Gnats

[Rurumo]

I saw a few gnats on my computer screen a week ago, so I sprayed just the soil surface with neem oil (5 ml/liter with yucca) twice and I haven't seen them since. I put in a sticky trap to monitor them better, but it's clean. I always seem to get a few about 3 weeks into 12/12 in coco but the neem knocks them down and I don't even drench the soil, just a surface spray after feeding. I think a lot of people are having trouble because they aren't reapplying every 2 to 3 days, I find them the easiest pest to control.

 

[OldMedUser]

I've gone all chemical warfare on these damn springtails of mine and if there's any gnats in there they'll be toast too. Have a can of Fungus Gnat Killer powder that I grabbed a friend's garage sale a couple years ago so took a look at it. It contains a pesticide, chemical name: chlorpyrifos. trade name: Dursban made by Dow and taken off the market a few years back so you know it's gotta work.

I dried those plants almost to death and stirred a bunch of DE into the top couple inches of soil and the little f'ers are swimming around it like kids playing in the snow FFS. These plants are just going to be used for cuttings and spraying with STS to make pollen for fem seeds so a fuck I do not give. I just sprinkled some on to the top and mixed it in a bit. This stuff kills all arthropods in it's path and that includes all the kinds of bugs that plague us in the grow room.

I'll continue watering from the bottom but might be better watering from the top to wash it in as they for sure are all the way to the bottom.

Fingers crossed that it kills them before they kill the plants.

 

[jondamon]

I've gone all chemical warfare on these damn springtails of mine and if there's any gnats in there they'll be toast too. Have a can of Fungus Gnat Killer powder that I grabbed a friend's garage sale a couple years ago so took a look at it. It contains a pesticide, chemical name: chlorpyrifos. trade name: Dursban made by Dow and taken off the market a few years back so you know it's gotta work.

I dried those plants almost to death and stirred a bunch of DE into the top couple inches of soil and the little f'ers are swimming around it like kids playing in the snow FFS. These plants are just going to be used for cuttings and spraying with STS to make pollen for fem seeds so a fuck I do not give. I just sprinkled some on to the top and mixed it in a bit. This stuff kills all arthropods in it's path and that includes all the kinds of bugs that plague us in the grow room.

I'll continue watering from the bottom but might be better watering from the top to wash it in as they for sure are all the way to the bottom.

Fingers crossed that it kills them before they kill the plants.

You realise springtails are ok right?

a good few wet and dry cycles should knock numbers back but ultimately they are feeding on detritus in your medium and not on your plants themselves.

I have seen it where huge numbers of springtails can negatively effect seedlings but not well established plants

 

[OldMedUser]

You realise springtails are ok right?

a good few wet and dry cycles should knock numbers back but ultimately they are feeding on detritus in your medium and not on your plants themselves.

I have seen it where huge numbers of springtails can negatively effect seedlings but not well established plants

I've been doing my research on the little buggers since I noticed them and many species feed on the root tips. Drying the plants right out until drooping badly doesn't seem to have helped reduce the numbers and Gnatrol did nothing. There are literally millions of the little f'ers even in the very dry material at the top with the DE mixed in so that doesn't seem to faze them either.

Pretty sure they came in with some clones a buddy back east sent me in early Oct. and they are the ones that are doing the worst. No root base at all and older leaves dying off from starvation as the plants can't get food so scavenging from them. After drying I gave them about 2/3 of a normal watering with a low dose of 3-part nutes so the tops are coming in looking better so the plan is to get cuttings once they get a little better. Once I know they have roots I'm just going to toss out the mothers and the soil they are in. Out into the woods and not in our compost heaps.

18 years growing in that room and never had springtails before. Gnats, mites and thrips but a first for these. Very dry air here so I don't have conditions that they like but back in Ontario where the clones came from they have very high humidity so perfect conditions for them. I do not want to lose these Cherry Noir clones as I plan to make fem seeds from them. $50/seed type of plants but I didn't buy the seeds to start them.

My more established plants seem to be OK yet other than the GG#4 which is the largest and seems to be suffering the same fate. All got a dose of the powder.

 

[Bukvičák]

I've been doing my research on the little buggers since I noticed them and many species feed on the root tips. Drying the plants right out until drooping badly doesn't seem to have helped reduce the numbers and Gnatrol did nothing. There are literally millions of the little f'ers even in the very dry material at the top with the DE mixed in so that doesn't seem to faze them either.

Pretty sure they came in with some clones a buddy back east sent me in early Oct. and they are the ones that are doing the worst. No root base at all and older leaves dying off from starvation as the plants can't get food so scavenging from them. After drying I gave them about 2/3 of a normal watering with a low dose of 3-part nutes so the tops are coming in looking better so the plan is to get cuttings once they get a little better. Once I know they have roots I'm just going to toss out the mothers and the soil they are in. Out into the woods and not in our compost heaps.

