More Biological Control - Thrip Predators! (Amblyseius cucumeris) On Chilli Plants

Since the thrips are back, and the "thripinator" apparently doesn't work on them at all, I am bored of their damage to plants, and I'm bored of seeing them on my fruits - albeit they havent actually damaged any fruits yet.

Say Hi to Steve. Yes, I named him before squashing him.

Apparently - thrip levels have to get above "40 per plant" to be seriously destructive, below that they're just annoying. 

So, other than the aluminium mulch, and picking them off by hand (sellotape works REALLY well by the way!), I thought I'd try something different. Meet the mites!

These are predatory mites Amblyseius cucumeris. I first encountered these with broad mites, though I didnt use them in the end.

The sachets, acquired from Just Green in the UK, contain a feed and eggs, so the mites hatch at a fairly regulated level, apparently around 400 per week, for 6 weeks. They recommend one sachet per plant, though the manufacturer implies a level of one per 3 plants should be enough.

I have to say, this all looks very promising - but we'll see!

Biological pest control can be fun and cheap - fungus gnats controlled with carnivorous plants!

People seem to really hate fungus gnats - those little flies that hang around the soil on your plants and fly up when you water or touch the pots. They are an annoyance and they do apparently eat the roots of plants, but I've never had much of a problem with them. Because for me, they're FOOD.

No, no, I don't eat them. Probably taste like wafer though, most small flies do. Don't ask me how I know this. Back to the point - carnivorous plants..

For Fungus Gnats

Best things at eating these critters is butterwort (pinguicula) or sundew (drosera). The easiest ones to not kill are mexican butterwort and cape sundew. They need a lot of light and heat - what a coincidence - so do chillies.

Cape Sundew - waiting for flies! 

The great advantage with these plants is they are literally nature's fly-paper. They also digest the flies so you don't have to do much maintenance. They grow new leaves so you dont have to buy more, and they are very low maintenance. All they need is the soil to be kept damp (yes very damp, way damper than chillies, they're a bog plant!) and sun - lots of sun.

Cape Sundew (or at least I think it is..!)

The pinguicula is even better - it's a total gnat magnet, and it divides and conquers!

I divided my pinguicula up - I bought it a year ago for £3ish, largely ignored it, then yesterday noticed there were MANY rosettes - you can split them out. I ended up with no less than TWELVE individual potted plants. That's a lot. From one plant.

12 Pinguiculas!

How quickly do they catch flies? Well, after division, I hosed the plants down so all the flies came off. Next day I put one of the new plants into the greenhouse and within just one minute...

OM NOM NOM...!

Soil requirements - this is important - ALL carnivorous plants (to my knowledge) are used to having poor soil, when I say poor I mean it's specifically bad. I buy carnivorous plant soil so I dont have to worry about mixing it. Seriously - if you get even SOME fertiliser in the mix, the plants rot away. Apparently. 

So instead of using various chemicals to solve your fungus gnat problem - give nature a go. You may be very surprised to see how effective it is. 

For houseflies, wasps, etc...

These are bigger insects and need bigger traps - you probably know about the venus fly trap, well it will work here but they are a pain to keep and notoriously die within a year. Easier to keep are plants like the pitcher plant or sarracenia.

The flies slip in and can't climb out - it's that simple!