Root Aphids - Easy to read

I looked at the other Root Aphid thread and they were not to my liking. I don't have Root Aphids, but am bringing in cuts for the first time in years…. so I don't want these bastards.

Lets keep it simple. This is what I have found on the web -

(1) Acephate
The only thing that will kill a live root aphid is the powerful and carcinogenic Acephate (also approved for food and tobacco). Use it as a root dunk ideally. If you can’t dunk the pots then the next best thing is a good root drench (til runoff comes out the bottom of the pot)

(2) Imidacloprid
There are many different types of root aphids. Some may respond to Imidacloprid, but in the tests that we did with 9ml/gallon of 22% Imidacloprid, the root aphids lived 24 and 48 hours after treatment. Acephate killed them on contact. Research from the University of California Davis says that Imidacloprid will not kill live colonies of root aphids, but does seem to keep them from coming back once they are nuked with the acephate.

(3) Botaniguard
If you still are finding root aphids late into flowering (after all the acephate and imidacloprid), then the only thing you can ethically do is use a biological product called Botaniguard. You can get it in a powder Botaniguard WP or in a liquid Botaniguard ES. It is a really cool product that controls root aphids by giving them a fungal infection that kills them. It is not harmful to beneficials and is safe to use up to the day of harvest.

I got this from this site -
http://realgrowers.com/blog/root-aphids-cannabis-and-chemicals/

OK, this time I'll go in reverse, least toxic first.

(1) yellow sticky traps
yellow sticky traps is a great way to discover the presence of winged aphids trying to establish new colonies.

(2) beneficial insects
For root aphids the best beneficial predators are microscopic entomopathogenic nematodes. Entomopathogenic nematodes are a group of nematodes or thread worms, which kill insects. Although many other parasitic thread worms cause diseases in living organisms, entomopathogenic nematodes only infect insects and are safe for use around people and pets.

(3) BotaniGard
Another organic, food safe level of root aphid control can be achieved with an entomopathogenic fungus: Beauveria bassiana sold as the active ingredient in the products BotaniGard & BotaniGard WP. Both products contain the same fungus Beauveria bassiana, but the formulation of emulsifiable ingredients is different making the BotaniGard WP better for use on tomato plants. The fungus works similarly to the nematodes killing the aphids from the inside out. In an industry study 96% mortality was achieved after a single application of BotaniGard as a soil drench.

(4) insecticidal soap
Still another food safe product that provided excellent control of root aphids in an industry study was insecticidal soap; but results varied greatly with the duration of the rootball submersion. Submerging the rootball in insecticidal soap for 30 seconds resulted in poor control, less than 30 percent mortality. Submersion for 60 seconds yielded control close to 70 percent mortality. Submersion of the rootball for 90 to 120 seconds yielded 95 percent mortality; so if using insecticidal soap to control root aphids a dunk of at least 90 seconds is a must!

(5) AzaMax
Escalating the arsenal another degree leads one to AzaMax, a derivative of neem oil that utilizes the active ingredient Azadirachtin. Azadirachtin is in the limonoid family and is distilled from the neem plant’s seeds. Studies have demonstrated that Azadirachtin has 3 unique modes of action as a pesticide; it acts as an anti feedant, a repellant, and an insect growth regulator. As an added bonus AzaMax is 100% organic and OMRI certified. Also AzaMax has been shown to provide some level of systemic protection. It is best applied as a soil drench for control of root aphids.

(6) Imidacloprid
When organic controls are not doing the job and it is time to bring out the big guns a new product called Promis by NPK industries is worth a try. Promis utilizes the active ingredient imidacloprid which acts as an insect neurotoxin. Imidacloprid belongs to a class of chemicals called neonicotinoids which act on the central nervous system of insects but have a low toxicity to mammals. Promis has been registered for use on food crops but is not organic. Promis is systemic which means it is absorbed into the plant tissue, and will poison the root aphids if they eat the roots, leaves or any part of the plant.

