little white bugs

[troy1010]

hey fellow growers im having a problem with some autos this year. i have encountered a very small im talking pin head size white bugs in my potting mix. i also have noticed some that are bigger than the rest about 2mm in length. some are creamy coloured. i also have these flying insects they look like miniature mosquitos and are black.they seem to be burrowing into the soil. it would appear that they may be the one bug in diffrent lifecycle stages ??? oh also the plants have stopped growing on the spot. been about 2 weeks now so im not really sure what to do any help much appreciated.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Sounds like fungus gnats - larva and adults. They feed on root hairs in the soil. That may be what's slowing growth.

Severe infestations are tough to deal with. You may need another source of potting mix and quite possibly need to sterilize your grow space before planting another crop.

Tricks to manage less than severe outbreaks include allowing your soil to dry before watering. Gnats thrive in wet soil. The problem is systemic, meaning you'll have to deal with adults and larva systematically.

There's a soil additive called diatomaceous earth. It's crushed volcanic glass and it lacerates the thorax of larva and dries em out. You only have to sprinkle on the top layer of your soil pots.

There are also several poisons you may drench the soil and or spay the plant. It's important not to do it in flower. Mosquito dunks can be crushed and sprinkled over the top layer of soil and watered in.

I use yellow sticky paper or fly tape for the adults.

 

[medicalmj]

The flying/burrowing are fungus gnats. they eat roots and spread disease. The small white bugs are not FGs . Fungus gnats start out as larvae (slug looking things), which is what causes damage. Fliers are only bad as they lay eggs. Use sticky yellow traps only to warn of a problem. They do absolutely nothing to control populations. The little white bugs are probably a soil mite. You'll need a scope. If they got 8 legs your good. If they got 6 then you also have Root Aphids. That's bad news. Hope they're 8 leggers as soil mites eat bacteria and fungus and are usually nothing to worry about, unless bulb mite, unlikely tho...

You will need to take qyick action. If you're in veg I recommend starting w Imid as a soil drench. Kills RAs also. Then follow up with at least 2 azamax drenches about 5 days apart. Then consider using benificial nematodes to keep in check...

GL. been there.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Without a more detailed description, I took "bugs" as general, i.e. unidentified.

Knowing whether the OP has larva or "bugs" might require magnification. Less magnification, fungus gnat larva look like what the op described excepting the "bugs" part.

I don't know the magnification here but it's considerable.

fungus gnat larva

 

[troy1010]

Hey people thanks for your help ill be getting a mate to have a look under his scope for me. I think they are feeding on the roots so sounds like u nailed it for me. Thanks again.

 

[troy1010]

well i got a sample to my mates place. it appears i got them gnats . but i also got these little 6 legged creapys. they are only about 1 to 2mm in size and look nasty. i decided to flood the pots and see what happened. holy shit there were litterally hundreds of these little buggers trying to crawl up the inside of the pots to escape the water. im guessing these are root aphids ??? any help appreciated.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Morphing gnats have legs and crawl out of the medium before they fly.

That said it sounds more like medicalmj's call. A pic would help identify the bug and might hone your options. Hope you get it worked out.

I'd get the bag of medium away from the grow area if possible. Chances are you could treat the medium before next plant and have fewer critters to deal with.

 

[mobius]

hey guys this may be a dumb question but would you do a systematic treatment if you saw just 1 or 2 fungus gnats? Because i'm pretty sure every bag of soil I ever bought had some but I never see more than a few in my garden. I use neem throughout veg and in flower occasionally use azamax as a preventive, but my stick traps suggest their populations never reach a level i should be worried, or does seeing 1 or 2 warrant immediate action? (in the form of a soil drench of azamax for example)

thanks

 

[mobius]

well i got a sample to my mates place. it appears i got them gnats . but i also got these little 6 legged creapys. they are only about 1 to 2mm in size and look nasty. i decided to flood the pots and see what happened. holy shit there were litterally hundreds of these little buggers trying to crawl up the inside of the pots to escape the water. im guessing these are root aphids ??? any help appreciated.

the soil mites i was dealing with do the same thing, as do the springtails. both of the bugs crawl out of the medium on the edges of my pot when i water. both appear like tiny white bugs to the naked eye. i think you should only be concerned if they are spider mites, aphids, or fungus gnats, or bulb mites from what medicalmj and others are saying.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

In my opinion you're just fine. I had gnats for years but kept em in low numbers by allowing the medium to dry before watering. Obviously, dry is relative.

Sticky traps are worth the hassle because every egg-laying adult nabbed is less eggs in the medium.

My gnats are all gone but that may be more anomaly than actions. I've made a point to keep produce out of the open as gnats go for the moisture. Keeping moisture sources to a minimum kills lots of gnats.

 

[lightforms]

Gnats are harmless in low doses. Drying pots will do the trick. Also have sprayed some aerosol pesticide from the dro store (forgot name-sorry) which sped up the process. good luck!

 

[medicalmj]

the soil mites i was dealing with do the same thing, as do the springtails. both of the bugs crawl out of the medium on the edges of my pot when i water. both appear like tiny white bugs to the naked eye. i think you should only be concerned if they are spider mites, aphids, or fungus gnats, or bulb mites from what medicalmj and others are saying.

I am going to reconsider my analysis. It's been my experience, wit my ailing eyesight however, that Oribatid mites (common soil mites) or Astigmated mites are really small white dots. It is common to see them on the edges of moist, not dry, edges of containers. Why? Because there's algae or maybe other organic matter that they're eating. And they really aren't that bothered by water. These guys probably evovled in the Canadian peat bogs, which is where we're getting the peat. More on that later...

