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coAsTal
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Fucking indoor bugs, man
#26776616 - 06/23/20 12:23 PM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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I'm fighting a tiny bug infestation in all of my trays-- it started slowly, but with having been unusually busy over the past couple months I didn't catch it in time to stop it from becoming a major infestation.
I need some advice or I'm going to lose most of my baby plants. I've already lost about half of the ones that are exposed to air where they can get in. Some of my slow growers are still sealed so they're presently safe, but I need to open some of them up too since they're starting to push up against the container tops.
The bugs are so fucking small I can't even get a good picture of them. I think it's a variety of thrips, between .5mm to 1mm long, grayish, and they jump. Super soft, you crush one it just disintegrates. They swarm over the soil in the semi-closed containers where it's still humid, though I don't see them on the open trays much when it's lit (which is why I missed them initially-- at night there are fucking dozens on them though.
Most of the exposed seedlings are affected, and some of the pereskiopsis as well-- though they don't seem to climb up beyond 8 inches or so, that growth is still perfectly green. They seem to stick near the soil.
Henbane and other plants like lemon balm seem unaffected-- noticed the ones that bit into the henbane leaves all died there, HAHAHAHA fuck you bugs.
In most all the infected cactus babies the skin is browned from surface attacks, and they are killing the plants by excavating the body at the soil and eating into the flesh. I found thin clear worms with a dark dot on them maybe 1-1.5mm long writhing inside the flesh they were hollowing out. Awful. Again, too small to get a good pic of.
I've been using diatomaceous earth liberally to try and kill them mechanically, and tried neem w/soap spray. These efforts have helped moderately, but I'm still taking hits.


I have delayed up-potting many of my more mature seedlings until I can get a handle on this since I don't want to stress them and transfer the infestation at the same time.
Here's a pic of one of my favorite little Pach/Scop weirdo's that is about to die from it-- you can't really tell from the pic, but just at the base at the soil is all eaten up, you can just make out the browning-- so I'm going to have to do an emergency graft onto peres soon or I'll lose it. That container is actually a sealed one, but they got in it somehow anyway-- though they haven't yet bitten the skin of these two for some reason.
-------------------- I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the Heart's affections and the truth of Imagination-- John Keats Spore Trading List
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Allium
Registered: 03/16/20
Posts: 2,722
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: coAsTal]
#26776685 - 06/23/20 12:52 PM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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Those are mealy bugs man. You need to uproot them all and rinse them off, then re-pot them in a new potting mix, or you'll never rid yourself of them!
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coAsTal
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: Allium]
#26776768 - 06/23/20 01:21 PM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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Thank you for the reply-- I re-checked online to see what mealy bugs were, and that's definitely not what is in my trays--
I just went in there to try and see id there was any way I could show you, and this is the only pic I got where the micro-fuckers are almost in focus:
You'll have to view it full size to see them
-------------------- I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the Heart's affections and the truth of Imagination-- John Keats Spore Trading List
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hummingbird