(7) Preclude
Insect growth regulator (IGR) is a valuable tool. The IGR Preclude is effective on root aphids as well as a host of other garden pests. Preclude utilizes the active ingredient Fenoxycarb which blocks the ability of an insect to change into an adult from its juvenile stage. It also interferes with the molting of larvae. Insects have a rigid external covering called an exoskeleton; in order to grow and mature, insects must periodically shed or molt their old exoskeleton and produce a new, larger one. By interfering with this process Preclude prevents an insect from ever becoming sexually mature and thereby eliminating their ability to reproduce.

(8) Acephate
When all else fails the no nonsense nuclear option is Acephate; sold under the name Orthene, acephate is an organophosphate insecticide that provides a powerful knockdown and some level of systemic protection. It is used as a primary control of aphids, including resistant species and root aphids. In an industry study Orthene achieved close to 100% mortality in controlling root aphids.

I got this from this site -
http://www.atlantishydroponics.com/blog/tag/best-insecticide-for-root-aphids/

It's interesting that the insecticidal soap can kill 95 percent of the root aphids with a 90 to 120 seconds submersion. I wonder what a 15 minute dunk would do? Maybe this would work for plants that are flowering?

Now, do I use Acephate on new cuts that I am bringing into a clean grow room? Or is it easy to spot a plant that has root aphids?


One more site on aphids -
http://www.bioworksinc.com/products/shared/root-aphid-control-article.pdf

UConn Ag found that a 20-30 minute submersion in I. Soap gave a near 100% kill and removed a lot of the waxy secretion that RA's leave on the roots that slows plant recovery.

What I've found is that if you do a soak like that, you should immediately flush the plants till the runoff is no longer soapy or you'll get root damage, possibly severe. -granger

I've had learned that the hard way with insecticidal soap. Stressed the hell outta some.
What dosage would acephate be applied?

VenturaHwy said:

It's interesting that the insecticidal soap can kill 95 percent of the root aphids with a 90 to 120 seconds submersion. I wonder what a 15 minute dunk would do? Maybe this would work for plants that are flowering?

Now, do I use Acephate on new cuts that I am bringing into a clean grow room? Or is it easy to spot a plant that has root aphids?


One more site on aphids -
http://www.bioworksinc.com/products/shared/root-aphid-control-article.pdf

Click to expand...

They can easily go unnoticed in veg when the plant is growing more roots rapidly. i had myself convinced they were beneficials for several months.
They exist only in the soil at first, and are tiny.
When the population gets old enough a generation of flyers is produced.
Other than the winged version showing up in sticky traps the first signs were nutrient deficiencies at around three weeks into flowering.

dabking said:

I've had learned that the hard way with insecticidal soap. Stressed the hell outta some.
What dosage would acephate be applied?

Click to expand...

To cure infestation: 1 treatment of Acephate at a rate of 4ml/gallon of water

imidacloprid - To prevent infestation: use Imidacloprid 22% at a rate of ½ml/gallon of water. Repeat every 10-14 days.

I would read the label just to make sure, these guys could have it wrong.

I wood said:

They can easily go unnoticed in veg when the plant is growing more roots rapidly. i had myself convinced they were beneficials for several months.
They exist only in the soil at first, and are tiny.
When the population gets old enough a generation of flyers is produced.
Other than the winged version showing up in sticky traps the first signs were nutrient deficiencies at around three weeks into flowering.

Click to expand...

Thanks I wood. These RA sounds like a growers worst nightmare.

Granger2 said:

UConn Ag found that a 20-30 minute submersion in I. Soap gave a near 100% kill and removed a lot of the waxy secretion that RA's leave on the roots that slows plant recovery.

What I've found is that if you do a soak like that, you should immediately flush the plants till the runoff is no longer soapy or you'll get root damage, possibly severe. -granger

Click to expand...

That's some good advice Grainger2,

This video on this site here -
http://realgrowers.com/blog/root-aphids-cannabis-and-chemicals/

at 3:18 in the video the guy is showing some RA on a leaf, but they look like spider mites to me. Crab legs are what spider mites have. What do you guys think, RA or spider mites on the leaf?

