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Beneficial Invertebrates

Poultry-Defender™ for Red Fowl Mite Control

NZ $30.00 excl GST

Poultry Defender™ is a soil-dwelling predatory mite (Stratiolaelaps spp.) that feeds on fowl mites, small insects and nematodes in soils.

This product is currently oversubscribed, please check back next week to see whether it is back in stock. Sorry, there are only 9999 of this item currently in stock. the selected product is not available.

Beneficial Invertebrates

Poultry Defender™ is a soil-dwelling predatory mite (Stratiolaelaps spp.) that feeds on fowl mites, small insects and nematodes in soils.
Important Information Same week delivery is not guaranteed as products are subject to availability. If unsure, please contact Bioforce directly, although be assured that we always aim to deliver as promptly as possible.

Products will only be sent on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and will not be sent on public holidays. Orders placed after 1pm on Wednesday will likely be sent the following week. Please contact Bioforce directly by phone if immediate delivery is required, and we will endeavour to accommodate you. As these products are live organisms, it is important that they arrive quickly to their destination, and we do not send when it is possible they will be in transit over a weekend. Next day delivery is not guaranteed and customers should follow up with CourierPost using the tracking information provided on dispatch.

Bioforce will contact the purchaser advising you of the intended sending date, but only if products will not be shipped within the week of purchase. Please do not purchase the product online if you are unsure, however if the product has been purchased and you are unhappy with the delivery date, we will happily refund you the full amount. Please contact us immediately to complete this, as there will be no refunds once the goods have been sent.
Poultry Defender™ is a small pale brown, highly mobile mite with a lot of energy! Adult mites are 0.5-1.0 mm long and are commonly found in the top few centimetres of soil or compost.

Females lay their eggs near the soil surface, and these hatch into six-legged larvae. There are two further nymph stages and a life cycle can be completed in 10 days at 25 °C, but can vary from 7-30 days depending on temperature.

Below 12°C, Poultry Defender™ becomes inactive, and development stops when temperatures fall below 8°C. The species does not hibernate (diapause) and is able to survive for 6-8 weeks without prey by feeding on decaying organic matter.

Poultry Defender™ is also a predator of fungus gnats and shore flies larvae in the floor media.

Poultry Defender ™ is not considered harmful to humans or animals, and no environmental effects are expected.
Poultry-Defender™ survives well in most poultry coop conditions and is not harmed by regular watering, although flooded or waterlogged areas are not tolerated. Optimum conditions for development are 20-30 °C, and soil temperatures above 30 °C are harmful.
Poultry-Defender™ is supplied in a mixture of media and vermiculite with mould mites as a food source for the mites. There are 10,000 predatory mites per litre of mixture. The product can be packaged in a 1 L Tube or 10 L Bulk bag.
Low pest pressure: 100 predators per square metre 1 litre per 100 square metres Higher pest pressure: 200 - 1000 predators per square metre 1 litre per 10 - 50 square metres Repeated applications may be needed for heavy pest infestations.
Release Poultry Defender™ as soon as possible on arrival Poultry Defender™ can be stored for a maximum of 2 days at 10-15 °C
  • DO NOT REFRIGERATE
  • Sprinkle the mixture on the coops around known infested areas
Poultry Defender™ may take 2-3 weeks to exert an effect on pest populations. Poultry Defender™ can be hard to find in soil or growing media, therefore monitor pest numbers to determine the need for further releases.

Re-application of Poultry Defender™ is recommended to ‘hot spots’ should some pests remain.

Before introducing Poultry Defender™ into your coop please check residual chemical affects and ensure you know chemical compatibilities of products that may be applied.

A list of compatible pesticides and withholding periods can be found in the publication ‘The Good Bug Book’ Second Edition (2002), Editor Richard Llewellyn.

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