Registered: 06/29/14
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: coAsTal]
#26777030 - 06/23/20 02:58 PM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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Clear worms with a dark dot are fungus gnat larvae. They can definitely cause damage on seedlings and small clones. You can either let the soil dry out as much as you can and the larva will usually die, or use something with bti in it like mosquito bits/dunks or gnatrol.
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Allium
Registered: 03/16/20
Posts: 2,722
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: hummingbird]
#26777239 - 06/23/20 04:28 PM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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oh my bad I thought all that white stuff covering them was mealybugs I missed the diatomaceous earth part. You have thrips I believe.
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coAsTal
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: hummingbird]
#26777245 - 06/23/20 04:31 PM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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Thank you-- Appears I have a multi-bug issue. I do see the very sporadic tiny gnats around. So that definitely fits the wormy things and the gnats. I think I'm going to un-lid the worse-off trays and let them dry out really well-- that should help kill off those in the soil from what I'm reading--
Now to explain what those pictured micro bastards that are scarring up the skin of my seedlings...
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Allium
Registered: 03/16/20
Posts: 2,722
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: coAsTal]
#26777256 - 06/23/20 04:33 PM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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use peroxide on them to fry the fungous gnat larvae. Then let them totally dry out and your problem will be solved And, you're welcome
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coAsTal
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: Allium]
#26777257 - 06/23/20 04:34 PM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
Allium said: oh my bad I thought all that white stuff covering them was mealybugs I missed the diatomaceous earth part. You have thrips I believe.
No worries-- I agree, now I just have to figure out how to MURDER THEM
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coAsTal
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: Allium]
#26777260 - 06/23/20 04:35 PM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
Allium said: use peroxide on them to fry the fungous gnat larvae. Then let them totally dry out and your problem will be solved And, you're welcome 
I've got some 3%-- will it hurt my kids? The soil? Should I dilute it?
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Allium
Registered: 03/16/20
Posts: 2,722
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: coAsTal]
#26777305 - 06/23/20 04:55 PM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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I have never used on cacti, because I don't grow them, but I get horrible fungus gnat infestations every year when I bring in all my plants for the winter, and after watering them all down with peroxide, and letting them totally dry out in front of a fan, problem solved! You can dilute it with half water, but it's not really necessary. Peroxide is good for the soil and it oxygenates it really well!
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coAsTal
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: Allium]
#26777312 - 06/23/20 04:57 PM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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Allium
Registered: 03/16/20
Posts: 2,722
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: coAsTal]
#26777317 - 06/23/20 04:58 PM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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Thanks man Just try it out on maybe a few at first just to make sure. Cacti are totally different than houseplants.
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coAsTal
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: Allium]
#26777324 - 06/23/20 05:04 PM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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I will-- doing some research now. There appears to be a spectrum of concentration to use depending on the purpose-- but it looks generally safe for plants since it quickly turns to water in air or soil (after releasing the extra oxygen).
Nice to learn something new
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Allium
Registered: 03/16/20
Posts: 2,722
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: coAsTal]
#26777332 - 06/23/20 05:07 PM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
coAsTal said: I will-- doing some research now. There appears to be a spectrum of concentration to use depending on the purpose-- but it looks generally safe for plants since it quickly turns to water in air or soil (after releasing the extra oxygen).
Nice to learn something new 
Glad to have helped a brother out
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DancingWolf
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: hummingbird]
#26777526 - 06/23/20 06:30 PM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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3% H2O2 is unlikely to hurt plants. You may look into Capsaicin and garlic if they are sucking / biting bugs.
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hummingbird

Registered: 06/29/14
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: DancingWolf]
#26778320 - 06/24/20 02:22 AM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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Thrips look like little slivers, and make squiggly line looking damage on plants. The damage on your seedlings looks like its from RSM (red spider mites) to me. They can be really hard to see. DE can kill those. A spray with a little rosemary oil and soap kills mites well for me. Potassium silicate is also a good emulsifier for oil sprays too, and helps thicken cell walls in plants...which makes it harder for bugs to bite/suck on.
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GreenHorns
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: hummingbird]
#26778357 - 06/24/20 03:47 AM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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Do you see the larvae in the soil? I agree it looks like fungus gnats which are harmless (to cannabis at least) but the larvae feed on roots. Benificial nematoads ended up being a staple in my whole garden because of fungus gnats. Best organic preventative measure and slow cure I've found.
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  As the spark of the dream ignites a flame of desire all we have is time and all to do is admire Spawning to Bulk Substate TEK General Myco Info / FAQ / Terminology
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coAsTal
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: GreenHorns]
#26778509 - 06/24/20 06:25 AM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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Hummingbird, thanks for the reply-- I don't see any red spider mites-- only the little grayish things I pictured earlier. I did consider that as a possibility, but they are silver/gray little bastards. Also, no webbing-- I wish I had a magnifying glass worth a shit so I could get you all a really good image of one...
GreenHorns, I do not see anything other than those little bugs in the soil either, but I think in the coming days I might just do a mass re-potting and trash all the old soil, thoroughly rinse the plants in the sink when they're naked, and re-plant them.
I am thinking that it may be the easiest way to expunge the pests, since I'm already at a level of replacing the soil anyway....
-------------------- I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the Heart's affections and the truth of Imagination-- John Keats Spore Trading List
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GreenHorns
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: coAsTal]
#26778676 - 06/24/20 08:12 AM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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Sounds like a good plan. Inspect the old soil for signs on pests or larvae. I wouldn't mind knowing what they are. What part of the world are you in?
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  As the spark of the dream ignites a flame of desire all we have is time and all to do is admire Spawning to Bulk Substate TEK General Myco Info / FAQ / Terminology
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hummingbird

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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: GreenHorns]
#26780313 - 06/24/20 08:05 PM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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You can barely see rsm if at all, without a scope. They don't make webs like the types that are on cannabis either. I had them do quite a bit of damage to a couple lophs I have before I ever noticed them. I'm open to being wrong, but the damage in the top two pictures look like the damage they will cause to me.
Fungus gnat larva can destroy cannabis clones and seedlings. I've heard they can reduce yield by 20% or so too. They aren't totally harmless to plants. They will happily eat plant roots and can bore into stems of rooting clones, along with soil fungus.
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GreenHorns
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: hummingbird]
#26780817 - 06/25/20 12:16 AM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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Sorry I was referring to the bugs themselves being harmless. Their larvae do the damage.
--------------------
  As the spark of the dream ignites a flame of desire all we have is time and all to do is admire Spawning to Bulk Substate TEK General Myco Info / FAQ / Terminology
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hummingbird

