Sick of thrips and fungus gnats? Breed Rove beetles!

[ROCKSTEADY6]

Let the carnage begin. Beetles are smaller than I was expecting. Only realised my chosen boxes are not airtight about 10 minutes before I unloaded the new arrivals. Anyway all seems good for now. Thanks again FarmerPalmersNT. I would have never done this had it not been for this thread. Hope they like that food as I have shit loads of it. 

 

[Era]

‘Rove beetles do not bite or sting but their blood contains a strong toxin called pederin that can cause skin and eye irritation.

Initial symptoms include reddening of the skin, and a 'burning' sensation. This is followed by painful irritation and itching, with extensive pustules and blistering of the skin after 4 days.’

Anyone know if this applies to the local ones?
It’s an Australian website and I know their bugs are in a different league, but if it’s the same situation with our rove beetles It would put me off getting them.

I’d be worried about the dogs eating them, both are ninja fly catchers.

Edited June 24, 2020 by Era

[ROCKSTEADY6]

6 hours ago, Era said:

‘Rove beetles do not bite or sting but their blood contains a strong toxin called pederin that can cause skin and eye irritation.

Initial symptoms include reddening of the skin, and a 'burning' sensation. This is followed by painful irritation and itching, with extensive pustules and blistering of the skin after 4 days.’

Anyone know if this applies to the local ones?
It’s an Australian website and I know their bugs are in a different league, but if it’s the same situation with our rove beetles It would put me off getting them.

I’d be worried about the dogs eating them, both are ninja fly catchers.

 

I also read that but don't plan on handling them, I have no clue if it does apply sorry. Maybe someone who knows more will come along. Farmer around the world are breeding them to use on crop pests so I presume they are relatively safe. They are very small, adults about 7mm long. Not sure a dog could catch them but I don't know your dogs abilities. I am Australian so bugs don't bother me whatsoever. 

[FarmerPalmersNT]

On 24/06/2020 at 2:26 PM, ROCKSTEADY6 said:

Let the carnage begin. Beetles are smaller than I was expecting. Only realised my chosen boxes are not airtight about 10 minutes before I unloaded the new arrivals. Anyway all seems good for now. Thanks again FarmerPalmersNT. I would have never done this had it not been for this thread. Hope they like that food as I have shit loads of it. 

 

 

 

Looks a lot more professional than my ghetto tubs.... Eta, I only use one layer of mesh under the feed, otherwise you get loads of them in all the folds and stuff. Makes cleaning easier. 

 

Re. the whole toxicity thing... I can't see it myself. I've had them all over my hands and no ill effects. 

Edited June 28, 2020 by FarmerPalmersNT

[ROCKSTEADY6]

2 hours ago, FarmerPalmersNT said:

Eta, I only use one layer of mesh under the feed, otherwise you get loads of them in all the folds and stuff. Makes cleaning easier. 

 

 

Thanks for the heads up on that. Will chop that cloth up when I open it up next. Have you any photos or your tubs just before you release them? Presume they fly out quickly but just thought I would ask. Hope you are enjoying your weekend. 

[buddy13]

4 hours ago, ROCKSTEADY6 said:

Presume they fly out quickly

 

I just leave a tub slightly open on the pot/bed, spray a bit of water at it every day and they come and go as they please(all pests are gone and there's still loads in the tub)....

4-6 weeks down the line with only the original food and they're still going strong

cheers @FarmerPalmersNT

[FarmerPalmersNT]

10 hours ago, ROCKSTEADY6 said:

 

Thanks for the heads up on that. Will chop that cloth up when I open it up next. Have you any photos or your tubs just before you release them? Presume they fly out quickly but just thought I would ask. Hope you are enjoying your weekend. 

 

I've got some videos but dunno about pics. I'll see what I can do. They don't fly much at all to be honest. I think I've seen it twice maybe. They just run around and dive into the soil. I think maybe flying isnt that common. The tubs are properly crawling with them at peak. 

