What's new
  • Happy Birthday ICMag! Been 20 years since Gypsy Nirvana created the forum! We are celebrating with a 4/20 Giveaway and by launching a new Patreon tier called "420club". You can read more here.
  • Important notice: ICMag's T.O.U. has been updated. Please review it here. For your convenience, it is also available in the main forum menu, under 'Quick Links"!

Fungus gnats or WINGED ROOT APHIDS???

If you want to rinse medium use a contact killer like acephate , spectracide triazicide and for less toxic go with essentria or cedarcide. Be sure to follow any treatment with a good rinse. I would go organic routes if you care about myco growth.

Better yet heat it somehow either mechanically with steam/oven or in a sunny spot covered with a black tarp and some compost mixed in.
 

Granger2

Active member
Veteran
You'll get pretty much a 100% kill if you do a 30 min soak with Cedarcide PCO Choice @ 2 oz/gal. You'll need to follow that up a day or 2 before planting with a *thorough* flush. The Cedarcide will kill all stages incl eggs, and it won't mess with beneficials, nor will it be taken up by the plants for you to smoke/eat. Good luck. -granger
 

moses wellfleet

Well-known member
Moderator
Veteran
can people please describe the symptoms they are seeing in their roots when WRA are present, I am getting healthy white roots rapidly turning to brown slimy rotten roots?

I found fungus gnats in my yellow sticky traps, but then there was another similar looking fly that had light and dark segments on it's abdomen that gave the appearance of stripes very similar to the drawing of the different stages of root aphids a couple posts back!
 

Granger2

Active member
Veteran
You said WRA. You may have a raging infestation and have none with wings or only a few. Most of their reproduction is from wingless adults giving live birth to wingless adults who are born pregnant, and so on. That's why they are so hard to control.

Usually they don't start making flyers until the infestation is so heavy that they need to expand their territory. Look for the tailpipes, and the RA flyers have a stubbier wide rear with the tailpipes. FG's have a pointed rear. Use yellow sticky traps for monitoring. Good luck. -granger
 

moses wellfleet

Well-known member
Moderator
Veteran
You said WRA. You may have a raging infestation and have none with wings or only a few. Most of their reproduction is from wingless adults giving live birth to wingless adults who are born pregnant, and so on. That's why they are so hard to control.

Usually they don't start making flyers until they infestation is so heavy that they need to expand their territory. Look for the tailpipes, and the RA flyers have a stubbier wide rear with the tailpipes. FG's have a pointed rear. Use yellow sticky traps for monitoring. Good luck. -granger
I have examined my rootball for months now and I see nothing and I have good eyes, I stopped reusing soil and still the problem persists.

the roots keep going brown and dying off, the problem is there is no real information on these things. You cant fight an enemy you cant identify. I would love to hug a broad mite right now!
 
I have examined my rootball for months now and I see nothing and I have good eyes, I stopped reusing soil and still the problem persists.

the roots keep going brown and dying off, the problem is there is no real information on these things. You cant fight an enemy you cant identify. I would love to hug a broad mite right now!

you need like 100-200x minimum to see RAs in the medium (non-flyers). Your bare eyes aren't going to cut it unfortunately.
 

moses wellfleet

Well-known member
Moderator
Veteran
you need like 100-200x minimum to see RAs in the medium (non-flyers). Your bare eyes aren't going to cut it unfortunately.

Ok thank you for the reply, so my problem could be root aphids even if there is nothing visible to the naked eye!

I have come to the conclusion the roots are damaged under the base of the stem and I am seeing the resultant die off at the extremities of the feeder roots!
 

DONAJTHEIII

Member
So Im pretty sure sm-90 does not effect microbe life as Ive talked to many people about this before. Also your right XXX sm-90 doesnt effect RA's but where you messed up is that there are diff stages of RA's. Sm-90 not so much on adults but when the dosage is doubled on the bottle and used from start to finish your golden because the eggs wont ever hatch even if their are adults present because they get suffocated.No resistance built because its the fact that they suffocate.

Moses I saw your struggling with these RA's I used to throw chems at every pest I saw and some I saw success some not so much. After completing my BA last year I took a shitload of science courses which I didnt have under my belt when I started gardening years ago. Why am I mentioning this ?

Bobble recently switched to all organic because he too realized that the best way to fight alot of these pests are with other pests its simple biology and science. He mentioned it in his new thread and I totally agree. Im not a full "organichead "if you want to call it that haha but I def know that my broadmite problem is under control thanks to predatory mites which I only looked at after my science courses were completed. Use to have a bad FG problem too hated those things now bye bye due to mosquito dunks which if alot of you arent aware is beneficial bacteria. I get the mosquito pellets/bits and sprinkle it on the top of my coco and keep a dunk in my rez too. I also use beneficial nematodes from start to finish and again XXX these need to be used from the start just like sm-90 does... they eat on the early stages so people dont find success in these amazing critters because they try it when they see an infestation breakout and by then its too late they dont eat adults ! People need to do their research on these organic ipm measures because they really are way better than chems in my exp. and for christ sake the application measures are so easy no mixing up chems at certain amounts and getting up in gear spraying down weekly or whatever. all my organic ipm measures are a piece of cake

Moses this is what I would do my man:

1) like you mentioned no more outside clones thats so key !
2) I would cut as many clones asI could possibly do especially your prized genetics
**no roots no RA's throw that medium out start fresh**
**also I like an ezcloner especially for your situation because you can see all the bare roots when they develop no aphids hiding in cubes etc. but either way works just my 2 cents**
3)next use a microbial tea mixed with nematodes some teas at local garden shops inoculate their teas with beneficial nematodes and other goods to keep those roots looking happy so you could ask them teas no too expensive either but i make mine
4)Keep using beneficial nematodes and BTI like you said you wanted to try its so easy to do moses but the key is start to finish ;). Literally I get my nematodes in the sponge form either mix it in ro water idk if they need it i just do it incase and spray it on the top soil/coco. or I throw the sponge in the rez and then handwater them. you could even do both if your really paranoid ! the sponge is easy to cut in pieces and you can store it in a fridge for a little bit too for a couple weekly uses but not too long. The nematodes will stay alive but they need that medium to be moist so dont let it dry out to much. Ill keep the sponge in my rez and change it out weekly to every couple of weeks. SO sprinkled mosquito dunks and nematodes and random microbial teas keep my roots on point ! mix in a root drench product that wont effect that microbial life and I think your set.

