Distribution characteristics of the spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch and the predators, predacious thrips Scolothrips vallidus (Beach), the predatory bug Orius tristicolor (White) and the predacious mite Agistemes exertus were studied in cotton fields in Middle Egypt and used in developing a presence-absence sampling procedure.

The potential impact of these natural enemies on the abundance of spider mites was studied and the simple linear regression suggested that these predators were potentially effective in delaying the build up of spider mites with the highest value of r². S. pallidus and O. tristicolor predators also showed the potential to suppress the rate of spider mite population growth and exhibited the capacity to suppress early season spider mite abundance, whereas the three predators were able to suppress mid to late season spider mite abundance.

The predator-pest association and relationship at different population density levels of predators were evaluated using two criteria, i.e. population growth parameters and functional response models. Results indicated that these predators functionally responded to their prey densities.