Mite Matters

Most ladybugs you'll encounter are red with black dots — and that description fits native, introduced, and invasive species equally. Here's how to actually tell them apart, what the harlequin ladybug has been doing to native populations, and where the real ecological concerns are.

You released the predatory mites three days ago and the spider mites are still there. The nematodes went in a week ago and the fungus gnats are still flying. This is the moment most growers reach for a spray — and it's usually the wrong move, because the beneficials have already started. Here's what's actually happening after a release, and how to read the signs that it's working.

Spraying whiteflies knocks back the adults you can see. It doesn't touch the eggs. The eggs hatch, the nymphs are harder to kill, and three weeks later you're back where you started — except the population is slightly more resistant. Here's how predatory mites and Orius break that cycle by targeting the stages your spray misses.