Know your enemy.
We know theirs.
Spider Mites
Tiny webs, stippled leaves. One of the most common — and destructive — houseplant pests.
Shop solutionsThrips
Silver streaks and distorted new growth. Thrips are fast-moving and hard to eliminate with chemicals alone.
Shop solutionsAphids
Soft-bodied and colony-forming. They drain plant sap fast and spread to neighboring plants quickly.
Shop solutionsFungus Gnats
The larvae are the real problem — they feed on roots in the soil while you're busy swatting the adults.
Shop solutionsMealybugs
White cottony clusters in leaf joints. Stubborn, sticky, and a nightmare for collectors.
Shop solutionsRoot Rot
Yellowing leaves, mushy stems, collapsing plants. Often caused by overwatering but treatable biologically.
Shop solutionsThe Science
What is biological pest control — and why does it work?
Biological pest control is the use of living organisms to suppress pest populations. Instead of applying a chemical that kills on contact, you introduce a natural predator that hunts, eats, and reproduces — keeping pest numbers below the threshold where they cause real damage.
Commercial greenhouses, cannabis producers, and organic farms have relied on predatory mites and beneficial insects as the backbone of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs for decades. What's changed is availability: the same organisms used at industrial scale are now accessible to houseplant collectors and home growers. Predatory mites don't have a pesticide resistance problem. They eat pests. Pests cannot evolve their way out of being eaten.
Specialist predators, matched to specific pests
Different predatory mite species target different pests. Phytoseiulus persimilis eats spider mites exclusively. Amblyseius cucumeris targets thrips larvae. Stratiolaelaps scimitus hunts fungus gnat larvae and other soil-dwelling pests. Species specificity is what makes biocontrol effective — and what makes the wrong choice a waste of money.
This is why identification comes first. The same infestation on the same plant in two different humidity ranges may call for two different predators. Our mite matchmaking quiz accounts for pest type, plant, environment, and whether you're treating an active infestation or preventing one.
They work through the full pest lifecycle
Most contact pesticides don't kill pest eggs — which is why infestations bounce back two weeks after treatment. Predatory mites consume pests at every life stage: eggs, larvae, nymphs, and adults. A well-matched release doesn't just knock down the visible population; it collapses the next generation before it hatches.
For persistent pests like spider mites and thrips, this is the difference between suppression and elimination. With an adequate prey population, predatory mites reproduce on-site — the colony grows as long as there's food, then declines naturally once pest pressure is gone.
Safe, residue-free, and self-sustaining
Predatory mites are harmless to humans, pets, and beneficial insects like pollinators. No chemical residue on foliage or in soil. No re-entry periods. And when prey is available, they reproduce — a single release can establish a self-sustaining population that keeps working long after the bottle is empty.
Slow-release sachets extend this further, delivering a steady stream of predators over four to six weeks. Many growers use both: a treatment bottle for rapid knockdown of an active infestation, followed by sachets for ongoing prevention.
These guys SAVED my collection. The benes arrived quickly and went into action immediately.
I will never go back to pesticides again.
I've never been so hopeful in my pest pressure battle as I am now.
My preferred pest control professional.
Releasing the cracken on these thrips immediately!!
Rare plants,
worth protecting.
Plants and biological pest control have been working together for 400 million years.
We just packaged it.
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Mite Matters
They Eat Pests for a Living. You're Welcome.
Predatory mites are the biological control solution to spider mites, thrips, broad mites, fungus gnats, and more — and they don't harm plants, people, or pets. If someone has suggested you add more mites to fix your mite problem, this is the article that explains why that's actually correct.
No Webbing. No Warning. No Fun.
Broad mites are microscopic pest mites that cause twisted, bronzed new growth on peppers, cannabis, hoyas, and dozens of other plants — and they're almost always misdiagnosed first. No webbing, no visible culprit, just a plant that keeps getting worse while you adjust the pH. Here's what they actually are, how to identify the damage, and how to get rid of them for good.
Limonicus: Late to Market, Early to Hunt
Most predatory mites do one thing well. Limonicus hunts thrips, whitefly, and spider mites — and survives on pollen when there's nothing left to kill. Meet biocontrol's most versatile generalist.