Strawberries & Pest Control

Strawberries are a sweet, delicate crop—but they're also highly vulnerable to pests like thrips, aphids, spider mites, and whiteflies. Effective pest control is essential to maintaining healthy plants, maximizing yields, and ensuring fruit quality. With fewer chemical options available and rising consumer demand for sustainable practices, biological control offers a safe, natural, and proven solution. Whether you're growing strawberries in a micro facility, greenhouse, tunnel, or field, using beneficial insects and mites can help you stay ahead of pest pressures while protecting pollinators and the environment.

Monitoring & Mass Trapping

Horiver Wetstick cards and Horiver Rollertraps are essential tools for pest management in strawberry crops.

For monitoring purposes, hang one YELLOW Horiver Wetstick card every 20-40 square meters. If your growing space is smaller, ensure there are at least 4 cards per compartment. These sticky cards are crucial for detecting pests like thrips, whiteflies, aphids, and sciarid flies.

Check and assess the cards weekly to monitor pest populations. Additionally, perform thorough crop inspections from the soil to the canopy. Inspect the soil, stems, leaves, and joints for signs of pests. Always flip leaves to examine both upper and lower surfaces, especially targeting new and older growth where pests tend to hide.

For mass trapping, deploy BLUE Horiver Rollertraps or additional BLUE cards at a rate of 800 per acre or 100 every 500 meters square. Space them in a grid-style pattern throughout your crop at a height of 30cm. These traps effectively capture thrips, but need to be used in strawberry crops, as the color is less attractive to Thripor (Orius insidiosus), a natural thrips predator used often in these crops.

This proactive trapping approach is your first and most crucial line of defense—stopping insect migration before it reaches your strawberries.

Thrips Control Products

Thrips Control Products	Preventative	Elimination	Repeat Applications	Notes
Swirski-Mite Plus	One sachet every 2 square meters	One sachet every .75 square meters or 8 ft.	Every 3-4 weeks	Feeds on 1st instar thrips larvae.
Thripor	5 per square meter	10-15 per square meter	Bi-weekly or as needed	Feeds on all stages of thrips, except eggs and pupae. Ensure all introductions are placed out after week 8.
Blue Horiver Wetstick Cards	Hang blue Horiver Rollertraps throughout growing space	Additionally, add 100 cards per 500 square meters	Replace cards when full	For best results place cards approx. 30cm above canopy.
Swirski Bulk	n/a	50-500 predatory mites per square meter	Bi-weekly or as needed	Feeds on 1st instar thrips larvae. For extra support, when using the sachets.
Atheta	2 predatory bugs per meter square	n/a	Once at planting	Feeds on the thrips pupae that are in the soil.
Entomite	50-100 predatory mites per square meter	200 predatory mites per square meter	Once at planting	Feeds on the thrips pupae that are in the soil.
Entonem	125,000 nematodes per meter square	500,000 nematodes per meter square	Bi-weekly or as needed	Can be used as a drench or as a spray. A drench will help with thrips pupa and a spray will help with thrips adults and larva

Spider Mite Control Products

Spider Mite Control Products	Preventative	Elimination	Repeat Applications	Notes
Spidex Vital	10 predatory mites per square meter	25-100 predatory mites per square meter	Weekly or bi-weekly as needed	Feeds on all stages of spider mites. Best used in preventative or light curative situations.
Spidex Vital Plus	1 sachet per plant along post rows and side walls	1-3 sachets per plant in hot spots	Weekly or bi-weekly or as needed	Feeds on all stages of spider mites. Best used in preventative or light curative situations.
Spidex Red	n/a	25-100 predatory mites per square meter	Weekly or bi-weekly or as needed	Feeds on all stages of spider mites. Best used when you have hot spots with webbing.
Spidend	n/a	Apply 1 tube of 250 insects per hot spot	Apply 1 tube weekly for 3-4 weeks	The larvae of this product feeds on all stages of spider mites. Best used when you have hot spots with webbing.
Spical Plus	One sachet every 2 square meters	One sachet every .75 square meters or 8 ft.	Every 3-4 weeks	Feeds on all stages of spider mites. Best used in preventative situations, as this predatory mite does not like walking in spider mite webbing.

