SOIL MITES? Neem oil? Too bushy ?

[Travismilne89]

Hey everyone, I'm about 4 weeks into growing lemon og, sour diesel and alien og . Using ro water i now PH to 6.5 with my fox farm ocean forest. I water the soil to feed and fill the resevoir for a plain watering . They mostly all take up the nutrients sofar but I did find that my soil is infested with the little white soil mites . At first I thought it was a plant bug so I sprayed them with 1/2tbs of neem oil mixed with 4 cups and i think It burned up my leaves. I've kept the two 1000w Mars lights about 3-4 ft away since seedlings after i realized these lights were alot more powerful then I thought because it was burning the seedlings up.. they seem to be starting to grow upward but very bushy.. Anyway does anyone have any inside info on the soil mites , I have a very expensive house I can't have infested . Lol
Also any other comments are very welcome and appreciated.

 

[Porky1982]

Your plants look fine mate.
I use soil I keep outside and when I pot up my plants to bring them into my tent I do the first 3 waters with 1ml per litre of neem to get rid of any bugs that may be in the soil and I haven’t had a bug problem yet.

 

[Travismilne89]

Thank you! That is great to hear. Are you experienced with soil mites? I have a massive infestation of soil mites. I am considering taking the plants outside before it gets to hot (las vegas) and removing some of the topsoil . apparently these mites host disease and are potentially harmful to humans? Im super happy that my soil is very high quality haha (why the mites are there) but at the same time is this going to be something I have to tip toe around or can I get rid of them? Will they leave my grow room into other areas of the house?

 

[Beachwalker]

Thank you! That is great to hear. Are you experienced with soil mites? I have a massive infestation of soil mites. I am considering taking the plants outside before it gets to hot (las vegas) and removing some of the topsoil . apparently these mites host disease and are potentially harmful to humans? Im super happy that my soil is very high quality haha (why the mites are there) but at the same time is this going to be something I have to tip toe around or can I get rid of them? Will they leave my grow room into other areas of the house?

Got a picture of the bugs?

 

[Mr. Krinkle]

Probably just Hypoaspis Miles, and they eat fungus gnat larvae, so they're beneficial - and they won't leave the soil to crawl around your very expensive house - google some pics of them and see if they look the same as what's crawling around in your soil and if that's the case, just leave them

 

[Travismilne89]

I really cant get a picture. They are tiny. like maybe 1mm. they are white or clear and I have only seen a few of them under the reservoir cap or around the pot. Other than in the soil. I seen a few on the plant itself but they do seem to only be in the soil. At first I was thinking of leaving them but it is a bit irritating having to avoid them when watering or find a good place to put the cap until i fill the pot because under the cap is a big mass off them.

 

[Travismilne89]

Got em

 

[Travismilne89]

Video

 

[Travismilne89]

Thinking about throwing some Diatomaceous Earth in the topsoil.

 

[Mr. Krinkle]

Hmmm - pics and video are still a little fuzzy - did you look at the pic of Hypoaspis Miles? They almost look a little too big to be them but they do resemble them if i was to take a guess - and they don't really look like root aphids, which is good...

They'll look exactly like the pics youll see on google images

and what brand soil are you using?

 

[Beachwalker]

?? maybe ??

 

[Travismilne89]

Hmmm - pics and video are still a little fuzzy - did you look at the pic of Hypoaspis Miles? They almost look a little too big to be them but they do resemble them if i was to take a guess - and they don't really look like root aphids, which is good...

They'll look exactly like the pics youll see on google images

and what brand soil are you using?

I actually think you may be right! so I guess we shall see what happens because i threw some Diatomaceous Earth all over the soil and leaves.. sofar im not sure but it may be killing them. hopefully they arent the good bugs because it sounds like the good ones will almost guarantee a smooth grow?

 

[skinnypuppy]

I have "heard" FoxFarm puts them ( Hypoaspis Miles) in their soil mix's to battle fungus gnats. You could contact them directly and they may be able to help you out. I am not sure that is what you have due to lack of experience with this bug as well as fuzzy pics

 

[Mr. Krinkle]

I have "heard" FoxFarm puts them ( Hypoaspis Miles) in their soil mix's to battle fungus gnats. You could contact them directly and they may be able to help you out. I am not sure that is what you have due to lack of experience with this bug as well as fuzzy pics

Hey - i love skinny puppy - and i especially love the Ohgr albums - every single one of them is award winning

 

[Mr. Krinkle]

LOL the DE's probably not gonna do much to them at all - don't worry about it if you think they're Hypoaspis Miles - they really are harmless and like skinny puppy dude said, some of these soil companies put them in there because they have a fungus gnat problem - just don't buy whatever soil you bought again

if you want clean in your house, i'd suggest Tupur from royal gold - its mainly coco and perlite - plants love that stuff and it's always clean when i buy it and ive been on it for about 6 years now - very clean

 

[Travismilne89]

LOL the DE's probably not gonna do much to them at all - don't worry about it if you think they're Hypoaspis Miles - they really are harmless and like skinny puppy dude said, some of these soil companies put them in there because they have a fungus gnat problem - just don't buy whatever soil you bought again

if you want clean in your house, i'd suggest Tupur from royal gold - its mainly coco and perlite - plants love that stuff and it's always clean when i buy it and ive been on it for about 6 years now - very clean

Okay right on. I really think they are harmless because otherwise wouldn't i see them all over the plant itself?
If the DE doesn't wipe them out then ill leave them and see what happens. Atleast with my neem oil treatment , the DE treatment and these mites around then I guess I won't expect much more pests.
Thank you

 

[Mr. Krinkle]

yea you'll be ok - the only thing crawling around the soil that would be harmful would be root aphids, and if you feel like you can rule them out, then yea you're good

look at this, apparently they changed the name of hypoaspis miles, makes me feel old

Stratiolaelaps scimitus (formerly H. Miles)

Stratiolaelaps scimitus (formerly called Hypoaspis miles) is a soil dwelling, generalist mite that feeds on fungus gnat larvae, pupating thrips, pathogenic nematodes, immature root aphids, and small insects in your substrate. Preventative applications will protect against many of the most common pests that feed on your roots or have a life stage in the soil. They can also be released onto the floors and corners of room and greenhouses.

 

[Travismilne89]

Status update - no issues with the plants related to bugs. And the DE did not kill all of these bugs. They are still there but im no longer concerned . I can only ever find 1 or 2 bugs on the actual plant and there are no visual signs of harm . Thank you all for your help.

 

[KDB42]

Just in case you know you can't spray neem oil on the plant with lights on right. You said it burned your leaves even though pics look good to me. Anyway I was laughing to myself because your setup is just like mine. I'm growing lemon og in FF ocean soil with a 1000w mars light. Gotta let me know how it goes through out your grow! I wasn't sure if I was growing blue dream or lemon og through my whole grow (mixed up the seeds) till I smelled my fingers after pruning around week 3/4 of flower. Nice Piney lemon smell. Almost like lemon pledge lol. Anyway looking good so far!

 

[CF89]

I used buckets too and drilled holes at the bottom for better air flow through the dirt.