predatory bugs late flower good idea?

[Kevin_Winnicot]

"I keep hearing people recommend predatory mites and lacewings for thrips, but I'm not sure if dropping them in during mid flower makes sense. By week 5 the buds are stacking heavy, and the last thing I want is to find little bug corpses mixed in come harvest.

I'm running coco in a run-to-waste setup under HPS, three feeds a day, everything's dense and frosty right now. But I'm spotting silvery streaks on some of the lower fan leaves and it's got me debating if predators this late are just trading one problem for another. Anyone here actually happy with how predators behaved past week 5? Or is it cleaner just to strip lower growth and ride it out to finish?"

 

[hydro.nate]

They don't really hang out in the buds as much as people worry. Lacewings are messy though, so I'd skip those this late and predatory mites like cucumeris or swirskii can still help keep thrips in check without leaving noticeable bodies in your harvest, so week 5+ you're better off combining a leaf strip and just riding it out unless it's a full blown outbreak

 

[gr33nandgr33ner]

Nice tip! I had thrips show up around week 6 when I was growing basil on my balcony. Swirskii mites worked well, quite clean and easy. I skipped lacewings since they get messy late in the grow.

Are you growing inside or outside? And what plant are you working on? That will help you know how strong your pest plan needs to be.