Anyone else becoming a grower hypochondriac?

[longbottom]

Man, Ive got it bad ! I swear I have everything... Root Aphids, White Flies, Fungus Gnats (confirmed every grow) HPlVd, Fusarium, )the list goes on and on

I'm so obsessed about pests and have read just about every article about them that I can find, but I just cant seem to see anything on my plants (except the Fungus Gnats).

I see little white specs on my leaves, looks like eggs, could be perlite dust... (could be this could be that seems to be everywhere)

When I open my grow cabinet, I see little white specs floating around. Could be white flies, could be dust...My sticky traps show nothing.

I see hairs on my buds, could be spider mite webs, could be my own hair....(pretty sure I don't have these, but I'm on the lookout)

Fungus Gnats are something I cant seem to avoid, they are in the soil I buy and BTI takes care of them... BUT what else can be lurking in bagged potting soil? I researched this for hours, no luck...
So, with my grower hypochondriac tendencies, I boil and bake all of my soil every grow.... Don't like doing it, but don't like worrying about pests either.. All the good stuff in my soil that I pay for is baked away...


Anyone else got it this bad? I'm not sure how I got here. I never worried about any of this stuff before becoming a grower.


Here is an example. Lets play Where's Aphid Waldo ... Can you find the root aphids? I've spent at least 20 hours looking for these buggers. I do see red shapes on the roots that could be an aphid. But I also see red blobs, it might just be soil ! As I say, could be this, could be that !

 

[amneziaHaze]

Those at the bottom left are the good kind i think

 

[Galgrows]

I don't fret over fungas gnats, fruit flies or whatever. I spray my soil now before i planted this last time, sprayed the whole tote put the lid back on then left it alone. Did it again a week later turned the soil over in the tote cause it sweats and stays moist sprayed it again put the lid back on. The more organic the soil i use the more issues with these nuisence critters.

Then i potted up the soil in my 3gal bags and placed them in my tent and watered the soil deeply to see what would come out of it. Only thing that grew were mushroom spores so i waited 2days and pre tested my lights and timer setup while it dried out abit. No more flying gnats nor crawlers and it's been over 30days. This is what i used.

 

[longbottom]

I don't fret over fungas gnats, fruit flies or whatever. I spray my soil now before i planted this last time, sprayed the whole tote put the lid back on then left it alone. Did it again a week later turned the soil over in the tote cause it sweats and stays moist sprayed it again put the lid back on. The more organic the soil i use the more issues with these nuisence critters.

Then i potted up the soil in my 3gal bags and placed them in my tent and watered the soil deeply to see what would come out of it. Only thing that grew were mushroom spores so i waited 2days and pre tested my lights and timer setup while it dried out abit. No more flying gnats nor crawlers and it's been over 30days. This is what i used.

Fungus Gnats while bad, are not a death sentence like mites or aphids... Luckily the gnats are easy to take care of using BTI and sticky traps.

Yes ! I've considered creating my own soil using rabbit manure and other ingredients, but I worry about the soil being out in the open. I've even considered buying some type of mesh to cover my soil bins while cooking. I'm too worries about something getting into the soil and to be honest dont know exactly how they get in !

Thanks for the tip on organic soil...

 

[longbottom]

Those at the bottom left are the good kind i think

Where is Waldo Aphid game part two

As you can see, there are round brownish red (circled) objects in my soil that could be aphids... I don't see legs or anything that clearly identifies them as insects though.

The square shows a similar brown blob (there are a lot of these in my soil) which may be just a clump of soil.

So, as I say, it could be this, could be that ! Its really hard to tell !

Another pic that shows that the soil has red blobs. These do not appear to be aphids and its the same color as the round shapes shown above.

 

[Gmix]

Post a pic of the plant that you think is infected
We can tell way more from the pattern damage

boiling the soil isn’t the way to go

If your getting bugs you need to examine why
Are you visiting the outside garden then visiting the tent
Are you allowing other folk to look in
Do you have pets that enter the garden
Is the room sealed or are you growing in a shed
Are you buying soil that’s been stored outside
Is the room clean
Gnats your overwatering
Any stinky rotten stuff lying around dead leaves etc should be cleaned up

Get some nematodes for the gnats i found bti can be infective with large numbers

 

[Gmix]

Oh yeah & the hairs

Leaves have hairs if you zoom in & that’s what you referring to spider mites leave webbing like spiders do. I doubt you’ve spider mites you’d know it they eat to much not know.

As for this white dust floating about show us the plant witch makes me wonder do have a fan in the room

 

[TheGoldenRoad]

Oh yeah & the hairs

Leaves have hairs if you zoom in & that’s what you referring to spider mites leave webbing like spiders do. I doubt you’ve spider mites you’d know it they eat to much not know.

As for this white dust floating about show us the plant witch makes me wonder do have a fan in the room

I get lost of space dust from the fan.

 

[HerbalEdu]

i m not seeing anything of concern aside that plant would benefit from a transplant into bigger pot.

and seconding what Gmix said.

 

[Eledin]

Fungus Gnats while bad, are not a death sentence like mites or aphids... Luckily the gnats are easy to take care of using BTI and sticky traps.

Yes ! I've considered creating my own soil using rabbit manure and other ingredients, but I worry about the soil being out in the open. I've even considered buying some type of mesh to cover my soil bins while cooking. I'm too worries about something getting into the soil and to be honest dont know exactly how they get in !

Thanks for the tip on organic soil...

