Help!! I have a bunch of tiny little fly boys in my tent!!

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DoBetterr

DoBetterr

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I am in my tent daily and have never really noticed any sort of bugs with wings in there but today i noticed by the light 15 or so of these really really small flying bugs. too small to get a picture of.

I haven't noticed any visible damage to the plants at all and I always make sure to clean up the runoff water with a towel to prevent this sort of thing. What is the best way to handle this? I am 2 weeks into flower using Fox Farm Ocean Forest Soil.
 
ComfortablyNumb

ComfortablyNumb

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Lets see a pic of your soil and the plants from the side also.
 
GrowHobo

GrowHobo

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Probably fungus gnats. Either get a biological mosquito control to kill the larvae or put an inch of fine perlite on top of the pots to keep the gnats from getting in and out to lay eggs. Stick traps for the flyers.
 
Anthem

Anthem

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I am in my tent daily and have never really noticed any sort of bugs with wings in there but today i noticed by the light 15 or so of these really really small flying bugs. too small to get a picture of.

I haven't noticed any visible damage to the plants at all and I always make sure to clean up the runoff water with a towel to prevent this sort of thing. What is the best way to handle this? I am 2 weeks into flower using Fox Farm Ocean Forest Soil.
If you can get a couple of yellow sticky traps it will help you to confirm the species. Once they are on the card, take the card and put it next to your PC and google Fungal Gnat image. They have a couple of unique body parts that will help you to confirm they are Gnats and not root aphids. Once you have confirmed they are fungal gnats get some pond scum remover. You are looking for a specific bacteria, BTI. It will kill the gnats in their larvae stage of life. Add it to your water and try to drench the whole top of the soil or Coir. I would do it for a week the first treatment and follow it up for another week after waiting a week for the next generation to try and kill them off permanently.
 
DoBetterr

DoBetterr

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DoBetterr

DoBetterr

25
3
If you can get a couple of yellow sticky traps it will help you to confirm the species. Once they are on the card, take the card and put it next to your PC and google Fungal Gnat image. They have a couple of unique body parts that will help you to confirm they are Gnats and not root aphids. Once you have confirmed they are fungal gnats get some pond scum remover. You are looking for a specific bacteria, BTI. It will kill the gnats in their larvae stage of life. Add it to your water and try to drench the whole top of the soil or Coir. I would do it for a week the first treatment and follow it up for another week after waiting a week for the next generation to try and kill them off permanently.
I googled fungal gnats and I am happy to say they don’t appear to look that way based off what I can see of them quickly. They look more stubby than that, but again I’m seeing them for like .05 seconds at a time.
 
ComfortablyNumb

ComfortablyNumb

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When you use that Plant Therapy;

Water first.
Spray the soil to coat it lightly.
Till the solution into the top inch of soil. Spray again.
Do not spray the leaves unless you rinse them right away.
This will clog the leaf's pores, so be careful.

Lastly, add the yellow or blue sticky traps like everyone suggested.
 
ComfortablyNumb

ComfortablyNumb

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By the way, good looking plants.
I would defoliate the bottom half to push more into the flowers.
 
DoBetterr

DoBetterr

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By the way, good looking plants.
I would defoliate the bottom half to push more into the flowers.
thank you this has been a great learning process so far for sure but its nice to hear that they are looking decent to people who have been doing this for some time now.

When you say defoliate the bottom half are you talking just cut everything from main stalk from the halfway point down? Do you think this will give me more beefy colas?

Also I really appreciate the how to on using the the Plant Therapy mentioned above. Y'all are some real bud savers out here!
 
ComfortablyNumb

ComfortablyNumb

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thank you this has been a great learning process so far for sure but its nice to hear that they are looking decent to people who have been doing this for some time now.

When you say defoliate the bottom half are you talking just cut everything from main stalk from the halfway point down? Do you think this will give me more beefy colas?