18 years growing in that room and never had springtails before. Gnats, mites and thrips but a first for these. Very dry air here so I don't have conditions that they like but back in Ontario where the clones came from they have very high humidity so perfect conditions for them. I do not want to lose these Cherry Noir clones as I plan to make fem seeds from them. $50/seed type of plants but I didn't buy the seeds to start them.

My more established plants seem to be OK yet other than the GG#4 which is the largest and seems to be suffering the same fate. All got a dose of the powder.

Sounds like BS

 

[OldMedUser]

Sounds like BS

Why?

 

[Bukvičák]

Why?

Because you are blaiming on springtails which “came on clone” for disability to uptake nutrients…?

 

[OldMedUser]

Because you are blaiming on springtails which “came on clone” for disability to uptake nutrients…?

Same thing happens with fungus gnat infestations. They feed on the fine feeder root tips and reduce the plants ability to absorb nutrients. There is a chemical reaction that goes on around the tips that makes the nutrients into something the plants can actually use that gets lost when a large amount of the tips are destroyed. Water can still be absorbed so when the roots can't supply food the plants scavenge mobile nutrients from older leaves to keep the grow tips alive. Root rot can give you the same problems.

Maybe you should educate yourself a bit before calling BS on something you don't seem to know much about. If you have a better theory or solution I'd be happy to hear it but if not then I'll thank you to STFU.

Have a Happy New Year.

 

[Hiphophippo]

I use a bti product like mosquito bits it’s just granulated corn with the bti on it I mix it in like a cm deep when I do a top dressing every once and a while or when I first set up my pots it works really well also the gnatrol products stated before are really good also I will use neem oil but generally stay away from it it’s kind of effective to kill adults that are already flying about but to kill the larvae it don’t seem to do much for that you gotta use something in the top part of your medium the adult gnats aren’t really a problem just more so annoying it’s the larvae you want to get rid of especially if you have young plants or seedlings sorry for the run on I’m driving and using voice to text

 

[MICHI-CAN]

I use H2O2 and diatomaceous with favorable results. And better by reducing my water inputs. A few feet of exposed sticky tape is a glorious bonus.

Seriously scrutinize your watering. My mixed bag of plants is conducive to gnats. Just weed is easy.

 

[Hiphophippo]

I also have a few cups of vinegar and dish soap mixed sitting around. It draws them in like crazy and they get stuck and die in the mix

 

[MICHI-CAN]

I also have a few cups of vinegar and dish soap mixed sitting around. It draws them in like crazy and they get stuck and die in the mix

Cheap shot of vodka and yellow food coloring wil get most mature males in 24 hours. LOL. Gnats are but a pest.

 

[hillbill]

Gnatrol kills Gnat larvae if they are gnats

 

[Kushash]

I've been doing my research on the little buggers since I noticed them and many species feed on the root tips. Drying the plants right out until drooping badly doesn't seem to have helped reduce the numbers and Gnatrol did nothing. There are literally millions of the little f'ers even in the very dry material at the top with the DE mixed in so that doesn't seem to faze them either.

Pretty sure they came in with some clones a buddy back east sent me in early Oct. and they are the ones that are doing the worst. No root base at all and older leaves dying off from starvation as the plants can't get food so scavenging from them. After drying I gave them about 2/3 of a normal watering with a low dose of 3-part nutes so the tops are coming in looking better so the plan is to get cuttings once they get a little better. Once I know they have roots I'm just going to toss out the mothers and the soil they are in. Out into the woods and not in our compost heaps.

18 years growing in that room and never had springtails before. Gnats, mites and thrips but a first for these. Very dry air here so I don't have conditions that they like but back in Ontario where the clones came from they have very high humidity so perfect conditions for them. I do not want to lose these Cherry Noir clones as I plan to make fem seeds from them. $50/seed type of plants but I didn't buy the seeds to start them.

My more established plants seem to be OK yet other than the GG#4 which is the largest and seems to be suffering the same fate. All got a dose of the powder.

Happy New Year!
I hope you succeed in getting rid of them if they are a problem for you. I have had them often and feel they are beneficial in my situation.
Maybe you have a species that causes more harm.
They are found in almost every part of the earth. It's great that you went 18 years without having them in your grow, maybe they did come with the clone, but I would think they live in the forest that surrounds you.

 

[OldMedUser]

Mine are springtails and they seemed to thrive after adding Gnatrol. Was just down and did some digging around in the worst pots and can't find any now so hopefully the chem warfare is doing them in. A couple will need watering either tonight or tomorrow so will top water and check them the next day to see. Just flipping over a bit of soil before and there were so many I could see them fine with just my reading glasses on.

