There are a number of things you can do to ensure you get the maximum effect from releasing Banitch in your garden, starting even before you recieve your order. Some of them though, will feel a little like you are encouraging Biting Midge Fly/Sandfly into your garden. That is ok as Banitch are expert at hunting the nests of BMF/Sandfly out. Please water these little fellows love a bit of moisture.
Banitch live in the humus layer which is the top 0.5cm of ground cover.

So, before we release Banitch into your garden you might want to consider improving anywhere where there is not a top 0.5 of ground cover. Ground cover could be anything from a commercially bought mulch, like sugar cane mulch to lawn clippings or leaf litter. Bark mulch is not as effective as it does tend to dry out quicker than other ground covers.

Leaving your lawns to grow a little longer will also help, as longer grass creates its own humid environment and leaving lawn clippings behind when mowing will help to create that 0.5cm of mulch in your lawns especially if there is no thatch. Raised garden beds and plant pots are also a great place to release into, and should be treated the same as the rest of your garden.

Ensuring there is a good ground cover all over your garden will help Banitch get a good coverage and help to ensure a successful treatment. Anywhere where there is not moisture holding ground cover is not a good place for them to live, so gravel beds and paths are not a suitable place to release Banitch.

The first thing you should do upon receiving your Banitch is to check you can see them moving around the bucket. They are very small, but you should be able to see them if you have good eyesight. Any form of magnification can be helpful though.
You can also put a spoon full in a pile in the middle of piece of plain white paper, like printer paper. You should be able see they move out of the media and start moving across the paper as they fan out in search of food. They will look cream in colour and it might take a minute or two to see them moving about.

Start close to the house or where you are most affected by Biting Midge Fly the most.
We usually recommend using a desert spoon as a measure and distribution method. Simply scoop out a level spoon and flick, drop, or sprinkle Banitch anywhere there is a suitable environment. For good coverage you should be looking to place some every 1 or 2 steps, as you get further away from the house or area that needs the most treatment, you can spread it thinner by taking more steps between deployments. Ideally you would put more in suitable areas, and less in less suitable environments as they will travel, and a good home is more important than an even spread. If there is any leftover you can broad cast them out over lawns, gardens, nature strips or over neighbours’ fences into their gardens.

As they are a live insect they do not have a long shelf life, the longer they are in the bucket the less you will have in the bucket. We recommend releasing BanItch as soon as you can upon receiving them, and within 24 hours.

Treating your garden is as easy as putting out fertilizer. Banitch comes a compost style media that is easily sprinkled over the grass and around garden areas.

Due to the nature of nature, there will be a time when you will need to re treat your property. Upon the first release of predators there will be a very high level of pests, in this case biting midge fly. The predators fan out and literally eat everything eatable in their path and multiply.

But then comes the crash when they run out of food, and they then die out. This leaves the way open for the local population of biting midge to re infest your garden. Re-treatments will then be required to maintain management.

You will not need as many to treat the second time though. Even though the numbers will be on the rise they should not get as high as they were before you started treatment.

As they are a live insect they do not have a long shelf life. The longer they are in the bucket the less you will have in the bucket. We recommend releasing your hypos as soon as you can upon receiving them, and within 24 hours.

They are happiest in the top 0.5cm of soil and mulch of your garden, this is called the hummus layer. They like it moist and for there to be a good ground cover, this can be anything from commercially bought to natural mulch like leaf litter and lawn clippings left behind from mowing. Gravel beds, paved paths and concreted areas are not at all suitable for Banitch.

Banitch will actually be more affective in a moist environment, so keeping the watering up in the areas treated is beneficial. Longer lawns will also provide a naturally moister environment also, so not cutting your lawn as short will also be beneficial to Banitch predators.

Banitch predators will not bite you or your pets. BanItch predators don’t get protein via a blood supply like mosquitos or Sandfly / Biting Midge fly, so they are not interested in you.
They are like Ladybirds and Praying Mantis, they consume insects smaller than themselves.

In the 10 years we have had Banitch breading on mass on our property they have never over run anything. This is probably due to the fact that they will eat each other, and dry and cold weather are not suitable to them. They will also drown if the ground becomes flooded.

It can happen that once you treat your lawns and gardens, that the Biting Midge Fly will move onto your driveway or garden paths, this should subside.