Fungus gnats or WINGED ROOT APHIDS???

[medicalmj]

Thanks they do look similar. The only thing though is I don't have fungus gnats in my room. Like I said there are those other bugs in the coco but they stay in there and don't fly.

Also I am seeing some strange things going on with my foliage. Some of my leaves are twisting to the side like as if they were mutants, yellowing, stunted growth. Looks like deficiencies. In flower some of my bottom leaves are starting to corrode sort of, and turn yellow. I do have some brown roots also.

It could have been a ph thing because I checked my pen recently and it was off a bit so I recalibrated it, but it just seems odd.

I'm gonna try to get some pics of the other bugs in there.

You have an outbreak of soil mites. Now I have done a wee bit o research on these guys and posted lots. So here's the deal I'll be brief but if you want more info just ask cause I have quite a bit o info on these things.

First, nearly 100% of soil mites don't eat roots they eat fungus bacteria, decomposing matter, etc. Only the bulb mite directly feeds on roots and they aren't known to go after weed.

Most of what you need to know is implicit in my statement, which means they like something in your pot. If you have chlorosis (yellowing of leaves) you may have a root issue like root rot (often caused by FGs). Further, mites are phoretic. They hitch rides on other animals or whatever. They will cling to the leg of an FG that may be spreading disease and the soil mite, which then feeds on the decay, bacteria, fungus, etc.

So mites in large numbers are an indicator that you have lots of bacteria, fungus or decaying matter. Also, don't try to eradicate them because that cannot be done until you get rid of the food supply. Mites also go into a suspended state of animation. So they'll be back when conditions are right.

Other interesting facts:
Mites are the only known animal to "devolve".
There are over 1200 species of just the Oribatid mite in N. America
One square foot a few inches deep of good forest soil may contain over 200 species
Mites are phoretic

 

[Granger2]

Bok,
I fear for your plants. Unexplained deficiencies, brown roots. Classic RA symptoms. Good luck. -granger

 

[Gelado`]

Is your plant rootbound? I am having similar issues with a plant that is thoroughly rootbound. Worm castings keep the plant healthy and keep the aphids/mites/whatever the fuck they are under control, but my plants that aren't rootbound are doing much better and have far fewer issues.

 

[pappy masonjar]

Is your plant rootbound? I am having similar issues with a plant that is thoroughly rootbound. Worm castings keep the plant healthy and keep the aphids/mites/whatever the fuck they are under control, but my plants that aren't rootbound are doing much better and have far fewer issues.

I agree. At first the plants just look like they have mag def. Then it gets worse when they get root bound. (I also think i have been slightly overffeding, even though i was pretty sure i had RA's, i felt like i should give them extra food. prolly not smart). Then when i flip them into bloom, thats when shit gets real ugly.

I wasnt sure i had RA's. I have all the signs, including a sevre fungus gnat problem, but i hadnt seen any RA's. Im pretty sure i finally saw one tonight. Anyways, ill post a couple pics when i get a chance. Ill also have a question or 2.

 

[Bok Choy]

So I decided to nuke my veg room today with some Bayer Complete. Not sure if I did it correctly I basically put 2 tbs into a 5 gallon bucket with my normal food, and poured that into each pot till it filled to the brim, and let it drain out. Anyone with experience using this care to chime in on the dosage?

So afterwards I went to survey the damage. Saw a few of these suckers on the brim of the pot running around and panicking.

Occasionally I've seen this tiny little flying thing around the pots. Thought it was just a baby fly because it's real fast. A couple days ago I tried to catch it to see what it is, and it disappeared under a pot and I think went in.

Well tonight I saw it again after I dropped the bomb. This thing was freaking the fug out! Going from pot to pot. It was just going nuts.

So, I decided to try and catch it again. I got a tupperware bottom and quickly placed it over it. I wanted to catch it alive but ended up killing it. Here it is...

Now at first it looks kinda like a gnat, but this thing is a little bigger and I only ever see one at a time. I compared it to the pics of the gnat on the first page and there are similarities but it is definitely different.

I still have yet to snap pics of the other little spear shaped bugs in there. They're more difficult to find, but to me it seems like I'm seeing three different stages of a species. They are all focused around the coco and pots.