[InTheSystem]

Nice work @ROCKSTEADY6 mate! Much more professional than my old magic mushroom tubs with the slot meshed  My tub is absolutely crawling with Rove Beetles after a few weeks or so starting with about 5 beetles I would say and few larvae.. They breed like rabbits! I saw loads trying to get out the mesh but after speaking with FP - he advised I put them in the fridge for 5/10 mins as the heat gets them a bit rowdy... Worked a treat as after 10 mins they had all gone to the surface or below again and abled me to switch the food out easily. Will get another tub on the go today and release some in the no till bed.. I use pitbull food and crab meal for chitin in a food blender... Can't find chick feed for life of me over here  

 

 

 

@FarmerPalmersNT - is da man! 

p.s. They eat LOADS!!! destroyed about 2 heaped table spoons of feed in about 4 days, if that.

Edited July 1, 2020 by InTheSystem

[ROCKSTEADY6]

8 minutes ago, InTheSystem said:

My tub is absolutely crawling with Rove Beetles after a few weeks or so starting with about 5 beetles I would say and few larvae.. They breed like rabbits!

 

Can't find chick feed for life of me over here  

 

@FarmerPalmersNT - is da man! 

p.s. They eat LOADS!!! destroyed about 2 heaped table spoons of feed in about 4 days, if that.

 

Hey mate. Glad you mentioned those points. I thought I might have been ripped off as there only seemed to be about 4 or 5 of the beetles in each tub. I shook the entire cylinder thing into the two tubs. 

 

FarmerPalmerNT, Yes he is the man. Incredible knowledge, same as you though. I am increasing my knowledge in my own random way. Chick feed FFS, I got 5 kgs of it as the price was right - think it should feed a few. Take it easy . 

[InTheSystem]

@ROCKSTEADY6 - Cheers fella. I am always learning still and trying to share my learning experiences with others... Priceless info and like minded peeps on here makes the whole process much more enjoyable. Don't worry with your chick feed when you have them big tubs full it will go quick. I was quite shocked to look at the tub yesterday and the food was near enough completely gone. Was a massive pile of feed bigger than my setup picture. Palmers wern't joking when he said they are hungry buggers and carnivorous... Seeing how quick they move about wanting to get out to a gnat dinner I would be scared as a gnat or thrip  

[ROCKSTEADY6]

On 29/06/2020 at 0:10 AM, FarmerPalmersNT said:

They just run around and dive into the soil.

 

2 minutes ago, InTheSystem said:

Palmers wern't joking when he said they are hungry buggers and carnivorous... Seeing how quick they move about wanting to get out to a gnat dinner I would be scared as a gnat or thrip  

 

Haha. Yeah the quote above has me excited to watch them. They sound really fun creatures diving into the soil. @FarmerPalmersNT what other things have you got cooking that we could try? 

[InTheSystem]

@ROCKSTEADY6 - I heard he can do voodoo and make plants sing and dance.... You have read his "Building the mega bed diary" mate? Most diverse set of beetles/soil life I have ever seen on a no-till setup. It's this Organic section of the forum   

[FarmerPalmersNT]

Ha! Thanks guys. Not sure I've managed voodoo yet. @ROCKSTEADY6 live ant colony in the bed is my next stupid project. 

[Often_Growing]

On 02/07/2020 at 10:54 PM, FarmerPalmersNT said:

Ha! Thanks guys. Not sure I've managed voodoo yet. @ROCKSTEADY6 live ant colony in the bed is my next stupid project. 

 

Maybe not so stupid, have just read how rove beetles become symbiotic inside ant colonies. If you have never stumbled into an ant colony, i can tell you this is not an easy thing to do.

[Nervous]

It's been a few more months since I introduced the beetles. Here's the most recent update: 

Haven't had fungus gnat issues in forever. Can't even see the larva in the soil. Yellow sticky paper is now proving to be a hinderance as it's just trapping flying rove beetles and the occasional spider.

However, the roves don't seem to be as effective with thrips as I had hoped. They don't spend a lot of time on plants or appear in the numbers you see in soil so they are missing a big part of the thrip lifecycle. Still a lot of visible thrip damage (on some plant varieties and not others). I was giving some thought to using orius on top of the roves but I really don't want to bet on whether the types available for bio control bite as much as orius insidious when disturbed in a hot environment.

I've applied some mites to take care of the thrips, but I'm still on the lookout for the final solution for them  

  

Edited November 9, 2020 by Nervous