But earlier in the video the fast little critters must have been RA's.

Isnt that soap really high ph. If Im right that would play havoc with your medium. I have great success with 30ml at .72 concentration, then reapply, if u have a serious infestation, in a week.

are there any products that have acephate that i could buy locally (homedepot, walmart, etc)? or is it more of an order online type of product? I just recently hit all my solo cups with 30ml/gal of bayer tree and shrub. its been about a week, and it def. devastated their numbers, but i still see a flyer or two.. this shit is getting stupid, i want to kill these fuckers!!

Tungsten said:

are there any products that have acephate that i could buy locally (homedepot, walmart, etc)? or is it more of an order online type of product? I just recently hit all my solo cups with 30ml/gal of bayer tree and shrub. its been about a week, and it def. devastated their numbers, but i still see a flyer or two.. this shit is getting stupid, i want to kill these fuckers!!

Click to expand...

I would give them a 2nd dose and go with your favorite spray for the flyers.

Miraculous Meds said:

I would give them a 2nd dose and go with your favorite spray for the flyers.

Click to expand...

not too shure what to use for spray, any you would recommend?

Ive used triazicide and maliathon with success, but I think safer soap will kill the flyers too.

I'm still battling these bastards and I think I'm controlling them ok with millions of nematodes and lots of og biowar plus amending with crab which boosts plants immune system via chitin. If I can't shake em this winter I will go with imid, acephate, possibly avid, kontos followed by pyganic dunks.

A respected memeber here, 40ampstofreedom, has claimed success with nematodes and fungus/botanigaurd/ogbiowar. I hope he's right!

cannascholar said:

I'm still battling these bastards and I think I'm controlling them ok with millions of nematodes and lots of og biowar plus amending with crab which boosts plants immune system via chitin. If I can't shake em this winter I will go with imid, acephate, possibly avid, kontos followed by pyganic dunks.

A respected memeber here, 40ampstofreedom, has claimed success with nematodes and fungus/botanigaurd/ogbiowar. I hope he's right!

Click to expand...

I've spoken with a few bug farmers and they have said themselves that nematodes do nothing for ra. The botanigaurd is very effective. I'm gonna look up the og biowar.

Careful using acephate 97. At 4 grams a gallon it caused damage. 3 grams per gallon seems to be safe. It does seem to fry the roots some...

acephate burn

Dab,
I don't know who theses "bug farmers" are, but from my personal experience, todes do work, if they are viable when applied and there is no insecticide residual in the medium.

Also, that photo of acephate burn doesn't look very bad. If that's all the burn I got, and killed the RA's, I'd consider it a success. A lot of what's in the photo looks like RA damage. Good luck. -granger

Dabking I had the same burn pattern on the outter edges of leaves after acephate- but I used 4ML a gallon... not sure if that's more or less than 4g.

I also have some experience with the OG biowar now.... Results were not good here. I took fresh cuts... bombed everything... planted cuts in coco watered with OG biowar's full strength tea recipe.... I did 4 weeks straight with the biowar. once a week.. Growth was a little slow and further inspection on one of my chem 4's roots I found a small aphid. I hit them all with bayer, followed by 2tbls Botaniguard the next watering and they are growing / looking better already.

Im going to hit them in 5 day incriments with the botaniguard and see what happens.

For now on everything from small cuts in getting bayer immediately as a preventative.

If they come back im doing the acephate / riptide dunk and bombing again I guess.

Ive already bombed the fck out of the entire structure and they still came back. I haven't been able to find much information on that fenoxycarb stuff.....From what im seeing its a bug bomb itself... but im not sure where to find it or how to properly use it. It was in maximum yields magazine.... anyone know anything about fenoxycarb?

I am a bit worried about next years full season outdoor as I planned on starting cuts here in mid march...I guess I could just keep them in small pots and do the acephate/ riptide dunk before bringing them up to the farm for the hoop houses.... from there is all preventive maintenance with not only RA's but all the problems ive been hearing about with Broad mites etc...