Houseplant Pest Guard – Spider Mite & Thrips Predator Sachets | Spical Plus & Thripex (Koppert)
Houseplant Pest Guard – Spider Mite & Thrips Predator Sachets | Spical Plus & Thripex (Koppert)
🛡️ Type: Live Biological Control (Preventative & Treatment)
Koppert breeder sachets of predatory mites: elite units trained to hunt spider mites (Spical Plus), thrips (Thripex), or both. Each sachet is a living colony that patrols your plants for weeks. The tradeoff: they're alive, so they need a week's lead time, the right conditions, and deployment the day they land.
A spray is an airstrike. This is a standing army.
A spray is one dramatic blast and a satisfying body count, then a surviving egg or two rebuilds the whole family within a fortnight. Predator sachets fight a different kind of war. A unit moves in, sets up a perimeter and stays on patrol for weeks, picking off anything that tries to move in.
You won't see them work. Each mite is smaller than a full stop. That's not a weakness; it's what covert operations look like. The only evidence they were there is the damage that never happens.
Meet the units
- 🕷️ Spical Plus, the spider mite specialists: Neoseiulus californicus hunt spider mites at every life stage, from egg to adult, and also take out broad mite and other pest mites.
- 🪲 Thripex, the thrips specialists: Neoseiulus cucumeris ambush thrips at the most vulnerable moment of their lives, eating eggs as they hatch and the youngest larvae, so the next generation never makes it.
⏳ Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.
Special forces don't get dropped in tired, and neither do ours. Predatory mites have a shelf life measured in days, so any shop that keeps them on a shelf is selling you a dying army. We don't stock them at all. Your order goes to Koppert, who raise and pack a fresh unit for your mission alone. They arrive hungry, at full strength, with reinforcements still hatching inside the sachet.
That takes about a week longer than our other products: a week of preparation for a month on patrol. Need them by a certain date? Deploy a week early.
🎯 Timing is everything.
Deployed early, these units stop an invasion before you ever see it. Already under attack? They'll take the fight to an existing infestation too. They just need the right battle plan.
Real special forces don't walk into a stronghold alone. They soften the target first, then go in to finish the job and hold the ground. Do the same:
- Soften the target: Give the plant a good shower or wipe the leaves down to knock back the adult pests. Water won't harm the predators you send in after.
- Send in more troops: On a heavy infestation, double the sachets: 2–4 per plant instead of 1–2.
- Hold the ground: The predators work through eggs, young and survivors over the following weeks, and stop the next generation taking hold.
Every sachet does a 3–4 week tour of duty. Rotate fresh troops in on schedule and the perimeter never drops.
📋 Fail to prepare, and you prepare to fail.
- Pick the right terrain: These units are built for humid ground. Spical struggles below about 60% humidity and Thripex below about 70%. Tents, propagators, cabinets, bathrooms, greenhouses and grouped plants on a humidity tray are ideal; a dry, centrally heated room is not.
- No friendly fire: Most insecticides kill predators too. Keep sprays away for a few weeks either side of deployment.
- No rival units: Koppert advise against putting Thripex on the same plants as Swirski, Anso-mite or Limonica, as they can eat each other.
- Hold the shade: Hang sachets in the middle of the foliage, out of direct sun and away from heaters.
Choose your mission
- Pick your pest: Spider Mites (Spical Plus), Thrips (Thripex), or Both. Choosing Both gets you that many of each, for less than buying them separately.
- Pick how many sachets: Koppert's guide is 1–2 per plant (or per square metre where plants touch) for prevention, and 2–4 per plant for an existing infestation. Count your pest-prone plants and round up.
A single sachet is a cheap reconnaissance mission on one problem plant. Spical Plus 100 and 500, and Thripex 500, arrive as Koppert's sealed trade boxes.
🌍 Theatres of operation
- Houseplant collections: Calathea, Alocasia, Monstera, Anthurium, Philodendron, Ficus, Schefflera, ivy, palms, orchids and Hoya.