Also I really appreciate the how to on using the the Plant Therapy mentioned above. Y'all are some real bud savers out here!
Yeah, you want to remove all the leaves that are below flowers. Leave at least one node under any flowers.
It will look something like this:
 
Lolipop
DoBetterr

DoBetterr

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Yeah, you want to remove all the leaves that are below flowers. Leave at least one node under any flowers.
It will look something like this:
alright so youre saying cut all the fan leaves but leave anything thats got a flower site growing attached to the plant correct?
 
ComfortablyNumb

ComfortablyNumb

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313
alright so youre saying cut all the fan leaves but leave anything thats got a flower site growing attached to the plant correct?
Ummm... Sorta. The main flower for each branch is on top. Where that one starts is the level you do not want to go over.
Below that will be small 'larf' flowers that do not grow well because of the lack of light.
By taking them and the fan leaves off below the main flowers, you send all the energy into the flowers.
I always leave at least 1 set of branches below the flower.
 
sambapati

sambapati

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The clear plastic cup with apple cider vinegar is a good thing to have in your grow. You can 'think' fungus gnats are gone, but they laid eggs and come back. Again...​

  • Looks like you've got some good product there to fix the problem. I currently have the gnats in my bathroom (after bringing in a plant from outside) and now PRESTO. Good luck and grow 'em big.
The presence of fungus gnats, or fruit flies, hovering in and near your houseplant is annoying. Adults are harmless to houseplants unlike their larvae, which can cause severe root system damage. Often drawn by unrefrigerated ripening fruit or even beer and fruit juice containers stored in recycle bins, these tiny flies seek the intoxicating essence of fermentation and are also attracted by damp areas such as household drains. Fungus gnats are particularly fond of depositing young in moist potting soil to feed upon fungi and decaying plant matter. However, instead of throwing the plant out, you can get rid of pesky fungus gnats using household vinegar.

  1. Pour one-quarter to one-half inch of apple cider vinegar into a clear or semi-opaque plastic cup, creating an effective fungus gnat trap. Add a drop or two of liquid dish soap and stir to combine thoroughly. Cover the top of the cup with transparent tape, leaving a one-eighth-inch opening in the center of the taped area.
  2. Place the vinegar trap near your houseplant and check it daily. Don’t disturb it if you see gnats congregating on top of the taped area; they’ll soon find their way into the hole and down to the vinegar.

  3. Set up some yellow sticky traps around your houseplant to attract hovering adults to the area.
  4. Cut a fresh raw potato into chunks. Place a few pieces on the houseplant’s soil for two or three days. Pick up the potato pieces and look to see if anything has been chewing on them.
  5. Take the houseplant out of its pot gently if you have discovered fungus gnat larvae. Remove as much soil as you can without disturbing its roots. Seal the infected soil up in a plastic bag and discard it; do not add it to the compost heap. Clean and disinfect the plant container. Repot the plant in a good commercial sterilized potting soil mix.
  6. Modify your watering practices. Allow the houseplant’s soil surface to completely dry out. Withhold water as long as you can without causing injury to the plant. Fungus gnats require a moist environment, so the larvae will die when the soil dries out.
  7. Remove debris and dead plant material from the soil surface daily to eliminate an adult fungus gnat attractant and larval food source.
  8. Things You Will Need​

    • Apple cider vinegar
    • Clear or semi-opaque plastic cup
    • Liquid dish soap
    • Transparent tape
    • Yellow sticky traps
    • Fresh raw potato
    • Plastic bag
    • Sterilized potting mix
    • Ripe fruit (optional)
    • Bleach

    Tip​

    Fungus gnats are lighter than liquid, so they’re able to walk across the surface without sinking. Dish soap breaks the surface tension of the liquid, causing them to drown in the vinegar in the trap.
    Drop a small bit of ripe fruit such as banana or cantaloupe into the vinegar. Make sure the bait is large enough to protrude above the surface of the liquid. It will attract adult gnats faster than vinegar alone.
    Soak plant containers in 1 part bleach and 9 parts water for 10 minutes to disinfect. Wash with hot soapy water and rinse thoroughly.

    Warning​

    Fungus gnats pose more of a nuisance than a hazard. However, they can contaminate human food sources with bacteria.
 
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