Thrips Rapid Response - Two Stage System
Biological control is a programme, not a single release. A subscription puts the next one on its way before the last one runs out.
Skip a box, change how often it comes, or stop it — all from your account.
Heads up—this is just an estimate. We only ship when the bugs are happy and ready to travel (Mon–Thurs). If a colony needs a beat to peak, or we're propagating a fresh batch, your order might hold up to a week. Treatment bottles jump the line when you've got an active infestation.
Sizing guide
How our sizes work
Sizes are set by how many plants you are treating — not by how much material is in the container.
Every size on every product page names its own coverage right there in the dropdown, so you never have to come here to find a number. Medium — Up to 25 Plants (2,500 Mites) tells you the tier and the count in one line. This page is for the part the dropdown cannot tell you: how to pick between two of them.
These are rough middles. The ladder runs smallest to largest within each product, so a Medium of one species covers more ground than a Medium of another — a nematode drench and a beetle release are not the same job. The count on the size you are looking at is always the real answer.
Pest pressure moves you up the ladder
Plant count is only half the sum. The other half is how much pest is already there. A closed tent holding fifteen plants with thrips on every growing tip needs a larger release than a bright room holding forty plants with a few gnats — the population you are outnumbering is bigger, and the enclosed space lets it rebound faster.
Coverage figures assume a typical active infestation. Adjust from there:
Under heavy pressure, two releases beat one large one. Take the larger size and plan a second release 7–14 days later, which catches the eggs that had not yet hatched the first time.
A few things work differently
A few products read in square feet rather than plants, because that is how they are applied — the outdoor and area-scale releases. Those are Sc and Hb nematodes, and the aphid specialists Ervi, Matricariae, and Aphidoletes. Same ladder, different unit.
Sf nematodes and Triple Blend size by plants and pots, like everything else. They are soil drenches for potted plants, so count your pots rather than your floor.
Slow-release sachets have no size. They are sold by the sachet, and you place one per plant or one per few plants depending on pressure. Sachets are a prevention tool — they hold a population in place before a problem starts. If something is already established, a bottle is the correct answer.
Sizing up is cheaper than sizing twice. Predators need enough prey to establish and enough of themselves to find it. Underdosing is the most common reason a release underperforms, and it usually costs more in the end than the larger size would have. When you are between two sizes, take the larger one.
Still not sure? Tell us what you are growing and what you are seeing, and we will size it for you.
Thrips Rapid Response - Two Stage System
At A Glance
When thrips strike, they attack your plants from two fronts: the foliage and the soil. This Thrips Rapid Response bundle is a professional-grade, dual-action solution designed to break the thrip life cycle at every stage. By combining canopy-patrolling predatory mites with soil-dwelling nematodes, this kit provides a comprehensive knockdown of active infestations.
At a Glance
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Primary Targets: Specialized for Western Flower Thrips, Onion Thrips, and Greenhouse Thrips.
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The Duo: A synergistic combination of Amblyseius swirskii predatory mites and Steinernema feltiae (Sf) beneficial nematodes.
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Mechanism: Swirskii consumes thrip larvae on the leaves, while Sf nematodes hunt pupae in the soil.
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Bundle Tiers:
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10 Plant Pack: 1,000 Swirskii | 5M Sf Nematodes
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25 Plant Pack: 2,500 Swirskii | 10M Sf Nematodes
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50 Plant Pack: 5,000 Swirskii | 25M Sf Nematodes
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100 Plant Pack: 10,000 Swirskii | 33M Sf Nematodes
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250 Plant Pack: 25,000 Swirskii | 100M Sf Nematodes
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The long version
- Four Ways to Kill a Fungus Gnat. Two of Them Fight.Which agents reach which life stages, and which pairs cancel out.
- One Inch of Soil. That's the Whole Game.Why the soil stages sit where they do, and what reaches them.
Target Pests
Environmental Needs
Selection Guide
How to Use
How They're Shipped
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FAQ
What is your Live Delivery Guarantee?
We guarantee that your beneficial insects arrive healthy and ready to work. They're living things, so we pack for the season and ship expedited to give them the best trip we can.
If something looks wrong when the box opens, take a photo and file a report within 72 hours of delivery, with your order number. Photos matter: candidly, without them the team can't approve a live beneficial claim.
Why do I need two different predators?
How quickly will I see results?
Are these safe for my pets?
Can I use this as a preventative?
Do I need to repeat the treatment?
How do I store them?
Help! I'm overwhelmed
Yeah, it's a lot the first time you're using predatory mites. File a report and our bug pros will walk you through it!
I don’t see anything moving in my bottle or sachet. Does that mean they’re dead?
Not at all! In fact, go ahead and deploy them.
Predatory mites are microscopic (often less than 0.5mm) and naturally blend into their carrier medium (bran or vermiculite).
- For Bottles: The mites often huddle in the center of the bottle for insulation during transit.
- For Sachets: These are "slow-release" nurseries. The mites stay tucked deep inside the breeding media and emerge one by one over 2–4 weeks. Seeing an "empty-looking" sachet or bottle is not proof of a loss; it is simply how they are packaged for maximum survival.
Mite Matters
Six Stages. It Reaches One.
A thrips passes through six life stages and cucumeris can kill one of them. Second instars do not just survive the attack — they fight it off, and they destroy the predator's eggs on the way past. That single fact explains the lag, the reservoir, and most of the disappointment.
Two of These Four Columns Are Guesses.
Every supplier prints the same four-column comparison table. We went and read the papers behind each cell. One column rests on unpublished company data, one species has never been trialled against thrips at all, and the humidity row is backwards. Here is that table with the guesses marked.
The Mites Are Alive. The Thrips Are Winning.
Your mites are alive. Your thrips are also alive. That combination has twelve documented causes, and what the mites are doing — where they are, what they are sitting next to — narrows it to one or two in about five minutes.