It's great that you went 18 years without having them in your grow, maybe they did come with the clone, but I would think they live in the forest that surrounds you.

When those clones got here in the mail Oct. 7 I was in BC and it was already below freezing outside here. The wife put them in 1L pots until I got home Nov. 4 and a week or so later I mixed up about 60L of Promix HP and organic amendments to repot all the plants. I still have 50L of that mix well moistened in a Rubbermaid tub in the grow room and have examined it closely for them and can't find a one so my only conclusion is they came with the clones. I called the guy that sent them a couple days ago and he's spending the holidays in the hospital recovering from spinal surgery so can't check his stuff but says he's having problems with his plants too. His wife is like mine. Can keep the plants alive while I'm away but has let mites take over once and a rogue male once pollinate 30 flowering girls both time losing crops and in the case of mites losing everything including a hash plant mother I'd had for 5 years.

I'm fussy about making sure any bales of ProMix or other additives are well sealed when I buy them as gnats and other pests often invade bags of soil etc thru tears or holes in bags sitting around waiting to be sold. I've had that happen before so I'm careful about that. I also make sure not to go down to the grow room in warm weather if I've even walked outside at all. I have outside clothes and shoes that will be changed with washed hands before checking on my girls.

Every time I've had problems with thrips or mites the last 15 years they've come from clones I sometimes get from a buddy in the city 2 hours away. No more! Seeds only from him now and he has a hell of a collection. He's been making clones for commercial growers for years and buying/selling/making seeds as long. Still have to grow out some Sugar Black Rose, Early Edition seeds he gave me. The bud was really f'n good and hit all my medical buttons. So many strains, so little time.

 

[Bukvičák]

Mine are springtails and they seemed to thrive after adding Gnatrol. Was just down and did some digging around in the worst pots and can't find any now so hopefully the chem warfare is doing them in. A couple will need watering either tonight or tomorrow so will top water and check them the next day to see. Just flipping over a bit of soil before and there were so many I could see them fine with just my reading glasses on.



When those clones got here in the mail Oct. 7 I was in BC and it was already below freezing outside here. The wife put them in 1L pots until I got home Nov. 4 and a week or so later I mixed up about 60L of Promix HP and organic amendments to repot all the plants. I still have 50L of that mix well moistened in a Rubbermaid tub in the grow room and have examined it closely for them and can't find a one so my only conclusion is they came with the clones. I called the guy that sent them a couple days ago and he's spending the holidays in the hospital recovering from spinal surgery so can't check his stuff but says he's having problems with his plants too. His wife is like mine. Can keep the plants alive while I'm away but has let mites take over once and a rogue male once pollinate 30 flowering girls both time losing crops and in the case of mites losing everything including a hash plant mother I'd had for 5 years.

I'm fussy about making sure any bales of ProMix or other additives are well sealed when I buy them as gnats and other pests often invade bags of soil etc thru tears or holes in bags sitting around waiting to be sold. I've had that happen before so I'm careful about that. I also make sure not to go down to the grow room in warm weather if I've even walked outside at all. I have outside clothes and shoes that will be changed with washed hands before checking on my girls.

Every time I've had problems with thrips or mites the last 15 years they've come from clones I sometimes get from a buddy in the city 2 hours away. No more! Seeds only from him now and he has a hell of a collection. He's been making clones for commercial growers for years and buying/selling/making seeds as long. Still have to grow out some Sugar Black Rose, Early Edition seeds he gave me. The bud was really f'n good and hit all my medical buttons. So many strains, so little time.

BS stands for Bullshit

 

[MICHI-CAN]

BS stands for Bullshit

BT and BS are both effective and safe in other applications.

I suggest a further in depth reading on BS. Mine and yours don't inter mesh well.

 

[MICHI-CAN]

BT and BS are both effective and safe in other applications.

I suggest a further in depth reading on BS. Mine and yours don't inter mesh well.

Bacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus sphaericus biopesticides production - PubMed

The long residual action and toxicity of the chemical insecticides have brought about serious environmental problems such as the emergence and spread of insecticide resistance in many species of vectors, mammalian toxicity, and accumulation of pesticide residues in the food chain. All these...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[OldMedUser]

BS stands for Bullshit

No shit? I thought it meant Beautiful Stoner Now I'm insulted. Pistols at dawn!

 

[MICHI-CAN]

No shit? I thought it meant Beautiful Stoner Now I'm insulted. Pistols at dawn! View attachment 5054285

Black powder for them and pyrodex to you I hope.

 

[OldMedUser]

Black powder for them and pyrodex to you I hope.

I would prefer epees but what with Covid it's better to keep some distance. I haven't had my booster yet.