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Finding extremely tiny white bugs

  • Thread starter Thread starter Trippie
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Finding extremely tiny white bugs

Trippie 174 Replies 30,132 Views
Page 2 of 9 · Replies 21–40 of 175
#21
Trippie said:
I transplanted it and 2 days later I have these bugs drawing on the surface and underneath idk what to do. And it seems nobody really has an answer for me. It's not a clone it was grown from a seed. It inside my house in a vivosun grow tent, I haven't watered it in awhile it's not drenched, it had to have came from the soil.
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i told you they came with the bag of soil,.
in a way it’s a good sign telling you your soil is alive,. there are ways to maintain it and my way would be a wet/dry cycle,.. check @Suds.an.buds purple queen thread as he has videos of the soil mites
 
#22
Eledin said:
What about food grade diatomaceous earth? Its very cheap, organic, gives extra silica to the plant overtime. Kills insects and larvae but doesnt bother good microorganisms, you wanna mix it well with the top layer of the soil when its dry. Important for the top layer to be dry or it wont do anything at all, but dont dry your plants, after a couple of days you can water like usual, all instects will be RIP.
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Omg thank you so much this makes sense to me, and this doesn't hurt anything? Really only helps kill the bad stuff, so there really is no downside to using this?
 
#24
GNick55 said:
i told you they came with the bag of soil,.
in a way it’s a good sign telling you your soil is alive,. there are ways to maintain it and my way would be a wet/dry cycle,.. check @Suds.an.buds purple queen thread as he has videos of the soil mites
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Ok so maintaining the bugs by drying them out I'm confused even with the water technique won't they still be there? What does this water technique do exactly? I just feel really dumb or maybe I'm missing something.
 
#28
Trippie said:
Omg thank you so much this makes sense to me, and this doesn't hurt anything? Really only helps kill the bad stuff, so there really is no downside to using this?
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No downside unless you use too much, but you really have to go overboard for that. I usually mix 1 or 2 tablespoons with the top layer of the soil, not leaving any crack where they can get through deeper pockets without the top substrate being somewhat white. It actually helps promote a neutral soil ph and silica makes your stems thicker, also helps the inmuse system of the plant. You can find it in the form of potassium silicate in many liquids aimed to reinforce the inmune system of the plant or promoting stem thickness like Top Barrier (inmune system) from Top Crop or Rhino Skin (thicker stems) from Advanced Nutrients. The first is entirely potassium silicate while the second is mostly potassium silicate and a bit of silicate dioxide.
 
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#30
Chem77 said:
Root aphids are slow moving, them appear to be fast moving, so not root aphid which is great news.
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They r pretty quick I will say. So mites maybe? I see a lot about ffof having bugs in the soil but good bugs that help eat decomposed stuff and all that.
 
#31
Trippie said:
Thank you sorry for making this a bigger deal than it prob is. How long would it take for them bugs to kill off my plant do you know?
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don’t worry about it, it’s the internet and waaaay too many know it alls that actually know nothing other than what they learned from you tube and google which i can tell you is about 90% regurgitated bro science,. i see it everywhere, seedbanks, growing sites etc etc,..
 
#32
Trippie said:
I'm not doing anything to it till I figure out if these bugs r good or bad. I need help idk what bug it is and I figured experienced growers could help me identify and maybe even give me instructions on how to treat it, I can't identify what it is because I don't know bugs or anything about growing.
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It could be soil mites like gnick suggests. Not long ago I had root aphids in some solo cups with ocean forest. Im pretty certain they were aphids, identified with magnification. They did move kinda quick and they looked and MOVED exactly like whats in your video maybe they were root mites. Either way the bonide worked great, scratched a little in and havent seen anything since. Didnt affect the seedlings at all, still healthy and vigorous
 
#33
Asmodeus said:
It could be soil mites like gnick suggests. Not long ago I had root aphids in some solo cups with ocean forest. Im pretty certain they were aphids, identified with magnification. They did move kinda quick and they looked and MOVED exactly like whats in your video maybe they were root mites. Either way the bonide worked great, scratched a little in and havent seen anything since. Didnt affect the seedlings at all, still healthy and vigorous
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Yes I did buy the exact stuff you told me to scratch in the surface it will be here today then I gotta wait till tm for the stuff eluding recommended. I'll do whatever you guys tell me to, it helps a lot and I appreciate everyone who has helped me. It means a lot.
 
