something is alive in my soil

Im not sure if this is normal... I have 8day old seedlings and I use Foxfarm ocean forest...

I use transparent cups and today decide to inspect and admire the roots upclose

and that is when I noticed tiny.. (very tiny) white living things crawling around near the bottom of the cup along the sidewall. (around the moist areas)

it is in all my cups...

what is this?... I am not using any nutes.. I water every 4 days.


I was reading the foxfarm ocean forest bag... and there is a tidbit about "Earthworms are Alive!" and talks about their earthworm castings and whatnot


now im truly freaked.... this is an indoor grow and I would rather throw away everything before I have a pest problem in my house where I live.

TAKE PICTURES!!! close up the area. I grow indoors and I would sacrifice my plants to burn a infestation as well so dont feel bad

maybe they are baby worms..? if so its fine.... if not...?

I thought cut worms were in my oceans forest,I found them in time and still dont know the source.It was either my soil or castings

damnbigbudz said:

TAKE PICTURES!!! close up the area. I grow indoors and I would sacrifice my plants to burn a infestation as well so dont feel bad

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they are waaay too small for pics.. it is the size of a dust particle... smaller than a grain of sand.... im surprised i even found it...

there was a pocket of air on the side of the cups... and decided to press in on it and I saw something move.... I thought i was seeing things until I decided to take a closer look.

prolly some sort of mite

lol.. im hopeless... Im getting freaked out... i keep feeling creepy crawlies all over my body


help.

jsteezy1290 said:

prolly some sort of mite

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how did it get there?... did it come with the soil?.. I thought foxfarm was supposed to be the rollroyce of soil

steven22 said:

lol.. im hopeless... Im getting freaked out... i keep feeling creepy crawlies all over my body


help.

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LMAO i remember my first joint

edit: btw yeah its prob like a mite specis

JahRoots said:

LMAO i remember my first joint

edit: btw yeah its prob like a mite specis

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man... worst part is.. im sober!... i just hate insects..

so if its a mite... what do I do?

it doesnt look like anything like that..... it doesnt look like a worm or larvae... it looks like an ant thats white/translucent its very very tiny... and only seem to show right after watering.... on the inside side of the cup


is there any type of solution of concoction that I can water my plant with that will kill living organisms but not harm the plant or it's smoker (me) ?

I mean if I can get that answer... it would be the best otherwise we would spend ages trying to identify the creature and get now here.



it could be this but on a much much tinier scale... as in you cant see its legs or anything... once again... the size of a grain of sand at its biggest... most of them are smaller... and in the soil... not the leaves... and my plants look healthy as of now.... and if I didnt have transparent cups... I would of never caught them... as I cant see ANY on the top of the soil... and they only seem to live at the very bottom couple inches of the cup... where its moist

Baby fungus gnats....?

fungus gnats is what it sounds like. I would get some mosquito dunks at lowes and stir up a batch of water with it and feed that. It works like a charm. Also get the pyrethrin spray and spary top side with that and keep the top of the soil dry. Sand will work for a few days and then get to be apain. BTI and pyrethrin kept me awake for a month at least as I tried everything. Those bugs eat your roots!

nah m8 do they jump if so they are springtails and are quite good for the soil i have them most grows + rep if i have helped

Alright update...

I created a control cup 2 days ago... with FFOF soil and some water, kept it at the window sill. away from my grow closet (across the room)

2 days later... lo and behold.. i found the buggers in my cup... no seed in this cup.

and for the poster that mentioned springtail

I took a spoon of the soil from deep within... and tried to play with it with a pencil... as soon as i touch them... they would disappear ... too fast for my eyes to ttell.. but most likely jumping.

when you water do they float to the top mine do sum said it could be overwatering but anyways they is beneficial if in soil and i saw this other post this dude wanted to buy some springtails!!

I havnt watered it a second time yet... but I dont think i ever remembered seeing them float to the top

Can I use neem oil?... is it safe for seedlings?... 1tsp per quart concentration.

I use Schultz Garden Safe insecticidal soap for mites. It is available at Home Depot for about $5 in concentrated form. I have found this stuff to be a godsend. It is totally harmless to the fruit and people. It can be used right up to harvest. Comes in handy when you get mites at the end of a grow.

genisis said:

I use Schultz Garden Safe insecticidal soap for mites. It is available at Home Depot for about $5 in concentrated form. I have found this stuff to be a godsend. It is totally harmless to the fruit and people. It can be used right up to harvest. Comes in handy when you get mites at the end of a grow.

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its not on my plants
... its in the soil.