Stratiolaelaps scimitus (formerly Hypoaspis miles) – Soil Mite Predator for Fungus Gnats and Thrips Pupae
Product details
| Management number | 250625518 | Release Date | 2026/09/17 | List Price | US$11.98 | Model Number | 250625518 | ||
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One shake into your topsoil and fungus gnats stop breeding for the life of the medium
Fungus gnats do their damage underground, where sprays never reach the larvae chewing on your roots. Stratiolaelaps scimitus, once called Hypoaspis miles, is a soil-dwelling predatory mite that lives in the top half inch of your growing media and eats fungus gnat larvae, thrips pupae, and root aphids before they mature. Sprinkle it on once, keep the surface lightly moist, and it establishes a self-sustaining population that patrols the root zone for you.
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- Sticky traps catch flying adults but never touch the larvae in the soil
- Drenches wash out with every watering and need constant reapplication
- Chemical residue you have to time around harvest
- Only works while you keep spraying
- Broad-spectrum products harm beneficial soil life
- You react after you see adults flying
- Hunts the larvae and pupae in the soil where the real damage happens
- One application establishes a breeding population that lasts the life of the medium
- Leaves no residue and is safe to use at any growth stage
- Reproduces in place on a roughly 13-day cycle and keeps working on its own
- Targets pest larvae and leaves your soil biology intact
- Works preventatively so populations never build in the first place
Lives where fungus gnats breed
These mites stay in the top half inch of media and feed on fungus gnat larvae and thrips pupae, the two life stages that foliar sprays cannot reach.
Establishes a permanent population One application
With light surface moisture the mites reproduce in the substrate, so a single release keeps working for the life of the medium instead of washing away.
Roughly 13-day life cycle
Under typical grow-room temperature and humidity the full egg-to-adult cycle runs about 13 days, letting numbers build quickly once released.
Also takes root aphids and springtails
Beyond fungus gnats, this generalist soil predator feeds on root aphids and springtails, giving you broader root-zone coverage from one product.
Preventative or curative
Add it at transplant to stop problems before they start, or apply to an active outbreak to knock down the larvae already in your pots.
Simple to deploy
Mixed in a vermiculite carrier, it shakes evenly across the soil surface with no equipment and no mixing.
Turn and gently shake the tube to mix the mites through the carrier.
Sprinkle evenly over the soil surface at the base of plants, not on the foliage.
Apply at planting or first sign of gnats; typical rate 100-500 per m² (about 300/m² for season-long cover).
Keep the top layer lightly moist, and repeat once or twice if pressure is high.
How Stratiolaelaps clears your fungus gnats
Shake it across the soil
Sprinkle the carrier evenly over the top of your media at the base of each plant. No mixing or watering-in required.
Keep the surface lightly moist
The mites need a slightly damp top layer to move and breed. Avoid letting the surface dry out completely in the first two weeks.
They hunt the root zone
The mites patrol the upper soil, feeding on pest eggs, larvae, and pupae as they go.
Population self-sustains
Females lay eggs directly into the substrate, so the colony renews itself and holds the pests down long term.
- Live Stratiolaelaps scimitus in a shake-ready vermiculite carrier
- Enough mites for the count listed on your chosen size
- Release and care instructions
- Insulated overnight packaging
- Standard canister: covers small to mid-size tents and container gardens
- Larger counts: available for bigger rooms and benches
- Pairs well with: Steinernema feltiae for a deeper root-zone drench
Questions? We're easy to reach.
Happy Hydro has been serving growers since 2006. Call or email us before you order, after you order, or any time something comes up. When you're happy, we're happy.
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