#34
Trippie said:
Thank you sorry for making this a bigger deal than it prob is. How long would it take for them bugs to kill off my plant do you know?
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Depends, if the humidity is high and warm they will reproduce quicker but I had really bad gnats (not the same thing but similar consecuences) infestations like dozens of them (plus the larvae) and I managed to fix it in time before they did any permanent damage to the plants. Other times Ive been less lucky and the stress caused by one pest invited another, but I think you'll be good. Even if you dont get all the larvae with the diatomaceous earth eventually they have to become adults and will go to the surface, diatomaceous earth are fosilized microalgae in the form of tiny silica crystals that stick to the bugs and larvae and dries them to death (during your dry cycle because remember, it cant be wet to be effective). However the crystals are not tiny enough to damage good microorganisms, the crystals are way bigger than the microorganisms so it doesnt harm them, unlike insects that are bigger than the crystals and thats why it sticks to them.
 
#35
Eledin said:
Depends, if the humidity is high and warm they will reproduce quicker but I had really bad gnats (not the same thing but similar consecuences) infestations like dozens of them (plus the larvae) and I managed to fix it in time before they did any permanent damage to the plants. Other times Ive been less lucky and the stress caused by one pest invited another, but I think you'll be good. Even if you dont get all the larvae with the diatomaceous earth eventually they have to become adults and will go to the surface, diatomaceous earth are fosilized microalgae in the form of tiny silica crystals that stick to the bugs and larvae and dries them to death (during your dry cycle because remember, it cant be wet to be effective). However the crystals are not tiny enough to damage good microorganisms, the crystals are way bigger than the microorganisms so it doesnt harm them, unlike insects that are bigger than the crystals and thats why it sticks to them.
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So after mixing it with the top of soil dry, how long after will I be able to water my plant? Is there a certain way I should water it?
 
#36
Eledin said:
Depends, if the humidity is high and warm they will reproduce quicker but I had really bad gnats (not the same thing but similar consecuences) infestations like dozens of them (plus the larvae) and I managed to fix it in time before they did any permanent damage to the plants. Other times Ive been less lucky and the stress caused by one pest invited another, but I think you'll be good. Even if you dont get all the larvae with the diatomaceous earth eventually they have to become adults and will go to the surface, diatomaceous earth are fosilized microalgae in the form of tiny silica crystals that stick to the bugs and larvae and dries them to death (during your dry cycle because remember, it cant be wet to be effective). However the crystals are not tiny enough to damage good microorganisms, the crystals are way bigger than the microorganisms so it doesnt harm them, unlike insects that are bigger than the crystals and thats why it sticks to them.
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Also after I water it and let it dry should I put more in?
 
#37
Trippie said:
So after mixing it with the top of soil dry, how long after will I be able to water my plant? Is there a certain way I should water it?
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As long as you can without causing them harm. When they get thirsty the leaves get droopy, you should have a few days before that happens. In 1 or 2 days I would say most of the job if not all is done if you mixed it properly and its dry but as I said, the longer the better without making your plants suffer. If the leaves get droopy cause she is thirsty as soon as you water they will go back to normal, no permanent damage, just a sign.
EDIT: Sorry forgot, water as usual after. The diatomaceous earth will degrade over time and release silica. It will also keep killing bugs when it dries again but is completely inefective while wet and you might need to put more if your last application was weeks ago and a new pest comes.


Trippie said:
Also after I water it and let it dry should I put more in?
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If you do it well, with 1 application should be enough. All of the top substrate must be a little bit whiter for a lack of a better term when youre done. Not to the point where its all white but to the point that you can tell the difference. If it doesnt solve before the first watering feel free to make a second application, trying to get everything this time but if you need a third youre definetely doing something wrong. Its really easy if you follow the 2 most important rules:
1. Dont leave any crack without diatomaceous earth, keep in mind that if you move the pot/s the substrate from the sides can move, I put extra on the sides and make sure that its all covered if I moved them.
2. It needs to be dry, I know Im repeating myself here for the most part but its really important for it to be effective. If you do it like this, with 1 application should be enough.
 
