[issack]

root afids...help!!!...going to water with diatomatious earth and neem oil today when i get off work...took these shots this morning...my plants are going down hill and i'm freakin out!!!!!.....afids are everywhere in my soil!!!!
fuck!!!!

is this the same thing as fungus gnats? if so.....Fungus gnats like to feed on roots of the plants and organic matter. Adults and larvae live in moist, shady areas. The adults lay there eggs on top of the soil, near the base of the stem and takes about 4 days to hatch. The larvae will start by eating the root hairs of the plant then working their way up the plant, Fungus gnats like to eat organic matter so they will be stealing away nutrients from your plants, so its best to get rid of them completely.

If plants are outdoors, check the soil of plants before taking them back indoors for adult gnats or their larvae.

Prevent indoor entry of gnats by making sure there is no open windows open without screens on. Aug is a bad time for them as they are worst that time of the year.

Put sticky traps on the soil surface to trap the gnats

Put potato slices on the surface of the soil. The larvae like it and will be drawn to it.. After about 4 to 5 days, remove the potato slices with the larvae. To get rid of them you can do a lot of things like either use a NO pest strip, neem oil or putting sand on the surface of the soil will suffocate the eggs and get rid of them as well. Tobacco juice kills them, and works well for re-occurrences!

They can be in or on the soil and can fly. In order to get rid of them you can use neem oil, sand on the surface again kills them, and no pest strips catch the ones that fly. A chemical product called Zone works very well and is very powerful and works well in hydro!

from the scik plant and ph and pest thread by mynameisstich

[issack]

i had a fungus gnat problem and fixed it with neem oil...these are different than gnats nothing is flying in my room at all...just in the soil...thanks STANKBUD for sending me some good energy. i'm still trying to get some more info.....i'm loosing sleep man...ahhhhhh!!!!!!

got this off of ask ed rosenthal on cannabis culture, hope it helps....

Root aphids colonize and suck juices from roots in many mediums including horticultural pebbles, rockwool and planting mixes. They are persistent, so it requires some discipline to eliminate them. There are several organic products that can be used without affecting the plant, the buds, or the safety of the buds for later human consumption. The first is organic pyrethrum. This is a natural insecticide gathered from a chrysanthemum-type flower. There are several brands of liquid concentrate. If pyrethrum liquid is not available at your local nursery or garden shop you can order it on the internet.

Botanigard is an insecticide that is composed of a living fungus, beauveria bassiana. This fungus seeks out aphids and infects them, causing death. Then it releases spores waiting for more victims. It also works to control whiteflies and thrips. You can order it at many garden stores or through garden websites on the internet.

Neem oil and citrus oil have also been used to kill aphids, but they sometimes affect the roots. Test them on a sample plant before using either of them in the garden.

The aphids should be treated every other day with a minimum of six treatments. Rotate the insecticides. Botanigard can be combined with pyrethrum. The neem and citrus oils can be mixed with each other as well as pyrethrum. The idea is to totally eliminate the pests.

If the plants are growing in a hydroponic system, rather than mixing the treatment in the reservoir, make a special batch of water. Turn off the hydroponic system and water the plants using a watering can. Let the insecticide water stay in the root area for at least an hour before turning the hydroponic unit back on.

Once the aphids are gone, it is difficult for them to reinfect. They were probably introduced to your garden by a new element such as a clone or infected planting mix.

[issack]

thanks stankbud...i'm off to the garden store after work...i did get some diatomatious earth...have you heard of this helping?

yeah I have heard of it, but have no hands on experience with it. Apparantly it cuts up their exoskeleton (sp?) while coming up out of the soil, and they die. Can't remember how long it takes to kill 'em tho. If I remember right, it works on any unhatched ones too. Won't swear to it, but I think you can scratch it down into the soil too help with the unhatched ones. I'll try to remember where I saw this and post a link, donno, the old grey cells ain't what they used to be, if they ever were.

Hope some of this helps, ya worked too hard to lose it now to them little bast***s

[nycnoob]

wow great job stankbud.. i will be keepin an eye out for those..

[MynameStitch]

fungus gants will rob your plants

use the info above that stankbud has given you

or if you dont want to use chemicals use sand on top of your soil.... that will help them stop coming up..... and if you get flyers use sticky traps no pest strips


after you have gotten rid of them
use some iron on your plants your plant has been robbed of them........
i hate pests

[issack]

THEY ARE NOT FUNGUS GNATS..THEY ARE ROOT AFIDS.
i just waterd with 1 tbl spoon neem 1tbls dish soap..and a whole cup of diatomatious earth....so we will see what happends..

[issack]

Thank you STANKBUD for spending the time to help and research this ...i am going tomorow to find that product....if what i did does not work i will try that...
Aloha