cucumeris

Amblyseius are suitable for glasshouses and conservatories, as well as outside during the Summer. They need to a temperature of at least 15°C to be most effective.

You can buy the mites either loose in a tub or as a pack of slow-release sachets which you can hang up among the plants. Which one is suitable for you depends on the plants to be protected. For a small number of plants you may prefer to use the shaker tub because you can locate the mites directly on the leaves to be protected. For a larger area, or a tall crop, the sachets may be more convenient

Shaker Tub: Tub of 10,000 mites.

Large pack: Tub of 25,000 mites.

Pack of Sachets: 40 sachets of self perpetuating colonies which last 6-8 weeks.