I use two diff types of predatory mites for my broads and love my little critters there a gardeners best friend I swear. treat them right and theyll treat you right too.

hope this helps moses I feel your pain bro but you can beat it pimping if I did

AJAE :biggrin:
 

medicalmj

Active member
Veteran
Ok thank you for the reply, so my problem could be root aphids even if there is nothing visible to the naked eye!

I have come to the conclusion the roots are damaged under the base of the stem and I am seeing the resultant die off at the extremities of the feeder roots!
Well I suppose I am beating a dead horse here but...

You're issue is with the fungus gnats, which I've said too many times but everyone is on this invisible root aphid witch hunt. Don't get me wrong there are root aphids that'll fuck you over but you will see them. period.

So if you are reading this, fungus gnats are a VECTOR for root rot!!!

Again, FGs are a vector for ROOT ROT. And that's what you are dealing with, well at least as you describe.

I have no doubt you will find soil mites if you take a piece of that brown root and put it under the scope (20-40x will do). But they are simply there to clean up the decay caused by those god damn fg larvae that slither up and down your roots eating the fine hairs shitting all over them and spreading potential shit like pythium.

So, again, FGs can cause root rot. They don't always do a lot of damage but given the right conditions they can really fuck you over. I have a small population right now but I keep them in check and implement a solid IPM strategy.

Finally, unless you're near blind you can easily see root aphids!!! So you DO NOT have them, at least yet...

What you can't easily see, but many post close ups of are soil mites. Harmless fucking soil mites. Don't even think of eliminating them because it's not gonna happen. They'll just disappear when the FGs are gone.
 

moses wellfleet

Well-known member
Moderator
Veteran
Ok interesting theory, yes there are certainly fungus gnats present, I have trapped adults and seen the larvae! There are also soil mites, which I believe to be hypoaspis miles!
 

EclipseFour20

aka "Doc"
Veteran
Agree with MedicalMJ, Root Aphids can be seen with the naked eye and are not microscopic (like Broad Mites)...to discern RAs from other crawling critters (beneficial ones too) you need a magnifier. I am old (not blind) and I can tell the difference with a 45x magnifier.

Root aphids become agitated easily and will scamper around the container, which makes it easy to detect---watering and vibration (tapping the side of the container) are the 2 tricks I use.

After watering/tapping the container, RAs will crawl up the inside of the container and run races (as in NASCAR style) around the lid. Examine the drain holes too, especially after watering. RAs will congregate there faster than old ladies at a church revival.

Examine the rootballs of your harvest, if you have RAs they will be munching on the roots...here I use a 15x loupe with the sun as my light source.

It has been my experience...if you have RAs, then you have a super chance of ALSO having Fungus Gnats (RAs attract FGs)...but the reverse is not true. Which makes me ponder/wonder if RAs ride on the backs of FGs?
 

xxxstr8edgexxx

Active member
Veteran
i think bad habits is mostly right. 100-200 for ras is more than plenty. honestly eclipse is right on that 45 is sufficient.
however. for a cannabis garden 100-200x scope is the minimum requirement imo.
ras arent the only bullshit youll deal with. if you can afford 2 dollars worth of calcium nitrate and magnesium sulfate/nitrate mixed with two and a half gallons of water at 100 bucks a jug than you can afford a 150 digital scope. its as important a tool as a hose and mixing tank. you could technically get by without either but why would you want too. a scope will save you hours of handwringing and staring at tiny bugs til you have a migrain and potentially thousands and thousand of dollars if it aids in a well timed detection.
so while technically you dont need 100 x for ras its a hell of alot easier with that kinda zoom. and if youre like most people and you bring in clones youll need it to see the tersamid mites and stem nematodes.
 

moses wellfleet

Well-known member
Moderator
Veteran
Much bigger. You can see them. BMs: microscopic.
Then there is no way I have root aphids. I have been studying my rootballs for months now, I never see anything besides fungus gnat larvae and soil mites!

I have known the broads intimately for over two years now, anything larger than a broad mite I would have seen by now!
 

medicalmj

Active member
Veteran
Then there is no way I have root aphids. I have been studying my rootballs for months now, I never see anything besides fungus gnat larvae and soil mites!

I have known the broads intimately for over two years now, anything larger than a broad mite I would have seen by now!
Soil mites and broad mites are two completely different "animals". Life exists as we know because of soil mites but broad mites are a pest to many commercial crops.

Last, read your last sentence a few times and then do a little research. What I told you is no theory. Oh yeah, read about phoresy too.
 

moses wellfleet

Well-known member
Moderator
Veteran
OK I will inoculate all newly planted clones with BTi, if FGs are the cause of the problem then I should see results in a couple weeks!...

If there is no improvement then I must doubt my eyesight, and treat for root aphids!
 

Latest posts

Latest posts

Top