I just started cloning in coco and did a bunch just a couple days ago with brand new coco and new black square pots, and already I have seen a couple of the spider looking things crawling in there. There's nothing decomposing in it so I can't wrap my head around it being the soil mites.

What do you think?

 

[Bok Choy]

Couple more next to a dime for size comparison.

 

[Gelado`]

That's one heck of a camera you have...I suck at taking macros

I personally would not smoke anything that had been dosed with Imid. Yes, it will work, but it persists in the soil for much longer than most people on here say it does! For now my control techniques = neem, BTI, azidarachtin, worm castings (the most effective of all, believe it or not) and manually killing them under my thumb. Killing them by hand has put a huge dent in the population!

When I was a kid, I would dig through the potting soil at home and kill the fungus gnats one by one. I killed tons of bugs as a kid. I even caught flies while they were asleep and pulled their wings off and made them run around.

The critters I have now aren't quite as much fun, but I know when I squish their tiny bodies my roots get +1 health...or I give myself points. I think I've killed 200+ now...

 

[audiohi]

That looks like a fungus gnat to me also confirming the hypoaspis miles. You should check your leaves with a magnifying glass and see if you see small little translucent eggs on them. Your problem could potentially be broad mites which are very tough to see without a magnifying glass. Your bayer complete may knock them back a bit.... but they will come back.

I just figured I'd offer another thing for you to check. Mites are a real bitch.

 

[medicalmj]

So I decided to nuke my veg room today with some Bayer Complete. Not sure if I did it correctly I basically put 2 tbs into a 5 gallon bucket with my normal food, and poured that into each pot till it filled to the brim, and let it drain out. Anyone with experience using this care to chime in on the dosage?

So afterwards I went to survey the damage. Saw a few of these suckers on the brim of the pot running around and panicking.

Occasionally I've seen this tiny little flying thing around the pots. Thought it was just a baby fly because it's real fast. A couple days ago I tried to catch it to see what it is, and it disappeared under a pot and I think went in.

Well tonight I saw it again after I dropped the bomb. This thing was freaking the fug out! Going from pot to pot. It was just going nuts.

So, I decided to try and catch it again. I got a tupperware bottom and quickly placed it over it. I wanted to catch it alive but ended up killing it. Here it is...

View Image

View Image

Now at first it looks kinda like a gnat, but this thing is a little bigger and I only ever see one at a time. I compared it to the pics of the gnat on the first page and there are similarities but it is definitely different.

I still have yet to snap pics of the other little spear shaped bugs in there. They're more difficult to find, but to me it seems like I'm seeing three different stages of a species. They are all focused around the coco and pots.

I just started cloning in coco and did a bunch just a couple days ago with brand new coco and new black square pots, and already I have seen a couple of the spider looking things crawling in there. There's nothing decomposing in it so I can't wrap my head around it being the soil mites.

What do you think?

Wrong body shape and wrong wing shape for an FG. It also not a winged aphid, which is really good news.

Could be from the Drosophilidae family of flies, and there are many.

You also have soil mites that is 100% certain. Very, very unlikely that they are hypoaspis miles. They are bred to kill harmful bugs and if figured out a way to get that quantity, you should breed and sell em as they are not all that easy to breed,

I propose that your coco, is harboring one of the aforementioned (previous post) items. Now not all bacteria, fungus or decaying matter is bad for roots and plants.

Last, without soill mites we'd all be dead. They are instrumental in breaking down stuff and making soil fertile.

 

[Granger2]

But since you're having symptoms, it could be that you have root aphids, but no flyers. And you also have whatever the flyers are. Do a root inspection, and be quick, because they quickly go into the medium. Use a large low power magnifying glass. Good luck. -granger

 

[pappy masonjar]

Couple quick questions guys. Any and all help is appreciated greatly.

First, I have an opened bag of sunshine #4 soil mix in my basement, and in the adjoining garage there is a pile of soil that may or may not have root aphids in it. Im obviously dumping the used soil pile, but is the bag of SS#4 safe to use? Since there's obviously no roots in the bag of soil mix, the RA's wouldnt be hiding in there, would they?
I really dont wanna pitch it if there is no chance RA's would be in there.



