mace said:

diatomaceous earth can go around the base of your plants in pots next time, will kill the adults on contact and is organic. Also, i use mosquito dunks in my water, you can find them at home depot for cheap.

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By Ed Rosenthal - Sunday said:

Root aphids colonize and suck juices from roots in many mediums including horticultural pebbles, rockwool and planting mixes. They are persistent, so it requires some discipline to eliminate them. There are several organic products that can be used without affecting the plant, the buds, or the safety of the buds for later human consumption. The first is organic pyrethrum. This is a natural insecticide gathered from a chrysanthemum-type flower. There are several brands of liquid concentrate. If pyrethrum liquid is not available at your local nursery or garden shop you can order it on the internet.

Botanigard is an insecticide that is composed of a living fungus, beauveria bassiana. This fungus seeks out aphids and infects them, causing death. Then it releases spores waiting for more victims. It also works to control whiteflies and thrips. You can order it at many garden stores or through garden websites on the internet.

Neem oil and citrus oil have also been used to kill aphids, but they sometimes affect the roots. Test them on a sample plant before using either of them in the garden.

The aphids should be treated every other day with a minimum of six treatments. Rotate the insecticides. Botanigard can be combined with pyrethrum. The neem and citrus oils can be mixed with each other as well as pyrethrum. The idea is to totally eliminate the pests.

If the plants are growing in a hydroponic system, rather than mixing the treatment in the reservoir, make a special batch of water. Turn off the hydroponic system and water the plants using a watering can. Let the insecticide water stay in the root area for at least an hour before turning the hydroponic unit back on.

Once the aphids are gone, it is difficult for them to reinfect. They were probably introduced to your garden by a new element such as a clone or infected planting mix.

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By Ed Rosenthal - Tuesday said:

Root aphids are a serious problem and they are not easy to get rid of. A serious infection occurred in a controlled indoor plant nursery. We never discovered how the infection began. No outdoor plants were ever admitted except as bare cuttings that were first quarantined; new plants were started in synthetic planting mixes and only sterile planting mixes were used. Nevertheless, the very agile hard coated black insect, 1/16" in length, invaded the rooting medium and could be seen scurrying into hiding. It was identified as an aphid, but I thought looked more like a beetle.

Three ingredients were used to eliminate the insect under the "zero tolerance" policy of the nursery.

Liquid pyrethrum concentrate was mixed into the water/nutrient mix. Pyrethrum is an organic pesticide refined from flowers in the chrysanthemum family. There are a number of brands available in nurseries and garden shops but you may have to go online to find a liquid concentrate.

Botanigard is a specific virulent species of fungus that infects soft-bodied insects. When a possible host insect brushes against the fungus spore, the spore attaches itself to the insect. Then it grows hyphae, which are simple thread-like filaments, into the body of the insect and starts feeding on the insect. When the insect dies it releases more fungus spores that are ready to germinate when they come in contact with a suitable host such as another root aphid. It is available at a few shops and online.

Beneficial nematodes are microscopic carnivores that attack all kinds of insects in all stages of growth. Once the nematodes come in contact with the insect, whether adult or pupae, it is walking dead. After the feast, the nematodes do just what you'd expect, so thousands more hungry nematodes enter the scene looking for a good meal. They are available in both garden shops and on the internet.

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lil miss lone said:

Neither of those will work for root aphids bro, I'm sorry but I tried both of those. BTi will not kill aphids, neither will diatom.

Good deal bro. I wasted damn near a year!! trying to fight those things before I turned off the lights. I wish I had known then what I know now, you know. I'm glad you made that decision, you'll feel better for it, trust me..

Now, what are you going to do in veg?? Kill all and start over from seed, do you plan on going nuclear, what?

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