At the end of 2014, Koppert will remove Entomite-A (the predatory soil mite Gaeolaelaps aculeifer) from its product range. Koppert has had an excellent alternative to this product since 2010: the predatory soil mite Macrocheles robustulus, or Macro-Mite, for combating sciarid fly and thrips.

Of all the predatory soil mites, Macro-Mite has the broadest effects. It combats a wide range of pests, including the eggs, larvae, and pupae of the sciarid fly; thrips pupae; potworms; the eggs and caterpillars of Duponchelia fovealis; and cabbage fly eggs. Macro-Mite has no effect on bulb mites. Its population responds very quickly to the presence of pests.

In addition, a recent study by Wageningen UR's Greenhouse Horticulture research institute indicates that Macro-Mite is more effective than Gaeolaelaps aculeifer in combating sciarid fly. The predatory soil mite builds up a population more quickly and gets to work combating pests more quickly too.

We supply Macro-Mite in a cardboard tube containing 50,000 predatory mites in all phases. We advise introducing 250 predatory mites per square metre. The product's effectiveness can be increased by using a cover layer; the extra nourishment from the layer stimulates the growth of the predatory mite population, thereby improving the effectiveness of pest control.