Black and White bugs on tops of leaves. Banded thrip? Some Super mite?

[OutsideGoer]

Hey all,
Longtime grower and viewer, new issue has led me to make a profile and reach out.
Attached is the photo where I can’t identify what I’m up against. I’m thinking they are banded thrips? I’m in the mountains of central Cali almost nor cal. I’ll spray a couple days in a row, and boom there back on a hot day thriving. I’d use sulfur but it gets way too hot up here. I see precedent mite damage, but unsure if these black bugs are possibly eating the mites I don’t see? There is a tar residue in some areas. I’ve been using Neem and citric acid soapy based compounds. Help

 

[Ponky]

Buy a big 50 pound sack of diatomaceous earth. Wear a respirator and cover that thing in a good dusting. And dust the surrounding area. It's not toxic. You just don't want to inhale the aersolized dust. This material will cut and dry out the carapace of the insects. They will die. Like covering people in broken glass. Except on a small scale. Cheap. Don't over pay it's a standard product for farming and filtration and food industry.

 

[Ponky]

The cell walls of diatomaceous earth are made of silica (the main component of glass). This makes the individual particles sharp, abrasive and damaging to insect bodies. It is also effective against soft-bodied gastropods, such as slugs and snails if distributed in a thick line that forms a physical barrier.
From: https://plantcaretoday.com/diatomac...of diatomaceous,that forms a physical barrier.

 

[OutsideGoer]

Buy a big 50 pound sack of diatomaceous earth. Wear a respirator and cover that thing in a good dusting. And dust the surrounding area. It's not toxic. You just don't want to inhale the aersolized dust. This material will cut and dry out the carapace of the insects. They will die. Like covering people in broken glass. Except on a small scale. Cheap. Don't over pay it's a standard product for farming and filtration and food industry.

Hmm that sounds like a sure fire way to handle them… do you know what they are exactly? This is my first time seeing them in my 7 years of commercial and personal grows

 

[Ponky]

Hmm that sounds like a sure fire way to handle them… do you know what they are exactly? This is my first time seeing them in my 7 years of commercial and personal grows

I mean they look like regular old gnats. Don't know how hard they are on the plant. Or if they even eat plants.

 

[OutsideGoer]

I mean they look like regular old gnats. Don't know how hard they are on the plant. Or if they even eat plants.

Put some on some paper and there more slender like thrips

 

[Ponky]

Are they biting the plant?

 

[AaronS]

They look like thrips to me. See any larva/nymph stage? Get a microscope and find out exactly what they are i got the one on the www.weedgineer.com/equipment page its at the bottom. You can see the eyes of thrips with it.

 

[AaronS]

Here I was able to get a link right to where the microscope is https://www.weedgineer.com/equipment#h.u18fv5sgg99q

 

[Rattymite123]

Put some on some paper and there more slender like thrips
View attachment 1156772
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View attachment 1156773

Shit this is one of the bloody pests I’m getting in my home maybe,
Do you see them move ? Or not really ?
Have they felt like they crawling on you sensations?
Weird I got rat mites and them I think did they turn out to be thrips ?
What killed them mate?
Cheers

 

[freezeland2]

Shit this is one of the bloody pests I’m getting in my home maybe,
Do you see them move ? Or not really ?
Have they felt like they crawling on you sensations?
Weird I got rat mites and them I think did they turn out to be thrips ?
What killed them mate?
Cheers

You still dealing with those things?

 

[Rattymite123]

You still dealing with those things?

I think I got several things , problem is two fold right outside my block ( my gap filled old
100 yr old damp block lol) are people growing onions and tomatoes ( yes really lol)
And rats have started invading the walls etc too.
So I recon I git thrips , ( springtails maybe) from that bit of allotment what the neighbours are growing
Tings.
And rats lovely rats , and it don’t end there I got biggest tree in universe almost in me window
Tweeting bloody birds all nite and day long so may have bird mites to !
I’ve seen very similar ones to in that pic could be thrips / springtails?
And crawling I’m getting plus weird bitty filthy floors has to be mites ?
Biting mites .
Pure hell.
If any one knows what to spray for some control of this nightmare I’d love to know.
Springtails are right hard work so are bird mites coz they just keep up at a speed I can’t cope with.
Permethrin don’t work not really.
May buy a fogger and some alcohol and hydrogen peroxide???
Any ideas well appreciated thanks!