With a bit of neem meal and diatomacious earth in your soil youre set. Also textile pots if you are not using them already, plastic pots suck a ton for humid places (dont know if its your case but usually pests have something to do with humidity)

 

[Eledin]

Post a pic of the plant that you think is infected
We can tell way more from the pattern damage

boiling the soil isn’t the way to go

If your getting bugs you need to examine why
Are you visiting the outside garden then visiting the tent
Are you allowing other folk to look in
Do you have pets that enter the garden
Is the room sealed or are you growing in a shed
Are you buying soil that’s been stored outside
Is the room clean
Gnats your overwatering
Any stinky rotten stuff lying around dead leaves etc should be cleaned up

Get some nematodes for the gnats i found bti can be infective with large numbers

Great advice! I dont know if BTI is very different than BTC (canadiensis) but I have not had fungus gnats since I use it, maybe Im lucky plus I usually tend to underwater more than overwater haha.

 

[Eledin]

Get one of these too, it blocks dust and bugs. Its a anti bug mesh for in line fans, thats the best translation I can give you from spanish haha. Its not in amazon Spain and maybe nor in amazon US, but you can always search online grow shops, they tend to have them.

 

[longbottom]

Post a pic of the plant that you think is infected

Week 5 flower all of my grows show brown spots. I've been around and around on this and am adjusting nutrients etc.... I am also ruling out pests, Root Aphids are hard to see in soil until you take the plant out of its pot..

Most of my grows are much healthier than this, but here is an extreme example..

We can tell way more from the pattern damage

boiling the soil isn’t the way to go

Fungus Gnats are in the Fox Farm soil I buy, you can see them flying around the bags at the nurseries and they come out when you open the bag. I've purchased 5 different bags of fox farm, from different stores (South East US) and they are all loaded with gnats... Might be the way they store them, but I expect them now. This is why I bake the soil and make a BTI tea from time to time.... No fungus gnats using this method.

If your getting bugs you need to examine why
Are you visiting the outside garden then visiting the tent

NO !!!! As I say, I'm scared to death of pests, I even shower before opening my cabinet and have a grow suit (clothes I know are clean and pest free)

Are you allowing other folk to look in

Nobody knows, its a hidden grow cabinet. Answer is no, nobody opens the cabinet except me.... (and I try not to open it up if I don't have to)

Do you have pets that enter the garden

No pets except a pet rabbit. It does not come downstairs to my grow room so the answer is no.

Is the room sealed or are you growing in a shed

Room is sealed. I grow in a sealed metal grow cabinet with filters on the air intakes. The room is very clean and also has a large dehumidifier.

Are you buying soil that’s been stored outside

Yes, no and I don't know. I try to buy soil stored indoors, but I have feeling they store the bulk of it outdoors.

Is the room clean

The room is very clean and also has a large dehumidifier. It is in a basement though and the walls are concrete... My Safe (My cabinet is a locking safe) is on a concrete wall that is underground. This may allow pests in, I do see an ant from time to time. Not good ! Those buggers carry in aphids. That's why I'm looking for aphids.

Gnats your overwatering

I'm pretty obsessive with my watering routine letting the soil dry back a bit before watering... I use weight to determine if its wet or dry.

Any stinky rotten stuff lying around dead leaves etc should be cleaned up

Nope ! Its inside a clean house with very little traffic. I also grow in winter when outdoor pests are taking a little nap.

Get some nematodes for the gnats i found bti can be infective with large numbers

Boiling the soil and using BTI occasionally stops the fungus gnats 100%...I watch sticky traps for them (yellow) and none are present.


Please know, its very possible I don't have any pests at all. I'm a grower hypochondriac after all ! I think I have everything, but no proof at all..

 

[longbottom]

Get one of these too, it blocks dust and bugs. Its a anti bug mesh for in line fans, thats the best translation I can give you from spanish haha. Its not in amazon Spain and maybe nor in amazon US, but you can always search online grow shops, they tend to have them.
View attachment 2370994

Have 2 of these and also use stockings (stockings seem to work better, but I've tried both).. There is only one intake and it is filtered with either a cap like you've shown or a stocking...

Edit: the reason I prefer stocking over caps is that I can tape them with gorilla tape very securely, Basically I cut a square of stocking, stretch it slightly, and gorilla tape it over my 4 inch intake hole...(the tape is on the outside of the square of stocking)

 

[Gmix]

Have you a current grow with problems or are these past grows.

If there old grows bug bomb the hell outa the place & stay away from it for 24hrs
Start afresh there predators that can deal with aphids https://dragonfli.co.uk/search?q=aphids+&search=+ you can also use them as a preventative however if there’s none they will just die off.

Try avoid nurseries they do store there soil outside. Find a hydroponics shop that stores the medium inside & you won’t get gnats in the medium.

 

[longbottom]

Have you a current grow with problems or are these past grows.

If there old grows bug bomb the hell outa the place & stay away from it for 24hrs
Start afresh there predators that can deal with aphids https://dragonfli.co.uk/search?q=aphids+&search=+ you can also use them as a preventative however if there’s none they will just die off.

Try avoid nurseries they do store there soil outside. Find a hydroponics shop that stores the medium inside & you won’t get gnats in the medium.

We'll have to agree to disagree here, I'm tiring of this argument. All soil indoors and outdoors is loaded with
fungus gnats where I live... All of it.

 

[longbottom]

Mods any chance you can shut this thread down? I regret posting it

Consider it closed, I'm heading out.