Is your home an urban jungle? Do you keep tropical or exotic houseplants? At some point, you will be facing spider mites, thrips, aphids or mealybugs. These are all miserable pests to deal with. But don't worry! You can always use Chrysop to keep your plants pest-free. Chrysop is a generalist predator and will eat a variety of common houseplant pests.
What is Chrysop?
Chrysop contains cards printed with the eggs of Chrysopa carnea, the green lacewing. Green lacewings are a widely distributed species and part of our ecology in western Europe and the UK. The eggs hatch 3 - 4 days after receipt. The young larvae are tiny but voracious, and they begin immediately to look for prey in your houseplants. Over a period of about 20 days, they comb your plants for pests, including aphids, spider mites, thrips, and mealybugs. In our experience, Chrysop does not eat adult thrips. If you have adult thrips in your plants, we recommend physically removing them from your plants.
How to use Chrysop?
Chrysop cards can be easily hung in the plants, close to the areas of infestation. Carefully break the cards apart without squishing the eggs inside. Hang 1 - 3 cards per plant, for houseplants of average size. Large plants can be dosed with 5 cards or more.
Tip:Hang the cards as close as possible to the infested areas of the plant. This way, the Chrysop larvae have less distance to travel to find food.
How does Chrysop work?
The Chrysop larvae hatch from the eggs and immediately start to search for food. They remain active in the plants for two to three weeks, depending upon temperature. The larger the larvae are, the more they can eat. If there is not enough food present in the plants, then the larvae will cannibalize each other or die off. After a maximum of three weeks, the larval phase will be completed. At this point, the larvae will move on to a pupal stage. Due to the conditions needed for successful pupation, it is highly unlikely you will end up with any adult lacewings in your home.
Still need help deciding? Get in touch with us! Send us some (sharp) photos of the insects in your plants, and we can help you decide the best approach to treatment.
Can I combine pesticides with Chrysop?
In general, no. However, the waiting time before you can use Chrysop depends upon the product used:
- Conserve garden: no waiting time; this product is not dangerous for Chrysop.
- Fazilo Spray: wait 1 week after spraying before you use Chrysop.
- All products based on pyrethrin: 3 days after the first spraying.
- Neem oil: 2 weeks waiting time
- Spiritus / green soap / brown soap: 5 days waiting time
- Multisect: the waiting time for this product is as-yet unknown, so wait as least 2 weeks.
If you used a different product from those listed here, please contact us so we can advise.
Don't use any chemical or natural sprays for at least 3 weeks after using Chrysop! Otherwise, it's possible you will kill the beneficial insects.
More information?
Rootsum has been active for 30 years in the field of biological control. You can contact us at any time between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. We will be happy to help you.