BUT, if these effers are big enough to see their legs and they scurry up when you water, THOSE ARE ROOT APHIDS!

Root aphids look like similiar to the mites I've discussed, except RAs bigger and have the dual exhaust tube in the rear. If they are RAs an Imid drench and other measures will be necessary.

Anyway, more observations and info is needed.

GL!

 

[mobius]

I am going to reconsider my analysis. It's been my experience, wit my ailing eyesight however, that Oribatid mites (common soil mites) or Astigmated mites are really small white dots. It is common to see them on the edges of moist, not dry, edges of containers. Why? Because there's algae or maybe other organic matter that they're eating. And they really aren't that bothered by water. These guys probably evovled in the Canadian peat bogs, which is where we're getting the peat. More on that later...

BUT, if these effers are big enough to see their legs and they scurry up when you water, THOSE ARE ROOT APHIDS!

Root aphids look like similiar to the mites I've discussed, except RAs bigger and have the dual exhaust tube in the rear. If they are RAs an Imid drench and other measures will be necessary.

Anyway, more observations and info is needed.

GL!

do root aphids have wings? because i'm pretty sure the few i've seen scurry on the topsoil in my case were fungus gnats. they had wings and were pretty fast. the white bugs i'm talking about were slow-moving and definitely mites or springtails because i checked them.

 

[mobius]

i just saw pictures of root aphids that got me paranoid, they look very similar to gnats. i pray i never get them. what are the symptoms of root aphids we should watch out for.

 

[medicalmj]

i just saw pictures of root aphids that got me paranoid, they look very similar to gnats. i pray i never get them. what are the symptoms of root aphids we should watch out for.

RAs symptons are most often associated w cal/mag deficiencies. Its been my experience that all root pests will show cal/mag type deficiencies. I would take a root sample from the top 1-2 inches and examine for gnat larvae. They have a black head and grow to 5 cm long, so visible w naked eye. Also examine the crawling bugs. Determine 6 or 8 legs. That'll tell you if you have RAs or mites...

 

[Gardens Keeper]

Fungus Gnats can do serious damage don't be fooled. They attack and feed off the roots much like root aphids and in higher numbers can decimate a crops yield just as good. Here is a quote from me in another thread. Do not turn to chemical pesticides as they will simply keep you in a cycle of chemical dependency if it is a recurrent issue in the region in which you are growing.

Schmalphy I would be happy to point you in the right direction.

http://www.rinconvitova.com/predator%20mite.htm

I grow 100% organic like this thread and just like these soil mixes out do anything a synthetic fert can do and is virtually plug and play I have also found predator bugs are more efficient than synthetic chemicals.

Order Hypoaspis Miles for fungus gnats and thrips. You can propagate them in a soil bin you never till or use. Simply add beneficial nematodes and they will have a feast that will last for 2 months plus. I reintroduce them to the flowering and vegetative rooms after transplants are done by scooping top layers of soil out of the rubber-maid I propagate them in. These little guys will destroy anything that gets near the root systems as they live a couple of inches on the outer soil layer. As long as they have a food source they will stick around and in massive numbers. You will see your soil moving after watering or before if you look at it close enough. They are extremely fast and mobile as well as small enough to penetrate the entire root ball. They are not mobile on the entire plant however. They like the lowest parts. They will destroy even the worst fungus gnat infestation in 2-3 days. This is why you need to add nematodes if you want to keep them around because they will reproduce quicker than the fungus gnats as well as kill the fungus gnats a long side the Hypoaspis Miles. This is the only way to conquer recurrent and seasonal infestations.

For predator mites that stay on the plant above ground go with the ones that target the type of mite you have. For two spotted I would get Amblyseius fallacis and Phytoseiulus persimilis. You can propagate them in vermiculite and pollen. So screw female seeds and use some male pollen to keep them a live =)

Early Christmas present to all of you suffering from pests.

 

[Gardens Keeper]

Be sure to buy a cheap UBS microscope on amazon.com or something (5-20$) for correct identification as it is hard to tell the difference between gnats and aphids sometimes. Aphids will be bugs and fungus gnats will be maggots in the medium.

 

[troy1010]

Thanks again i have root aphids for sure. Gonna pull plants and get rid of soil. Started more autohazes last week they look good so far. Signs of infestation are mg cal deficiency .as others posted. Thanks again.

 

[jumanji2]

Fungus Gnats can do serious damage don't be fooled. They attack and feed off the roots much like root aphids and in higher numbers can decimate a crops yield just as good. Here is a quote from me in another thread. Do not turn to chemical pesticides as they will simply keep you in a cycle of chemical dependency if it is a recurrent issue in the region in which you are growing.

Thanks for this info GK.
I believe im having an issue with RA's. They are cream/vanilla colored little guys..they seem to have 4-8 leg and they crawl and burrow really quick. I have noticed nothing flying around. Man they fuck with everything i have from cuts to end of flower. My girls are in canna coco. I used Azamax and gnatrol, both on seperate occasions. i also use azamax to pre treat my coco before i transplant and for preventive maint every week. They seemed to have gone down in numbers but as soon as I flip to 12/12 they just explode in numbers.

GK..I went to the link and wanted to ask you what would be the best predatory bug for these guys. I went to the aphid bio page and there are a lot of choices. Would the ladybugs suffice, do they die out once they rid of the ra's? Thanks.

 

[Leathermonster]

Anyone got a decent photo of these pests? I found some small white bugs in a plant I brought in from outdoors to reveg and Id like to figure this out soon! Thanks in advance