Koppert Thripex – Thrips Predator Sachets (Natural Biological Control)

🪲 Type: Live Biological Control (Preventative / Early Infestations)
Breeder sachets of thrips-hunting predatory mites that patrol your plants for several weeks. They eat thrips eggs as they hatch and the youngest larvae, which stops the next generation before it starts. The tradeoff: they don't eat adult thrips, so on a heavy infestation they're a follow-up to a clean-up, not a cure on their own.

Thrips don't announce themselves. Neither do these.

Thrips are the houseplant world's most passive-aggressive pest. You don't see them arrive; you see the silvery scarring on your Monstera three weeks later, by which point the culprits have laid the next batch. The problem was never the thrips you can see. It's the ones about to hatch.

So Koppert stopped trying to win the battle and started winning the nursery instead. Each sachet holds predatory mites (Neoseiulus cucumeris), food mites and bran. The predators breed inside and walk out through a pre-made hole over several weeks, picking off thrips at the one stage where they're defenceless. It's the horticultural equivalent of fixing the leak rather than buying a bigger bucket.

Commercial growers have hung these in their crops for decades. If you've ever bought a nursery plant with a little paper pouch hanging inside, there's a decent chance it was one of these, quietly working in the background.

Who it's for

• Aroid collectors: Monstera, Alocasia, Anthurium, Philodendron and Syngonium, the plants thrips seem to target personally.
• Flowering houseplants: Orchids, African violets, Begonias, Hoya and anything that blooms indoors.
• Grow tents, propagators and greenhouses: Enclosed, humid spaces where the predators thrive. (Koppert advise against use on tomatoes.)
• Anyone who's had thrips before: They usually come back. Prevention costs pennies; another round of scarred leaves doesn't.

Choosing your pack size

Roughly one sachet per plant (or per square metre where plants touch), replaced every 3–4 weeks. Count your thrips-prone plants and round up.

• 5 or 10 sachets: A small collection or a single shelf.
• 25 or 50 sachets: Larger collections, tents and conservatories.
• 100 sachets: Plant rooms and small greenhouses.
• Box of 500: Koppert's full sealed trade box for growers.

🌱 Rose's Pro-Tip: These predators like it humid; Koppert note they're sensitive below about 70% humidity and happiest at 15–25°C. That's higher than most living rooms, so they shine in tents, propagators, cabinets, bathrooms and greenhouses. If you've got an active outbreak, rinse the plant and treat the adults first, wait for any sprays to clear, then hang sachets to mop up what hatches next.

How to Use

1. Use straight away: These are alive. Hang them as soon as they arrive.
2. Don't open them: Sachets already have an exit hole. Hold by the tab to avoid squashing the mites.
3. Hang in the shade: Hook it into the middle of the plant, out of direct sun and away from heaters. Letting the bottom edge touch the compost can help it last longer.
4. Replace every 3–4 weeks: Keep a fresh sachet up through the warmer months, or all year indoors.
5. Skip the sprays: Most insecticides will kill your predators too.
6. One generalist at a time: Koppert advise not mixing Thripex with Swirski, Anso-mite or Limonica on the same plants, as they can eat each other.

Product Specifications

• Predator: Neoseiulus cucumeris (formerly Amblyseius cucumeris)
• Contents: Predatory mites and food mites mixed with bran, in paper breeder sachets
• Targets: Thrips eggs and young larvae (Western flower thrips, onion thrips and others); also eats some pest mites
• Best conditions: 15–25°C, humidity above 70%
• Not for: Tomatoes
• Storage: Use on arrival. If you must wait, keep for no more than 1–2 days somewhere cool (10–15°C) and dark. Not in the fridge.

📋 Live Product Note: Thripex is a living product, made to order by Koppert and ordered in fresh for you, so please allow a few extra working days for dispatch. Our 5–100 sachet packs are counted out from sealed Koppert trade boxes; the box of 500 is sent as Koppert supply it. UK delivery only.