 

[Rattymite123]

Hey all,
Longtime grower and viewer, new issue has led me to make a profile and reach out.
Attached is the photo where I can’t identify what I’m up against. I’m thinking they are banded thrips? I’m in the mountains of central Cali almost nor cal. I’ll spray a couple days in a row, and boom there back on a hot day thriving. I’d use sulfur but it gets way too hot up here. I see precedent mite damage, but unsure if these black bugs are possibly eating the mites I don’t see? There is a tar residue in some areas. I’ve been using Neem and citric acid soapy based compounds. Help
View attachment 1156714

Good photos mate think it’s one of my probs in London too. Coz people growing vegetables
Outside my flat. Let me no please if that’s what they are ( thrips ? ) thanks

 

[freezeland2]

I think I got several things , problem is two fold right outside my block ( my gap filled old
100 yr old damp block lol) are people growing onions and tomatoes ( yes really lol)
And rats have started invading the walls etc too.
So I recon I git thrips , ( springtails maybe) from that bit of allotment what the neighbours are growing
Tings.
And rats lovely rats , and it don’t end there I got biggest tree in universe almost in me window
Tweeting bloody birds all nite and day long so may have bird mites to !
I’ve seen very similar ones to in that pic could be thrips / springtails?
And crawling I’m getting plus weird bitty filthy floors has to be mites ?
Biting mites .
Pure hell.
If any one knows what to spray for some control of this nightmare I’d love to know.
Springtails are right hard work so are bird mites coz they just keep up at a speed I can’t cope with.
Permethrin don’t work not really.
May buy a fogger and some alcohol and hydrogen peroxide???
Any ideas well appreciated thanks!

Is just moving an option?

 

[Rattymite123]

Is just moving an option?

Corrr I wish , no not yet I can do a mutual exchange but not like
This who ever I swop with would come kill me I’d have to go on run lol
No money to buy a place, so I gotta kill much of this off first.
Then get exchange.
I tried £400 on company and they used permethrin just wasted my only bit of ready cash.
So u see why I’m desperate now , I gotta buy the right thing ,
Chemicals, ozone , fogger etc I don’t care so long as it works.
I got some new furniture coz place was being sprayed etc
That just got infested too gutted !
So maybe I can fog something?
Thanks kindly

 

[Nightabsm]

I think I got several things , problem is two fold right outside my block ( my gap filled old
100 yr old damp block lol) are people growing onions and tomatoes ( yes really lol)
And rats have started invading the walls etc too.
So I recon I git thrips , ( springtails maybe) from that bit of allotment what the neighbours are growing
Tings.
And rats lovely rats , and it don’t end there I got biggest tree in universe almost in me window
Tweeting bloody birds all nite and day long so may have bird mites to !
I’ve seen very similar ones to in that pic could be thrips / springtails?
And crawling I’m getting plus weird bitty filthy floors has to be mites ?
Biting mites .
Pure hell.
If any one knows what to spray for some control of this nightmare I’d love to know.
Springtails are right hard work so are bird mites coz they just keep up at a speed I can’t cope with.
Permethrin don’t work not really.
May buy a fogger and some alcohol and hydrogen peroxide???
Any ideas well appreciated thanks!

Made an account because my two cents *might* help diagnose your issue.

Long story - short, I had a bird mite infestation in my bedroom about 4 years back. My AC unit had a bird's nest on it, since it was near a large tree outside. The birds would peep like crazy every morning for a couple of years and their chirps would literally become amplified by the large metal AC unit. After finally removing the nest, the apparent leftover mites decided to come through the AC unit and into my room, biting me and my girlfriend for a week or so in my bed, before I finally found the exact source of the mites, the air-condition unit. I just saw hundreds of them, making their way through the AC unit into my room.
We had to remove the AC unit and seal off the wall to stop the problem. It was clear when we were successful, since those little bites were REALLY itchy and the itching just stopped after removing the AC unit and sealing off the wall.

Do the bites itch? Bird mites saliva will cause a definite itching sensation when they bite you. Some people say their bites cause a 'crawling' sensation as well. If you're dealing with bird mites, finding the source they're coming from and removing it would be your best solution.
Something to note, bird mites cannot reproduce unless birds are present, they cannot reproduce within humans or other household pets that aren't birds. Perhaps there is a nest in the tree you mentioned causing this exact issue?

I don't know anything about rat mites, but with most of the research I've done on house mice and rats invading your home, the best solution is to attempt to find any holes outdoors that mice/rats can get in through. That wouldn't exactly rid of rats or mice that you currently have in your home, but it would definitely help limit the problem from becoming worse. After sealing off their ways inside, you can *probably* narrow down where they nest within your home/walls and rid of them from there.

As you mentioned, it could of course be various different pests, though if the bites are like I described, it's possible you're dealing with bird mites.

Either way, I hope you can get the appropriate information to find a solution if this doesn't help, because I know first hand how frustrating and stressful an infestation can become.