Pest ID help

[Gardens Keeper]

I thought it was just fungus gnats so I applied GNATROL WDG, but after taking pictures tonight I do not this this is a fungus gnat. They are wrecking my plants wish I could get a better picture. I rarely see them fly but they all in the bathroom where I pour water and using the drain for a water source.

I will try for better pictures when possible but they are hard to focus on so hopefully this is good enough.

 

[canna woop!]

Can you describe what damage you are seeing on the leaves or post a picture of the damage? Any bugs on or under the leaves? You may need to pick it and have a look under an illuminated scope

 

[Gardens Keeper]

Extremely slow growth with MG def, phos def, and what looks like light burn or nute burn almost. I am running 100% organic soil a mix from the organics forum used by Gascanastan was a huge thread with hundreds of pages tried and true. I can snap pics of the plants tomorrow but the root growth is bad. I can't find any bugs on them though I checked several plants roots and plants themselves. I just see these fly every once in awhile they are very sneaky in the tents but I see them all near where there is a water source.

 

[Gardens Keeper]

I added two more pictures to the original post. It really looks like a drain fly so if it is then this si not my problem because they say they don;t attack plants but live in them and can possibly pass off bad bacteria so that could be the cause, but /shrug no idea really.

https://www.google.com/search?q=drain+flies&rlz=1C1SNNT_enUS494&espv=210&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=mUPzUpvFC5OssQSCsoHADw&sqi=2&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=600#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=zM9LD_6WPJxEyM%253A%3Bok_-dHhEgSekWM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fplantdiagnostics.umd.edu%252F_media%252Fclient%252Fdiagnostics%252Ffullsize%252Fdrain_fly_l.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fplantdiagnostics.umd.edu%252Flevel3.cfm%253FcauseID%253D1034%3B400%3B300

 

[canna woop!]

hey bud, i remember that thread. well it's a bit tough to say what the problem could be if it is that pest or not given there are so many factors that affect root growth. It could be anything from airborne particles (laundry stain remover/ highway pollutant/ household cleaner etc.). OR it could be some issue in the soil such as pH (lack of calcium) or some buildup of some element leading to odd lock out. or temperatures, mildew or root fungus, or of course some pest. Are you maintaining any foliar spray?

many soil-born pests can be defeated by breaking the cycle of their reproduction. a 1-2'' layer of sand on the top and bottom of the soil (where soil is exposed to air) can keep them from reproducing easily when the sand is dry.

 

[Gardens Keeper]

Yeah, I need to buy a new pH pen for soil testing bluelab had an awesome one out that is new and got good reviews. What I think I will do is go ahead and transplant into an old tried and true soil mix I used to get rid of that variable and reapply my Gnatrol WDG larvaicde since it works on almost every fly I have looked up. It definitely is not root aphids I know that for sure. What I am also going to do in case is is a bacteria from the flies living in the soil and breeding passing it on to the plant roots is try out some OG Biowar for the root zone and see if that helps since it fights bad bacteria/fungus/ and all the bad root bugs. I have not foliar fed at all due to this being my first run with a new soil I wanted to see how they worked out without any other outside factors. I will check this thread and get back to it if things workout and hopefully someone will come a long that can id those flies.

 

[canna woop!]

I don't necessarily think you need a pH pen. Just state how much lime (or minerals containing calcium) you added to your soil... I was just guessing what's wrong based on common problems i see yet it's impossible to really say given there is a huge lack of info about what your actual problem is (beside slowed growth?) a phosphorous deficiency expressing itself in plants is extremely rare in organic soil since it usually has mineral P available and supports mycorrhiza that inject P into plants roots when mineral P is not available. Also more details about your setup could be useful if you have alink to it with pictures.

 

[Gardens Keeper]

1/2 cup of this for liming:
1 part powdered dolomite lime
1 part agricultural gypsum
2 parts powdered oyster shell

These dried commercially available amendments...

2 cups crab shell meal
4 cups acadian kelp meal
4 cups fish meal OR N. bat guano
4 cups fish bone meal
1 cup sul-po-mag...aka langbeinite
2 cups neem seed meal..or karanja seed meal
1 cup alfalfa

1/2 gallon of bentonite
1 gallon EWC
2 gallons perlite
1 gallon vermiculite
2 gallons coco husk..rinsed well and fully hydrated

mixed with 1 cubic foot of peat and 1 cubic foot of miracle grow organic soil screened.



I grow in tents with the environment in check. Plenty of ventilation, humidity is fine, temp is 80-90, and I use the new gavita 600 watt lights 3 feet away for my small plants. I changed too many variables at once being the lights and the new mix. I should have changed only one.

 

[BatmanX]

It's a drain fly for sure. They are one of the only species of flies with long antennas and a hairy thorax. I'm not making any assumptions here, but typically they are only found in moldy dirty environments. Should get a snake and some chemicals and blast that drain. Some sticky traps and a thorough cleaning from a to z would be very beneficial. Flies do not thrive in sterile environments.

 

[Gardens Keeper]

Yeah, it has to be the bathroom then. There is no mold but when I run hot water in there there is no outtake fan. I will throw some bleach intermittently down the drain then and just not run any hot water.

Thanks for answers guys.

 

[BatmanX]

I'd dump a thing of draino first. There has to be something clumped up in there for them to be feeding on. Plus it'll eradicate most of the species, definitely put sticky traps above that drain cover for the next few days just to get the stragglers.

 

[dumbask]

I have to borrow your topic, sorry! Who is munching my plant? How do I get rid of them? Help please!









Damage is all over the plant, top shoots come out wrinkled and eaten! I have some flying things too and maybe I found some transparent eggs with a scope.