A Look Back at NECANN Boston 2025

Apr 07, 2025

We’re back from our jaunt to New England for the NECANN Boston cannabis show. It was good to get out of the office and circulate among the cannabis grower community. NECANN is a hub of activity for New England growers.

Kristen Fowler represented the Koppert team at the event, and Jarrod Jonsrud carried the day for Natural Enemies. In case you missed it—we gave out some premium swag bags: sturdy canvas totes full of information and product samples, as in cards, sachets, and bottles. Since it was a show we included some fun stuff, too, like pens (good ones), loupes on lanyards (LOL), and a pest identification poster that was a real crowd pleaser.

Our slogans brought a lot of traffic to our booth: Pesticide Reduction For Cannabis Production and BioControls for Home Growers and Small Businesses. Judging by the amount of visitors we received, these are topics that weigh heavily on growers’ minds and that is inspiring. We were happy to help them in their quest for ever cleaner crops and a healthy environment.

Here are some questions we answered at the show:

What is the best way to get rid of spider mites?

We like the bottled version of Spidex Vital during the growing phase because it delivers a high volume of predators at a good price. We do switch to the sachet versions (Spidex Vital Plus or Spidex Vital Go) before the plants flower to keep the crop squeaky clean.

Which predatory mites are compatible to deploy together?

For spider mite protection we like to use a combination of Spidex (P. persimilis, Type I) and Spical (N. californicus, Type II) as they target different lifecycle phases of the pest and work synergistically to eradicate spider mites. The general rule of thumb is to not mix predatory mites of the same classification. So two Type III predators (A. swirskii, N. cucumeris, A. limonicus, and A. andersoni) together is a big-time no-no. Contact our technical support team for further details.

Are you a distributor or a supplier?

Natural Enemies is a direct source. We ship directly from the Koppert bug farms to the client site. Predatory insects are definitely perishable so it’s best not to obtain them through distributors or third-party providers. Farm fresh is key here.

Do you have any tips for identifying pests and their biological control agent (BCA) solutions?

Look at the bugs closely, or at the evidence they leave in their wake. Then you can identify them through the symptoms or detailed photographs. Horiver cards (sticky cards that trap insects as they travel) are helpful at this point for puzzling out problems.

Do viable alternatives to chemical spraying exist?

Our answer of: “Yes, organic pest control,” was met by another good round of questions. We love talking about this stuff.

Now it’s back to the grindstone here in Oregon. Luckily our crack team of customer service advisors, including Roxanne, Rebecca, Lola, Marcy, and Patricia, kept pace with all the website orders while we were away so we didn’t return to a POP—pile of paperwork!

Hope to see you again, at TPIE in Fort Lauderdale in January or at NECANN Boston 2026!