Fungus gnats or WINGED ROOT APHIDS???
- Thread starter spleebale
- Start date
Alright, last time the little white ones are "soil" mites and if they ain't I'll eat crow. Juveniles (mites) don't have always 8 legs and even if they did have 8 you might not see them (look at the mite in amber on you tube that I told you to watch). Next there are three distinct independent parts for it to be an insect. Those white bugs only have have two.
Spend 40 solid hours reading up on Oribatid and Astigmatid mites and then tell me otherwise.
Since there are literally hundreds of "root aphids", we need to understand the colors and size will change, but the shape and behaviors do not.
All the RAs I have viewed--all look like this, notice the ridges/bumps on their back. Hypoaspis miles backs are smooth.
Primary symptom of RAs is "phantom plant deficiency". The plant shows signs of deficiency (yellowing leaves, wilt, etc) but the soil is fully charged. RAs are munching on the roots that eventually cut off the plant's ability to intake what it needs.
Flyers are differentiated by shape of their thorax...but that is beyond my pay grade, if you have flyers then you have "soil critters" that look like those above.
All the RAs I have viewed--all look like this, notice the ridges/bumps on their back. Hypoaspis miles backs are smooth.
Primary symptom of RAs is "phantom plant deficiency". The plant shows signs of deficiency (yellowing leaves, wilt, etc) but the soil is fully charged. RAs are munching on the roots that eventually cut off the plant's ability to intake what it needs.
Flyers are differentiated by shape of their thorax...but that is beyond my pay grade, if you have flyers then you have "soil critters" that look like those above.
K, so I have been having problems for a minute now. Once in a while I see a flying aphid, but not shitloads of them. Was using imid and a couple other knock down poisons in rotation and it wasn't working that good. Then I saw one of these little fuckers crawling around. They don't die from poison, as I have seen then crawl right out of it. I just started using ogbiwar 2 days ago, so we'll see how that works. Here's a pic of the bugs im seeing.
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Looks like the worst case, a root aphid. Notice the longer and more delicate looking legs and what appears to be tubes at back side, this differentiates from the benign soil mite. Can you zoom in closer as to be 100%, can't quite make out if those are tubes.
Aphids should be easily killed by a knock down unless pesticide treatments have been mismanaged, which can cause them to become resistant. You need to carefully read how, when and how often to apply. Sounds like you need to expand your arsenal and keep up on rotational treatments (IPM).
cannascholar
Member
frankenstein, It looks like you have the larger, easier to kill variety. I just recently experienced some courtesy of Ocean forest. An application of spectracide triazicide at about an ounce per gallon did them in.
May follow up with Organic ag products' Rid bugs, ogbiowar/met52, followed by various nematodes. Adding lots of biology,enzymes, and quality fertilizer has allowed my full season finish without much Root aphid damage. Been battling the smaller, light brown ones in my outdoor,a much more devastating variety.
May follow up with Organic ag products' Rid bugs, ogbiowar/met52, followed by various nematodes. Adding lots of biology,enzymes, and quality fertilizer has allowed my full season finish without much Root aphid damage. Been battling the smaller, light brown ones in my outdoor,a much more devastating variety.
Hi Frankenstein, what colour is that fly you have trapped? I have got mega bad symptoms but I can never find the culprits. I have noticed one or two little flies that are more rounded in appearance than a fungus gnat/sciarid fly.
they are very small and always in the soil, they move very quickly and erratically!
mk6
Active member
I have battled these lil bastards to death in my indoor gr room, and have tried many products,to include useing my shop vac to hunt them down, but the best and absolute 100% KILLER (not control) is Bayer Complete Insect Killer, these lil pest love wet soil and lay their eggs in the soil then feed on your roots, works for rockwool too, just add it to your rez and you will be done with them. buy at Wallmart Home depot lowes ect...
hey moses sorry to still hear you are having problems, have you done a thorough root inspection of your plants?
your situation sounds a little like mine i had...it took me to take one of my worst plants and dropped it into a bucket of water and slowly removed the soil till i had bare roots and then i could see the RA swimming/crawling in the bucket...
did you ever try pure neem oil? neem cake in the soil has kept the RA away since then
another mate uses BTi to inoculate his soil before he plants and has nice pest free soil...
all the best guys...
Hi ozzieAI, like a fool I traded clones at the beginning of the year. From day one they suffered from stunted growth and sickly brown roots. My plan was to drench them with Neem as often as possible, and it certainly seemed to work. I actually got out a few good harvests.
But then I discontinued the neem when my supply was finished, and everything went to shit. I am using neem oil again but it takes time to build up sysytemically.
I want to try inoculating the soil with BTi and beauvaria bassiana before planting, and I have also been wondering about other horticultural oils. Canola oil with pyrethrum has worked great against mites for me and I am thinking about it as a soil drench.
The way things are going these days I cant ever imagine getting back to using recycled soil. Trading clones: DONT!!!!!
One word: half-life. Investigate it!
if you are ok with imid thats one thing but dont fool yourself. it aint gone when you harvest.
here is some eye opening info regarding pesticide transfer in cannabis...go natural..
http://www.times-standard.com/local...e-you-smoking-study-finds-pesticides-transfer
and the vid: http://humboldt-dspace.calstate.edu/bitstream/handle/2148/1628/HIIMR_Raber_video/html?sequence=5
good luck with the plants moses...FYI i still use recycled soil...the neem cake keeps the fuckers away for me...
Fuck IMID. Used that shit to very little actual effect, I think its so common that most pest populations are resistant by now.. Or at least the one I had.
BOTANIGARD
KONTOS
They don't stand a fucking chance.
BOTANIGARD
KONTOS
They don't stand a fucking chance.
whats your take on kontos eclipse? seems like a much better chem than imid.
I have no personal experience with it, sorry.
DONAJTHEIII
Member
xxx kontos kicks ass but ive only used it as a foliar. I said fuck this shit with all the chems and went to predators now. So happy i did this. I also dont take cuttings from anyone anymore best piece of advice i can give any. pretreat coco brought in and cut from your mom only if you want new genes buy seeds. you have to use the imid and chems correctly especially for a root drench. you have to kind of dump the solution into your medium fast all at once so that it sits like a pool and then drains. when its a pool you know you hit 99% of the areas these fucks can hide it. SM-90,mosquito dunks, nematodes,ocasional azamax drench and a screen = no fliers or shit for me
-AJAE
-AJAE
DONAJTHEIII
Member
**DIDNT SEE MOSES POST...ON POINT WHEN SAYING DONT TRADE CLONES WHEN I FIRST STARTED GARDENING I WAS A NOOB AND THATS ALL I DID AND IT F'D ME SO HARD BUT WHAT I DID GAIN IS AN EXTENSIVE LESSON IN PESTS PRETTY GOOD AT IPM NOW. STAY CLEAN MY FRIENDS **
AJAE
AJAE
I recycle my coco and I'm thinking of treating it with imid between cycles. Any tips on how to do this and get a proper flush before planting new babies? Anything else you guys recommend running through there or mixing in to help prevent pests and helps support a healthy grow mediam? Slightly off topic, but does sm-90 allow mycorrhiza to function?