- Grow tents and propagators: Warm, humid and enclosed, where pests multiply fastest and predators thrive.
- Greenhouses and conservatories: Citrus, chillies, strawberries, cucumbers and ornamentals. (Koppert advise against use on tomatoes.)
🪂 Deployment orders
- Deploy on arrival: Hang sachets the day they land. Troops kept waiting lose strength.
- Don't open the sachet: Each one has a built-in exit. Hold it by the tab to avoid squashing the mites.
- Hang in the shade: Middle of the plant, out of direct sun and away from heaters.
- Maintain the terrain: Mist or group plants if the air is dry.
- Rotate every 3–4 weeks: Fresh troops keep the perimeter unbroken.
🌱 Rose's Pro-Tip: Using both units? Station them on different plants, or at different heights on bigger ones. Specialists work best with their own patch to patrol.
❓ Mission Briefing: Your Questions Answered
Are they safe around children and pets?
Yes. Predatory mites don't bite people or animals and have no interest in them. The only caution is the bran carrier, which can irritate anyone with dust or mite allergies, so handle sachets by the tab and wash your hands.
Will they escape and spread through my house?
No. They only eat pest mites and thrips, not plants, furniture, fabric or food. When there's nothing left to hunt, their numbers fade away. You'll almost certainly never see one.
Do they work on an existing infestation?
Yes. Knock the adults back first with a shower or wipe-down, then use 2–4 sachets per plant. The predators work through eggs, young and survivors over the following weeks. Thripex targets thrips eggs and young larvae rather than adults, which is why that first wash matters.
How do I know they're working?
Look for what stops happening: no fresh webbing, no new silvery thrips scarring, healthy new leaves. With a magnifying glass you might spot them on the undersides of leaves: tiny, pale, fast-moving and pear-shaped.
How many sachets do I need?
For prevention, 1–2 per plant, or per square metre where plants touch. For an existing infestation, 2–4 per plant. Replace every 3–4 weeks.
Can I use them alongside sprays, neem or insecticidal soap?
Not at the same time. Most insecticides, including oil and soap sprays, kill predators on contact. Knock pests back with a shower or wipe-down instead, or finish any spray treatment and wait a few weeks before deploying.
Do they work in a normal living room?
They work best above about 60% humidity for Spical, or 70% for Thripex. Many heated UK homes are drier than that in winter. Grouping plants, using a humidity tray or misting helps, and tents, propagators, cabinets and bathrooms are ideal.
Why does delivery take about a week?
Because they're raised fresh for your order rather than sitting on a shelf. Predatory mites only last days once packed, so anything kept in stock would arrive weakened. Yours arrive hungry and at full strength.
Can I store them until I need them?
Only for a day or two, somewhere cool (10–15°C) and dark, and never in the fridge. Order when you're ready to use them.
Can I use Spical Plus and Thripex together?
Yes. That's what the Both option is for. Station them on different plants, or at different heights on larger ones.
Will they harm my plants?
No. They're carnivores and don't eat plant tissue at all. Koppert advise against using them on tomatoes, but they're fine for houseplants, herbs, chillies, citrus and most greenhouse crops.
Do you ship outside the UK?
No. Live predators can't survive long international journeys, and many countries restrict releasing non-native mites.
📐 Unit specifications
- Spical Plus: Neoseiulus californicus, 100 predators per sachet, plus food mites and bran. Targets spider mites, broad mite and other pest mites. Best at 13–32°C and above 60% humidity.
- Thripex: Neoseiulus cucumeris, plus food mites and bran. Targets thrips eggs and young larvae. Best at 15–25°C and above 70% humidity.
- Not for: Tomatoes.
- Handling: The bran carrier can irritate people with dust or mite allergies. Handle by the tab and wash your hands afterwards.
- If you can't deploy immediately: Hold for no more than 1–2 days somewhere cool (10–15°C) and dark. Never in the fridge.
📋 Logistics: Raised to order by Koppert and packed fresh, so allow about a week for dispatch. Smaller units are counted out from sealed Koppert trade boxes. UK delivery only.