PESTS!!! What are they?

Lindsaylazuli

Lindsaylazuli

Member
So I’ve been having some problems with my plants (week 4/5 veg) that I and some others on RIU had pegged as a combo of water PH being too high (tested and I know this to be true) and a nitrogen deficiency (yellowing leaves on the bottom) Well this morning I was looking in the soil and I noticed the TINIEST little white bugs crawling/ hopping around. They are not on any of the leaves at all and not even on the surface of the soil, really just when I dig around there a little bit. And they crawl right back into the soil as soon as they are exposed. Like I said, no damage on the leaves from them and they are only in the soil and they are SMALL, like almost too small for the naked eye. It’s very hard to get a picture of them because they really are that small. I also don’t see many of them at all. I took some videos where you can see them moving and took some screenshots but it’s not very clear. Tried to take pics and couldn’t get one. This is the best I have
 

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Nizza

Nizza

Well-Known Member
how about pics of the plant?
and some more info, humidity, temperature, strain, type of nutes, soil, watering cycle and stuff like that, If you include as much information as you can , it will help people give input to you
 
Lindsaylazuli

Lindsaylazuli

Member
Nizza said:
how about pics of the plant?
and some more info, humidity, temperature, strain, type of nutes, soil, watering cycle and stuff like that, If you include as much information as you can , it will help people give input to you
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Yes sorry I usually am a lot more detailed about my grow space! i guess I was mostly just trying to figure out what the bugs were.

but I’m in a 2x2x4 tent, 1 marshydro 600 watt white LED + a cheap blurple 100 ish watt LED (18/6 light schedule), 2 plants, seeds unknown, fox farms ocean forest soil, just fed nutes for the first time FF Grow Big 2 tsp in a gallon, 3 gallon fabric pots, I have a carbon filter, a fan, ventilation Tube, I keep them temp approx 80F, and RH about 65%, I only water when the pots feel light, everything was fine a few days ago, till it wasn’t. I just watered for the first time with PH corrected water yesterday. Damage is only on lower leaves
 

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Nizza

Nizza

Well-Known Member
have you let the plants dry out too much do you think? You'd be surprised how much they can drink.
Also you may need to supplement extra cal-mag, LEDS tend to make the plant need more of this~ your temperature and size of plants is looking great for how long they've been vegging.

I would consider removing the foliage between the soil and the bottom of the plant 4-8" at least. This will help with air flow between the canopy, when you flip expect things to double or triple in size/ height. I hope this helps!

as far as bugs go this goes back to me asking if you let plants dry out too much

roots dry out, they die, get resaturated now grubs come eat them and whatnot..

the fix is properly watering . You can also use diomacious earth or however its spelled to kill the grubs on top of the soil

are your extraction fans running all the time? and circulation fans?
 
KTM690sm

KTM690sm

Active Member
Humidity is a bit high try to get 1 of those little buggers out and take a close up. You should see some adults flying if its fungus gnats. I've used peroxide mixed with water to take care of those before.
 
Lindsaylazuli

Lindsaylazuli

Member
Nizza said:
have you let the plants dry out too much do you think? You'd be surprised how much they can drink.
Also you may need to supplement extra cal-mag, LEDS tend to make the plant need more of this~ your temperature and size of plants is looking great for how long they've been vegging.

I would consider removing the foliage between the soil and the bottom of the plant 4-8" at least. This will help with air flow between the canopy, when you flip expect things to double or triple in size/ height. I hope this helps!

as far as bugs go this goes back to me asking if you let plants dry out too much

roots dry out, they die, get resaturated now grubs come eat them and whatnot..

the fix is properly watering . You can also use diomacious earth or however its spelled to kill the grubs on top of the soil

are your extraction fans running all the time? and circulation fans?
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Thank you! I did let my plants dry out too much before the last time I was watered. And I have one fan only, keeping it running 24 hours a day on a low setting
 
KingQuazy

KingQuazy

Well-Known Member
Lindsaylazuli said:
So I’ve been having some problems with my plants (week 4/5 veg) that I and some others on RIU had pegged as a combo of water PH being too high (tested and I know this to be true) and a nitrogen deficiency (yellowing leaves on the bottom) Well this morning I was looking in the soil and I noticed the TINIEST little white bugs crawling/ hopping around. They are not on any of the leaves at all and not even on the surface of the soil, really just when I dig around there a little bit. And they crawl right back into the soil as soon as they are exposed. Like I said, no damage on the leaves from them and they are only in the soil and they are SMALL, like almost too small for the naked eye. It’s very hard to get a picture of them because they really are that small. I also don’t see many of them at all. I took some videos where you can see them moving and took some screenshots but it’s not very clear. Tried to take pics and couldn’t get one. This is the best I have
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If they're larva type creatures, they're likely fungus gnats that are preparing to become flies. They will mate and lay more eggs. Those eggs will lay dormant until you water, then they will become larva like the ones you see. They eat the organic materials in your soil. This includes roots, though they prefer other stuff first. They can and will eventually kill your plant if not treated. An infestation on this level will require treatment. If you determine they are in fact gnat larva, I suggest neem oil in your next watering. If they aren't larva looking creatures, and they already resemble a fly, then they are aphids and will tear your plants' asses up something proper. They can be treated as well.
 
GrowRijt

GrowRijt

Well-Known Member
Lindsaylazuli said:
Thank you! I did let my plants dry out too much before the last time I was watered. And I have one fan only, keeping it running 24 hours a day on a low setting
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fungus gnats are fairly easy to get rid of. If they seem more persistent or difficult to eradicate then it may be root aphids. Pray it is not root aphids.
 
Lindsaylazuli

Lindsaylazuli

Member
GrowRijt said:
fungus gnats are fairly easy to get rid of. If they seem more persistent or difficult to eradicate then it may be root aphids. Pray it is not root aphids.
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Well I haven’t seen anything flying around my tent at all... and they jump sometimes so I don’t think they’re larvae
 
E

eastcoastled

Well-Known Member
Lindsaylazuli said:
Well I haven’t seen anything flying around my tent at all... and they jump sometimes so I don’t think they’re larvae
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Probably springtails like the previous posted said. They are harmless, I even get them in straight coco. Get your ph back on track, and those should come back to normal health in a week or two.
 
Lindsaylazuli

Lindsaylazuli

Member
DaFreak said:
I was thinking springtails as well, they obviously get their names because they can jump pretty high. Run your hand over the soil and if you see a bunch of white bugs jump they are springtails.
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Yes it’s a pretty small infestation so far so there aren’t a lot of them but I looked at some videos of the way springtails move and it’s definitely the closest thing I have seen to what I’m dealing with so far
 
larrypizzimp93

larrypizzimp93

Well-Known Member
If you're in soil it's most likely fungus gnats. nothing to worry about but try to get rid of them. They aren't gonna destroy your plants tho
 
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