Can anyone help me?

Pforpwned

New Member
I noticed some small white bugs that are near microscopic to the eye. I almost missed them if it weren't for me staring so heavily at the plant/soil. I'm not sure what to make of these but they're freaking me out.

Here is a link to the video i posted on YT:
 

Skuxx

Well-Known Member
Hard to see from that bigfoot footage. Are they crawling all over the plant or just in the soil and pot? Might be white soil mites.
 

Pforpwned

New Member
Yeah I know the video footage is whacked out. Originally it wasn't too bad in terms of quality but i think youtube compresses the hell out of videos :/. They're really really tiny near microscopic white bugs that are crawling in the soil, on the rim of the pot, and there are a couple on the seedling too. Whenever i put a dropper of water on them they didn't jump or anything. Are spider mites this tiny?
 

joken

Well-Known Member
I'd put some diatomaceous earth in the soil and dust the plants too unless they were in flower. Get food grade DE, I got 50lbs from a feed store and it was very inexpensive compared to the little bags you see online or at garden stores. You can also spray the plant with 50/50 rubbing alcohol and water. That will kill the mites. Good luck finding the rubbing alcohol!
 

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
Yeah I know the video footage is whacked out. Originally it wasn't too bad in terms of quality but i think youtube compresses the hell out of videos :/. They're really really tiny near microscopic white bugs that are crawling in the soil, on the rim of the pot, and there are a couple on the seedling too. Whenever i put a dropper of water on them they didn't jump or anything. Are spider mites this tiny?
Those sound like hypoaspis miles, which are good predatory mites. They eat bad mites, fungus gnats, and other stuff we don't want.
 

Pforpwned

New Member
This was the best picture i was able to take. You can see two of them chatting in between the left cotyledon and the top serrated leaf.
image0.jpeg
 

ebcrew

Well-Known Member
Looks like they are on the actual leaves right?

I never seen a soil mite go on my plants. I could be wrong and never noticed
 

Pforpwned

New Member
Yeah they are on the leafs. After applying water most of them ran away, but after gently pulling the cotyledons back i noticed one or two crawl out of where the first two serrated leaves are forming.. I am thinking i'm possibly totally fucked in terms of starting over but i'm hoping im wrong.
 

T macc

Well-Known Member
Is there a shit ton that come to the surface when you water? Or is there only a few of those?

Looks like soil mites to me. They will come to the surface of the soil after a watering.
 

Pforpwned

New Member
Yeah I noticed a ton of them after I watered my plant the other night. Today they haven't nearly had as many numbers out as the day before.
 

T macc

Well-Known Member
Soil mites
Dont stress it. They're good. Yea, I noticed they'll go back underground as the soil drys
 

Pforpwned

New Member
Soil mites
Dont stress it. They're good. Yea, I noticed they'll go back underground as the soil drys
Word Thank you man. I was really worried and still kind of am. Also curious, if they happen to be spider mites instead, what should I look out for in the next few days/weeks? I will dutifully report back what I find and I am prepared to trash the seedling if necessary and begin anew anyways if I absolutely need to.
 

Pforpwned

New Member
Dafuq.PNG

Also here is an Up close snippet i just took if anyone else that comes across this wants to help identify these too.
 

T macc

Well-Known Member
Word Thank you man. I was really worried and still kind of am. Also curious, if they happen to be spider mites instead, what should I look out for in the next few days/weeks? I will dutifully report back what I find and I am prepared to trash the seedling if necessary and begin anew anyways if I absolutely need to.
Thin webbing and discoloration of the leaves. I've personally never dealt with it, not that I can remember. I'm sure they are a darker color too. If it were spider mites, I think your plant would be toast with the number of mites
 

Pforpwned

New Member
Do they have tiny long hairs coming off their bodies?

Mould mites aka cheese mites aka flour mites.
They're so small it's really hard to tell but one thing that is definitely clear is that their antennae are definitely larger than their legs. I almost always notice their antennae moving on the front part of their body near the head.
 

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
Some of those look like they might be hypoaspis miles or some other mite. Are they moving fast around the pots like they're searching for something to eat?
 

Pforpwned

New Member
Some of those look like they might be hypoaspis miles or some other mite. Are they moving fast around the pots like they're searching for something to eat?
Yeah it's as if they're hungry although some don't move until agitated. They're so tiny though it's kind of hard to tell their speed but relative to their size I'd say they're moving pretty quickly. If they are indeed hypoaspis miles then how bad can it get through a grow? I know that this species isn't harmful to the plant but if indoors I can imagine they would take over the area they inhabit pretty quickly.
 
Top