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#38
Oh yeah, another thing I do is put coco with perlite on the top layer. That way insects have less organic matter on the surface to survive, mostly residues from your nutrients. If you plan on doing that, you can just mix the coco and perlite with the diatomaceous earth and then top dress the pots with it.
If you have the pots on the floor another improvement for drainage (which avoids root rot and too much water in the substrate which insects love) is to put an inch or two of clay pebbles or also called arlite on the bottom of the pots. You can also lift the pot with something that lets the bottom transpire. If you buy arlite feel free to mix it next time with your substrate aswell, its like perlite on steroids for root areation but perlite does the job pretty well too, I always add extra perlite and a bit of arlite (besides the inch and a half I have on the bottom for drainage, roots grow through it too). Beneficial bacteria use the clay pebbles too, giving them more space for their colonies and hence faster processing of organic nutrients.
EDIT: About clay pebbles; unless it specifies its washed, you need to wash them. Tap water will do, be careful not to clog your pipe though because there are tiny pieces of clay in it most likely, use a big strainer or something similar. You can reuse them, after youre done with the grow they will be all bunched up on the bottom binded by the roots, just extract them with your hand gently and wash them before the next use.
 
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#39
Eledin said:
As long as you can without causing them harm. When they get thirsty the leaves get droopy, you should have a few days before that happens. In 1 or 2 days I would say most of the job if not all is done if you mixed it properly and its dry but as I said, the longer the better without making your plants suffer. If the leaves get droopy cause she is thirsty as soon as you water they will go back to normal, no permanent damage, just a sign.
EDIT: Sorry forgot, water as usual after. The diatomaceous earth will degrade over time and release silica. It will also keep killing bugs when it dries again but is completely inefective while wet and you might need to put more if your last application was weeks ago and a new pest comes.



If you do it well, with 1 application should be enough. All of the top substrate must be a little bit whiter for a lack of a better term when youre done. Not to the point where its all white but to the point that you can tell the difference. If it doesnt solve before the first watering feel free to make a second application, trying to get everything this time but if you need a third youre definetely doing something wrong. Its really easy if you follow the 2 most important rules:
1. Dont leave any crack without diatomaceous earth, keep in mind that if you move the pot/s the substrate from the sides can move, I put extra on the sides and make sure that its all covered if I moved them.
2. It needs to be dry, I know Im repeating myself here for the most part but its really important for it to be effective. If you do it like this, with 1 application should be enough.
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Thank you so much I have some food grade diatomaceous earth on the way will be here Wednesday. And will follow all of this step by step as long as it survives till then. And I will 100% make sure it is dry. Thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuu
 
#40
Eledin said:
Oh yeah, another thing I do is put coco with perlite on the top layer. That way insects have less organic matter on the surface to survive, mostly residues from your nutrients. If you plan on doing that, you can just mix the coco and perlite with the diatomaceous earth and then top dress the pots with it.
If you have the pots on the floor another improvement for drainage (which avoids root rot and too much water in the substrate which insects love) is to put an inch or two of clay pebbles or also called arlite on the bottom of the pots. You can also lift the pot with something that lets the bottom transpire. If you buy arlite feel free to mix it next time with your substrate aswell, its like perlite on steroids for root areation but perlite does the job pretty well too, I always add extra perlite and a bit of arlite (besides the inch and a half I have on the bottom for drainage, roots grow through it too). Beneficial bacteria use the clay pebbles too, giving them more space for their colonies and hence faster processing of organic nutrients.
EDIT: About clay pebbles; unless it specifies its washed, you need to wash them. Tap water will do, be careful not to clog your pipe though because there are tiny pieces of clay in it most likely, use a big strainer or something similar. You can reuse them, after youre done with the grow they will be all bunched up on the bottom binded by the roots, just extract them with your hand gently and wash them before the next use.
Click to expand...
Hey so the diatomaceous earth will be here today a bit earlier than expected. I haven't watered her in a couple days and it's really dry. But I'm also not seeing the bugs anymore?!?!? I stared for a solid 15 minutes and don't see anything, and the bugs themselves aren't getting on my plant, but as far as bugs I haven't seen anything at all today besides one single gnat that was on her when I came home on my break at work. This is her about 20 minutes ago. I've also had a fan going for about 2 days now as well.
 
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