Aphid Control Products

Aphid Control Products	Preventative	Elimination	Repeat Applications	Notes
Aphipar	1 parasitic wasp per square meter	2-5 parasitic wasps per square meter	Weekly or bi-weekly as needed	Controls the Cotton Aphid, Tobacco Aphid, and the Green Peach Aphid. This product starts working as soon as it is introduced to the plants. However, visible results, such as aphids turning into mummies, will become noticeable after 14-21 days.
Aphipar-M	1 parasitic wasp per square meter	2-5 parasitic wasps per square meter	Weekly or bi-weekly as needed	Controls the Cotton Aphid, Tobacco Aphid, and the Green Peach Aphid. This product starts working as soon as it is introduced to the plants. However, visible results, such as aphids turning into mummies, will become noticeable after 14-21 days.
Ervipar	1 parasitic wasp per square meter	2-5 parasitic wasps per square meter	Weekly or bi-weekly as needed	Controls the Potato Aphid, Tobacco Aphid, and the Foxglove Aphid. This product starts working as soon as it is introduced to the plants. However, visible results, such as aphids turning into mummies, will become noticeable after 14-21 days.
Aphilin	1 parasitic wasp per square meter	2-5 parasitic wasps per square meter	Weekly or bi-weekly as needed	Controls the Potato Aphid, Foxglove Aphid, and the Green Peach Aphid. This product starts working as soon as it is introduced to the plants. However, visible results, such as aphids turning into mummies, will become noticeable after 14-21 days.
Aphidend	n/a	5-10 gall midges per square meter	Weekly or bi-weekly as needed	Generalist beneficial insect that feeds on all aphid species. This product starts working as soon as it is introduced to the plants. However, visible results, such as aphids turning into mummies, will become noticeable after 14-21 days.
Chrysopa	n/a	50-250 predatory bugs per meter square	Weekly or bi-weekly as needed	Generalist beneficial insect that feeds on all aphid species.

Fungus Gnat Control Products

Fungus Gnat Control Products	Preventative	Elimination	Repeat Applications	Notes
Entomite	50-100 mites per square meter	200 mites per square meter	One application at planting	Feeds on fungus gnat eggs and larvae.
Yellow Horiver Wetstick Cards	n/a	Two cards per square meter	Replace cards when full	Hang underneath the canopy near the soil line to capture flying adults.
Entonem	125,000 per square meter	500,000 per square meter	Weekly or bi-weekly as needed	Works on fungus gnat larvae.
Atheta	2 predatory beetles per square meter	n/a	One application at planting	Feeds on fungus gnat eggs and larvae.

Whitefly Pest Control Products

Whitefly Control Products	Preventative	Elimination	Repeat Applications	Note
Enermix	1.5 parasitic wasps per square meter	10-15 parasitic wasps per square meter	Weekly or bi-weekly as needed	This product starts working as soon as it is introduced to the plants. However, visible results, such as whitefly pupae changing color, will become noticeable after 14-21 days. The goal is to achieve 80% parasitism. Due to the nature of parasitoids, you will never reach 100% parasitism. Leave the deleafed leaves on the floor if parasitism rate is above 50%. This allows the parasitic wasps to continue to emerge from removed leaves.
Enstrip	1.5 parasitic wasps per square meter	10-15 parasitic wasps per square meter	Weekly or bi-weekly as needed	Use this product when you are growing in cooler conditions (below 77°F (25°C)) and in lower dispersed whitefly situations as they live longer so they can oviposit eggs over a longer duration. This product starts working as soon as it is introduced to the plants. However, visible results, such as whitefly pupae changing color, will become noticeable after 14-21 days. The goal is to achieve 80% parasitism. Due to the nature of parasitoids, you will never reach 100% parasitism. Leave the deleafed leaves on the floor if parasitism rate is above 50%. This allows the parasitic wasps to continue to emerge from removed leaves.
Ercal	1.5 parasitic wasps per square meter	10-15 parasitic wasps per square meter	Weekly or bi-weekly as needed	Use this product in warmer temperatures, typically above 77°F (25°C). It also responds more quickly to high-pressure whitefly situations because they oviposit all their eggs over a shorter period than Encarsia. This product starts working as soon as it is introduced to the plants. However, visible results, such as whitefly pupae changing color, will become noticeable after 14-21 days. The goal is to achieve 80% parasitism. Due to the nature of parasitoids, you will never reach 100% parasitism. Leave the deleafed leaves on the floor if parasitism rate is above 50%. This allows the parasitic wasps to continue to emerge from removed leaves.
Yellow Horiver Wetstick Cards	One card per square meter	Two cards per square meter	Replace cards when full	Hang 30 cm above crop, move the cards up as the tomato plants grow.