APHID PROBLEM 5 WEEKS INTO FLOWERING

[StinkyPinky]

sup guys hasnt been a while since iv been on, got a bit of an aphid problem.

so i just emptied out my trays and cleaned them. had colonies in them breeding like mad. 7 plants taken up about a 4x2 area. 2-3 feet depending on strain: afgoo, bluegoo, strawberry cough (4), blue dream. so needless to say im looking for effective methods to reduce the population and eventually stop the cycle.

iv been sprayin neem solution on the soil bags, the bottom of the plants, and around the soil, also spraying some of the leaves in the bottom near the stalk. i also have 3 sticky traps set up. i have heard that it isnt good to spray the buds during flowering, so i havent sprayed the plants fully. is it suitable to spray them at this point (5 weeks) into flowering, while the buds are still developing yet not near full size?

any effective products or methods?
i have also put hydroton clay balls in the trays so that there aren't as many places for the aphids to congregate.

im looking to exterminate quickly, before they recolonize. help greatly appreciated

 

[PuReKnOwLeDgE]

You can't and won't exterminate them that late in flower, mostly you will control the population. I would concentrate my efforts on treating my veg/mothers with imid, found in "bayer advanced" and the disposal of mediums and cleaning of the infected area after the grow. This will rid of them.

Find out where you contamination came from. A bag of soil? Something in your mix? A hitchhiker on a clone?

 

[mg75]

You can't and won't exterminate them that late in flower, mostly you will control the population. I would concentrate my efforts on treating my veg/mothers with imid, found in "bayer advanced" and the disposal of mediums and cleaning of the infected area after the grow. This will rid of them.

Find out where you contamination came from. A bag of soil? Something in your mix? A hitchhiker on a clone?

good advice ^^^^

if you apply IMID, make sure you use it on ALL of the plants in the grow room (including the veg room).

if you want some organics (temporary help), you can apply some azatrol or azamax and use some horticultural soap to control them.

IMID is the way to go!

 

[StinkyPinky]

IMID-- i am not familiar with this method. could you elaborate further?

also, if i spray soap, can i spray on the buds as long as i shake them out with minimal effect on end potency and growth?

 

[greenmatter]

insecticidal soap thrashes aphids and is not hard on your plants or your wallet. it sucks to get bugs in flower but at least aphids are easier to kill than almost any other bug.

 

[mg75]

don't spray your plants... i would dunk the root-ball in a soap solution (perhaps 10-20min). make sure you dunk it all the way in to kill everything.
bayer tree and shrub at home depot contains imid (blue bottle). it is systemic, which means that the plant "eats" the chemical IMID and makes it a "poison" for the bugs when they consume your roots or foliage. when something is systemic, it usually works for a long time and therefore eradicates the bug problem (they tend to comeback when using other methods). just try not to use it too late into flowering. i would not use it if i am going to harvest in 4 weeks or less. once it's in your plant, you will not be able to flush it out. it has to breakdown on its own which takes 30-45 days.

 

[Zen Master]

if you're talking about ROOT aphids, they are a bitch and a half to get rid of. Way different beast than regular aphids.

finish this grow out because you surely wont kill them without harsh chemical pesticides that you dont want in flowering plants. Clean the shit out of your rooms, discard ALL media, everything. Make it as clean as a hospital in your grow room.

Imidiacloprid is the only thing thats shown to work, at all really, against RA's. Its in Merit or Bayer Tree and Shrub (which should be avail at Lowes or Home Depot)

 

[Catchin1]

go down to

go down to

go down to lowes and go to the section where the pool shit is. Now look for a big bag of DE. It is Diatomacious Earth. It is a filter media coating. It is crushed fossils. They have such sharp edges and razor edges that it just slices up the thrips and will not allow them to leave the soil without dying going through the DE. They do not know and go through it and die. You have to use this in combination with something else, but like a pyretherin might make them flee the soil and thus die by going through the DE. Got it? Try it. Hopefully something helps you with this.

 

[RaNgEr RiCk]

go down to lowes and go to the section where the pool shit is. Now look for a big bag of DE. It is Diatomacious Earth. It is a filter media coating. It is crushed fossils. They have such sharp edges and razor edges that it just slices up the thrips and will not allow them to leave the soil without dying going through the DE. They do not know and go through it and die. You have to use this in combination with something else, but like a pyretherin might make them flee the soil and thus die by going through the DE. Got it? Try it. Hopefully something helps you with this.

Not sure if the aphids cutting themselves with rock is going to be effective. Definitely go with the IMID found in the Bayer Advanced line. But only on plants that are at least 60 days from harvest, or still in veg.

 

[RaNgEr RiCk]

You can use Botanigard ES to kill the aphids up until day of harvest.

 

[StinkyPinky]

thanks for the help guys, really appreciate it. for the next grow i will def make sure to use the Bayer IMID. until harvest, i am going to continue to clean the grow room habitually while spraying the soil bed and base of the stalk with neem solution. any other way to keep the aphids out of the buds?

probably are root aphids, makes sense bcuz i haven't been able to completely eradicate and the dude that got the strawberry coughs for me bought em cheap (and with aphids) . definitely going to make sure this isn't a repeat problem, cuz its a bitch..

one more question: using foxfarm bigbloom every other watering now. what is a good nute to move onto for the final weeks?

 

[Zen Master]

are these lil mite lookin things that are only in the soil/rootball? or are these the green/grey/fuzzy type of aphid that congregate under leafs?

Neem does nothing to RA's.

 

[DMTspice]

I wouldn't try this so late in the flowering stage, but gardeners mix a solution of 50% water and 50% alcohol and spray the plant every five days. It has to be done exactly every five days to kill the life cycle.

Also, some growers say that EWC will make the sap in the plant taste like sour milk to the aphids and they leave on their own.

 

[StinkyPinky]

aww then my mistake, def normal aphids. where exactly do aphids lay their eggs, if not in the trays? soil?

 

[Zen Master]

aww then my mistake, def normal aphids. where exactly do aphids lay their eggs, if not in the trays? soil?

aphids like the undersides of leafs, regular ole aphids are pretty easy to get rid of, shouldn't need anything harsh.

 

[PhytoChrome]

I would suggest Beauvariana Bessiana (Botanigard) early on as well as possibly introducing Lacewings or Ladybugs.