Registered: 06/29/14
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: GreenHorns]
#26782199 - 06/25/20 01:58 PM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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Yeah, you're right. The gnats themselves are just annoying really.
I've heard when gnats show up it means you are overwatering, and I've found that to be true for the most part. Letting the top of the soil dry out between waterings more usually gets rid of them, or reduces their numbers quite a bit.
@coastal-I went back and read the op again. The bugs swarming the soil could be a type springtail, which I don't think harm plants. Letting the soil dry out would get rid of those too, and the DE you used is going to help a bunch with any bug. The speckled corking like damage, especially in the second pic... still makes me think you might have/had mites on them.
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coAsTal
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: hummingbird]
#26782725 - 06/25/20 05:40 PM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
hummingbird said: @coastal-I went back and read the op again. The bugs swarming the soil could be a type springtail, which I don't think harm plants. Letting the soil dry out would get rid of those too, and the DE you used is going to help a bunch with any bug. The speckled corking like damage, especially in the second pic... still makes me think you might have/had mites on them.
I definitely agree that the damage looks like mites, but I swear I've examined the trays very thoroughly and have never seen any insect other than the little gray ones (that could well be springtails.) Definitely no red bugs. Still, the damage obviously came from somewhere, hehe. I just can't explain it.
I used the H2O2 on some of the soil most clearly populated with the gnat larvae this morning...though it didn't seem to kill the few wormy bastards I could see (I did them in with a chopstick for showing their clear disgusting asses to the world) and now I'm just going to let everything stay un-watered until it's all good and thoroughly dry.
Once it's sufficiently so, I will go ahead and take out the seedlings, do the water rinse to clean them and the roots, and make the transfer into new soil and containers-- thinking I'll probably do the first part on the porch outside so I can keep all the old infested stuff outdoors.
Hopefully I can get a handle on this so I can get the little ones through-- if the damage stops I have a few dozen that are definitely healthy enough to grow through the scarring once I get them in better soil.
-------------------- I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the Heart's affections and the truth of Imagination-- John Keats Spore Trading List
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Allium
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: coAsTal]
#26782736 - 06/25/20 05:44 PM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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Did you thoroughly water the soil with Peroxide or just spray it on the surface?
Set down a bowl of vinegar with a drop of dish soap in it in your plant room. You'll catch 100's of gnats guaranteed which will cut down on your infestation dramatically as well.
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coAsTal
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: Allium]
#26782745 - 06/25/20 05:47 PM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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Watered with straight 3%, until it soaked in, reading that it needed to penetrate enough to get them where they live-- and thank you a million for the vinegar idea-- I'll do that today
-------------------- I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the Heart's affections and the truth of Imagination-- John Keats Spore Trading List
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Allium
Registered: 03/16/20
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: coAsTal]
#26783034 - 06/25/20 07:28 PM (3 years, 7 months ago) |
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Man, that normally fries all the larvae out dead! You must have em really bad then. Wait to you see how well that vinegar works man, you'll catch em all like them bitches be Pokemon 
Oh, and, You're welcome
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retowen
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: DancingWolf]
#26818113 - 07/11/20 07:34 PM (3 years, 6 months ago) |
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Oh, it can destroy some plants - depending on the plant. Speaking from experience.
Start with 1:4 dilution of 3% H202:water, which should be plenty for killing the bugs.
Neem oil (diluted) is another excellent one. Again, first experiment how the plants will take it. Not all plants like it.
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athos56
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Re: Fucking indoor bugs, man [Re: retowen]
#26827046 - 07/16/20 01:53 PM (3 years, 6 months ago) |
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Lots of good advice here, from personal experience from fighting infestations of mites, mealy bugs, gnats and others is that sprays, oils and other spot treatments never work (for me, YMMV) The only thing I ever did that actually worked was to find the nastiest insecticide I could find, mix up a really strong batch and dunk the entire plant completely root to tip substrate and all, total submersion. It's the only way I've ever saved a plant, probably took years off my life, and a Jade I saved from mealy bugs smelled horrible for years afterwards but is now almost 20 years old and pretty healthy. IDK if a seedling would survive that treatment though, all the plants I saved this way were established.
Edited by athos56 (07/16/20 01:54 PM)
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