Second, I wanna use these two products (the Bayer Advanced VEggie n Garden Insect Dust and the Crawling Insect Killer with DE) mixed into my soil mix. Is a 1/2 cup per gallon of soil mix each an ok amount? So it would be 1 cup per gallon total.

Third, I bought some 100% organic neem oil, Im supposed to use one drop of DAWN dish liquid as an emulsifier, correct? I wanna make sure thats the right kind of dish soap.

Im confused because I read this:

A drop of dish soap (not detergent) helps keep the oil emulsified.

And every bottle at my grocery store said Dish LIQUID, not soap or detergent. Im super confused.



And Lastly, what ratio do you guys use for AZAMAX soil drenches?


Thank you, and sorry if some of these are stupid questions. I just wanna be thorough.

 

[Canniwhatsis]

Little overboard?



Yes the dawn will work with the neem, and by my experience that will be all you need.

 

[pappy masonjar]

If I could kill them all twice I would. Little bastards.


The fungus gnats suck too.

This larf bud was sitting near the floor but still thats foul.

 

[ozzieAI]

start with one drop of dawn and if the neem oil doesn't emulsify add another...using neem oil is a very effective and organic preventative....

 

[StudenTeacher]

After the orthene/riptide drench should the medium be flushed and then fed with fresh nutrients? or is it best to adjust to proper ph and leave the orthene/riptide mix in the medium until next watering? I grow drain to waste in coco and also in rockwool blocks sometimes.

Thanks for the help in advance

I'm sure the answer is in the thread somewhere but I must admit reading the 156 pages again would be a daunting task.

 

[EclipseFour20]

After the orthene/riptide drench should the medium be flushed and then fed with fresh nutrients? or is it best to adjust to proper ph and leave the orthene/riptide mix in the medium until next watering? I grow drain to waste in coco and also in rockwool blocks sometimes.

Thanks for the help in advance

I'm sure the answer is in the thread somewhere but I must admit reading the 156 pages again would be a daunting task.

No flushing...no feeding....no ph adjusting. Pretend you just "flushed them" and return them back to their environment then go back to your normal routine. For the first feeding after the Orthene/Riptide drench, I recommend a mineral/vitamin brew with a little Nitrogen (like urea). But wait until the soil is "thirsty" and little dried out.

I had so so luck with enzymes in the first feeding, so I would wait until the 2nd/3rd feeding after the Orthene/Riptide drench before adding any zymes.

Good luck, cheers!

 

[pappy masonjar]

And one more quick question.

Since Azamax is basically just concentrated neem, can small doses be use in early to mid flowering? or anytime in flowering?
if so, until what week?

 

[medicalmj]

And one more quick question.

Since Azamax is basically just concentrated neem, can small doses be use in early to mid flowering? or anytime in flowering?
if so, until what week?

Azamax is 1.2% azadirachtin. Azadirachtin is the active ingredient found in the neem tree (specifically the seed) that is an insecticide. But like marinol (just THC) compared to the buds (several cannabinoids) Neem has additional properties. I prefer to use Neem for foliar sprays and Azamax for drenches.

As far as DRENCHING in flower, an Azamax drench can be used up until harvest. I personally only use Azamax as a drench for a couple reasons and don't use neem.

As far as FOLIAR spray, I typically won't use once the flowers are formed (4 weeks). And I use Neem not Azamax. Be sure the water is 80-100F and you use a non-ionic surfactant. Dawn is about the only dish soap I would recommend. If you're past 4 weeks try an essential oil for mites or spinosad for thrips. Neem is non-toxic and OMRI but can leave a bad taste when smoked.

Last, what bugs are you trying to kill? Often improper pesticide use leads to resistance. So be deliberate and have a plan. On the up side, pests really don't become resistant to Neem over generations.

 

[EclipseFour20]

I do not use any Neem product (including Azamax/Azatrol) on flowering plants. The latest I would use in flower is around 14-21 days (prior to flowering)...any time while in veg. Neem globs have been known to remain on flowers and can cause some users to cough up a lung or two.

Now...for soil use, I would refrain using Neem products a few weeks or so before harvest.

Others may have a different/better opinion regarding the soil use--as I do not add Neem to my soil.

Cheers!

 

[Storm Shadow]

Kontos will take care of Both Root Aphids and Fungus Gnats