Predatory Mites - Again

[aclum]

Hi,

I realize this has been discussed to some degree before, but I still have some questions on predatory mites for russet mites and spider mites

I've had problems with russet mites for a while and have been unable to control them with limited spraying of wettable sulfur and Take Down Garden Spray (not at the same time!!). I really dislike spraying and nearly wound up in the hospital not too long ago after misusing (I think) the Take Down. But I have GOT to do something before I lose all of my plants and have been looking into using predatory mites.

Hydro-gardens offers number of species of predatory mites that would seem to be effective, but the shipping costs make them prohibitively expensive for me. There are other less expensive sources (due to free shipping) namely on Amazon, and I could probably find more if I did a more thorough web search. (I'll post a link to an example in an edit to this post - I'm afraid I'll lose what I've written if I try to do it midstream).

I'm wondering if the predatory mites will be effective in the hot, dry, central California summer weather. How soon can I "apply" predatory mites after spraying other things - like dilute bleach solution, sulfur, fungicides, etc? Will any subsequent spraying - or even blasts of plain water to dislodge aphids, etc. kill the predatory mites?

From VCScott's thread from last July (I think), did you all end up using predatory mites and, if so, how did they work out? What species of mite did you use?

Thanks for any advice!

Anne