Organic Pest Control for California Avocados: What It Really Takes
Organic Pest Control for California Avocados: What It Really Takes
This year, persea mite pressure has been unusually high across Ventura County — not just here at our California ranch. Our PCA (Pest Control Advisor) flagged it early, and we've spent the last few months managing it the only way we can: organically.
Here's what that actually looked like, and why we think it's worth it.
What Is Persea Mite, and Why Does It Matter?
Persea mite is one of the most persistent pests California avocado growers deal with. Left unchecked, it stresses the tree and can affect fruit quality — and this year it's a countywide issue across Ventura County, not isolated to any one farm.
Most conventional avocado operations manage it with a pesticide called Agrimek, along with avocado thrips. It's effective, and it's fast. It's also not an option for us — Agrimek isn't approved for organic use.
Our First Treatment: Organic Entrust
Back in May, we treated with Entrust, an organic-approved spinosad — a compound derived from soil bacteria rather than synthesized in a lab. Compared to a broad-spectrum conventional miticide like Agrimek, Entrust is a targeted, organic alternative for thrips and persea mite.
It worked, for a while. But as pressure built countywide through the summer heat, the mites came back.
Round Two — Releasing 100,000 Predator Mites Per Acre
When Entrust wasn't enough on its own, we turned to biological pest control: releasing Californicus, a predatory mite species that feeds specifically on persea mite, across all 100 of our certified organic acres — 100,000 predator mites per acre, applied by drone.
The timing was tight. We were in the middle of a heat wave, with daytime temps climbing toward 100°F. Californicus can't be applied once temperatures hit 90°F, so drone crews had to start before sunrise and wrap by around 10am each day. It took two mornings to cover the full ranch.
In about 10 days, our PCA will return to check whether the Californicus population has established and whether persea mite pressure has actually dropped.
What Organic Pest Control Actually Costs
Here's the part that doesn't show up on a label: this is expensive, and it's labor-intensive. We paid for the predator mites themselves, and we paid for a drone crew to apply them precisely across 100 acres, twice, in a narrow pre-dawn window, timed around a heat wave.
A conventional California avocado grower facing the same persea mite pressure could spray Agrimek in a single afternoon, at a fraction of the cost. We can't do that — and even if we could, we wouldn't.
[Shop our certified organic varieties →]
Does Organic Matter for Avocados If You Don't Eat the Peel?
We hear this a lot: avocados have a thick skin you don't eat, so does organic even matter the way it does for something like strawberries, where pesticide residue sits directly on what you eat? It's a fair question, and it's not as black-and-white for avocados.
But here's how we think about it: it's not just about what ends up on your plate. It's about what goes into the ground, into the tree, and into the fruit as it grows.
Do you want Agrimek sprayed on the trees your food comes from, or a treatment derived from soil bacteria? Do you want glyphosate used for weed control, or none at all? Do you want synthetic chemical fertilizers, or nutrients like our Allganic Nitrogen — sourced from natural clay rock deposits in Chile's Atacama Desert — and kelp extracts from the Oceans to nourish the trees?
None of this is required to grow an avocado. It's a choice — a more expensive, more management-intensive one, every single season. We make it anyway, because we believe it matters.
You are what you eat. And in a smaller but real way, you're connected to how it was grown.
Want updates straight from the ranch — including whether the Californicus release worked? Sign up for our newsletter at levisorganicavocados.com and [Shop the ranch →]
