I Need Help Please With This Leaf Issue!!

Hdinkleman · Mar 7, 2019

i have a bunch of fungus gnat larvae everywhere in the top soil. think that would be causing the issues with the leaves twisting and mottled looking leaves?

today i gave just one gallon of water phed to 5.9 waited an hour it said 5.9 waited another hour and fed before work it was ph 5.9 i checked again right before i fed the plant.
the gallon of water i gave was a full dose of nutes and a full dose of calmag, the plant looks better, now im more worried about the fungus gnats being the cause of al this the whole time, theres quite a bit of the larvae, only caught 4 in my yellow traps so far though . i also gave a dose of BT MICROBE LIFT in the gallon today im hoping that kills them but i dont know starting to piss me off lol

Deadstill · Mar 8, 2019

Go get some diatomaceous earth and dust the effected leaves with a sifter or something. Won't harm the plants and will kill the bugs without chemicals

Jack og · Mar 8, 2019

Get nematodes and it will eliminate the fungus knat issue . Most grow stores have them

Hdinkleman · Mar 8, 2019

Deadstill said:
Go get some diatomaceous earth and dust the effected leaves with a sifter or something. Won't harm the plants and will kill the bugs without chemicals

im not using chemicals. whats the benefit of sprinkling DE on leaves for fungus gnats?

Jack og said:
Get nematodes and it will eliminate the fungus knot issue . Most grow stores have them

ok so does that leaf look like fungus gnat larvae damage though?

Oh gosh · Mar 8, 2019

I think it would be safe to assume the leaf is a condition from the gnats. Never used DE but from what I read it's safe to use on the medium, not sure how it helps on the leaf's but I guess anything is possible. Additionally, allow your coco to dry out prior to watering each time as a preventative measure. If you have a scope R/O any other pests that may be hiding. Think your in good shape, you've established the possible cause(s).

Dirtbag · Mar 8, 2019

Without using pesticides you will probably have to accept that you'll be living with fungus gnats. I had them for about 2 years in a perpetual grow.

I tried seemingly everything. DE, Hydrogen peroxide, BTI, Neem oil, neem meal, nematodes, Sand, Rice hulls, sticky traps, spinosad, Doctor doom, Potato slices, drying to the point of wilt. None of it got rid of them. The only thing that wiped them out was when I had to use Merit 75 to eliminate root aphids, and it wiped out the FG's too. Everything else just knocked the numbers back a little bit and that's it. They are persistent pests.

BUT, they dont do much if any damage if you keep their numbers under control.

Deadstill · Mar 8, 2019

Hdinkleman said:
im not using chemicals. whats the benefit of sprinkling DE on leaves for fungus gnats?

ok so does that leaf look like fungus gnat larvae damage though?

Diatomaceous earth kills insects and larvae. Not sure how well it works for fungus gnats, but it's super cheap and couldn't hurt to try. I always keep a big container on hand. Works for de-worming your dog/cat, too, if it's food grade, you just put a little in their food and it will get rid of them. Safe for mammals. Deadly for insects. I like to sprinkle some on the soil of each plant at the time of potting and once a month, just for good measure.

This is one of the ways I fight spider mites, as well.

Hdinkleman · Mar 8, 2019

Deadstill said:
Diatomaceous earth kills insects and larvae. Not sure how well it works for fungus gnats, but it's super cheap and couldn't hurt to try. I always keep a big container on hand. Works for de-worming your dog/cat, too, if it's food grade, you just put a little in their food and it will get rid of them. Safe for mammals. Deadly for insects. I like to sprinkle some on the soil of each plant at the time of potting and once a month, just for good measure.

This is one of the ways I fight spider mites, as well.

already got it and am using it!
im starting to get the feeling it is the fungus gnat larvae making my leaf problems

Oh gosh · Mar 9, 2019

Keep us posted on progress. Thanks

Jimster · Mar 9, 2019

Insects can cause plant and leaf destruction, but I don't know that fungus gnats are one of them. I'm not too familiar with them but I think they are more of a cosmetic issue. White Flies, not sure of their proper name, can live on the undersides of the leaves and suck the juices out of the plant. The damage is more apparent during flowering as they cause sugars to leak out of the damaged sites. When you burn sugar, you get carbon. The result on buds is a poorly burning product that leaves a lot of black ash. If Fungus Gnats are the one's I'm thinking of, they don't really cause any problems other than being a pain in the ass.
If I'm way off base here, someone...please correct me.

Dirtbag · Mar 9, 2019

Jimster said:
Insects can cause plant and leaf destruction, but I don't know that fungus gnats are one of them. I'm not too familiar with them but I think they are more of a cosmetic issue. White Flies, not sure of their proper name, can live on the undersides of the leaves and suck the juices out of the plant. The damage is more apparent during flowering as they cause sugars to leak out of the damaged sites. When you burn sugar, you get carbon. The result on buds is a poorly burning product that leaves a lot of black ash. If Fungus Gnats are the one's I'm thinking of, they don't really cause any problems other than being a pain in the ass.
If I'm way off base here, someone...please correct me.

No you're bang on. I had them for years to the point a sticky trap would fill up in a matter of days. Never did hurt the buds or the plants. If the numbers get out of control it can be a pain in the ass trimming because the fliers get stuck to the buds, but they dont harm the plant really in any way.

Dirtbag · Mar 9, 2019

This is how my sticky traps looked after hanging for like 2 days lol. I'm not even kidding.

This bud came from the same flower cycle as that sticky trap.

Dirtbag · Mar 9, 2019

2 doses of Merit 75, and 8 weeks later my sticky traps still look like this lol. It's almost like the root aphids I had were a blessing and a curse. They hurt my crop but forced my hand into dropping the nuke. Bye bye bugs.

I have to admit, I'm looking forward to trimming a crop without flies stuck to the sugar leaf this go around lol.

I Need Help Please With This Leaf Issue!!

I Need Help Please With This Leaf Issue!!

Hdinkleman

Deadstill

Have Dick, Will Travel

Jack og

Hdinkleman

Oh gosh

Dirtbag

Deadstill

Have Dick, Will Travel

Hdinkleman

Oh gosh

Jimster

Dirtbag

Dirtbag

Dirtbag

I Need Help Please With This Leaf Issue!!

I Need Help Please With This Leaf Issue!!

Hdinkleman

Deadstill

Have Dick, Will Travel

Jack og

Hdinkleman

Oh gosh

Dirtbag

Deadstill

Have Dick, Will Travel

Hdinkleman

Oh gosh

Jimster

Dirtbag

Dirtbag

Dirtbag

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