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Fungus gnats or WINGED ROOT APHIDS???

joe mac

Member
i saw em man. Little green buggers a while back. when they were at their peak. there is no question they are ra. No fliers now. No green ones either. Just the almost microscopic nymphs. I got my loupe out and yep ra.
 

EclipseFour20

aka "Doc"
Veteran
the best info. I have found for orthene as a drench was here. target species harvester ants and fire ants. http://www.entomology.umn.edu/cues/mnla/orthene.pdf

3/4 oz per 5 gallons measured in a fluid oz. measuring cup.

I was just wondering if anyone here has used it.

Yep...best when combined with pyrethrin (instant contact killer)...I like Riptide. See one of my earlier posts--https://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=5629493&postcount=1976

Good luck--you can prevail, as I and others have.

Cheers!
 

joe mac

Member
Yep...best when combined with pyrethrin (instant contact killer)...I like Riptide. See one of my earlier posts--https://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=5629493&postcount=1976

Good luck--you can prevail, as I and others have.

Cheers!

Thank you my friend. Also thank you for the link to previous post.

I knew these little bastards had developed an immunity to the imid.

I ordered the riptide to go with the orthene as you suggest.

I have been using evergreen pyrethrum for a few months now with less and less positive results. is the riptide that much more effective?
 

EclipseFour20

aka "Doc"
Veteran
Thank you my friend. Also thank you for the link to previous post.

I knew these little bastards had developed an immunity to the imid.

I ordered the riptide to go with the orthene as you suggest.

I have been using evergreen pyrethrum for a few months now with less and less positive results. is the riptide that much more effective?

Riptide has the same 5% pyrethrin as Evergreen...but also contains 25% PBO (synergist), "water based" liquid (not oil), and cost $115 for 1/2 gallon (vs $50 for a pint of Evergreen).

IMHO, about 1/3 of the winning strategy is dunking--wetting the growing medium bottom first...and finishing with the soil top.

The game that worked for me is to use a those big 18 gallon buckets (like those with white rope handles used to hold ice and beverages at parties).
1. Fill it about 1/3 full (5-6 gallons of dunking brew).
2. Gently place in it the infected plant container and hold the sides so it won't tip over while the growing medium wicks ups the dunking brew.
3. Add more dunking brew until the container is 100% submerged plus a few inches.
4. Let it sit for 20 minutes at least, 30-40 minutes if you have a serious infestation. Be sure to add more dunking brew to keep the container submerged.
5. I like using those big ass almost elbow length chemical gloves--(Harbor Freight $5) to pick up the drenched plant and then let it drain in the sink.

The logic of bottom first dunking is to corral the critters to the soil surface where they will be washed away. By drenching top to bottom, the critters will run inside the soil and die--leaving their stinky toxic carcass behind to fuck with the roots. Besides, there is a sick kind of happiness I get seeing those fucking RAs scamper to their death!

The other 1/3 of the strategy is cleanliness...now clean every tool you have, and think of ways to prevent contamination. Anything that touches the soil is a candidate--bamboo stakes, saucers, tools, wire, rope, etc.

Cheers!
 

joe mac

Member
Thank you again. I will try this later this week after the riptide gets here. For now I am doing an imid/abamectin soak.

The method of soaking is a little diff. but convenience is key for me. I mixed enough to flood my veg. table 2/3 full just to where the top rocks are starting to float and went and drenched from the top also with a hose and pump. Making sure to get the entire pots wet in the process. I am letting the table soak for several hours.

I did this to my mothers in their ebb system the other night and checked pretty good today and couldn't find one moving bug. so the abamectin must be pretty effective too. thank god.
 

joe mac

Member
So I am thinking of getting some of these http://www.texashydroponics.com/shop/product.php?productid=2757
image.php



To replace my hydroton. It is made of diatomaceous earth and is pelletized for use as a hydroponic medium. Whadya think guys??
 

ozzieAI

Well-known member
Veteran
okay i'll jump back on this bus again...

i have successfully eradicated these pests from my indoor organic grow by firstly using emulsified PURE neem oil (5ml/lite) as a soil drench. i water for 3 times over 2 weeks ensuring that the soil is fully saturated. once you have finished with the drench then top dress with neem cake and you will be RA & FG free....

honestly using poisons to deal with pests has to be managed very, very carefully...from my experience very few people even understand the term 'half life' when it comes to pesticide/chemical use...let alone personal safety and the use of ppe...
 

medicalmj

Active member
Veteran
i saw em man. Little green buggers a while back. when they were at their peak. there is no question they are ra. No fliers now. No green ones either. Just the almost microscopic nymphs. I got my loupe out and yep ra.

I ask because many think soil mites are RAs. If you do have soil mites you probably will have the same phantom defs you alluded to, but the case of soil mites, its not caused by soil mites. Rather the soil mites arrive to eat the fungus or bacteria that is the real cause. FGs are a very common pest that will bring along mites since FGs can cause root rot or at least dead material for soil mites to feed on.

Perhaps you've already done this, but have you confirmed 6 legs and a pair of cornicles or "siphunculi", that look like exhaust tubes protruding from rear? If 8 legs & no cornicles they may be harmless soil mites. As 99% of soil mites are not harmful. And you can't eliminate soil mites w pesticides (they will be back w/in days), you have to eliminate the food source, fungus, bacteria, decaying matter...

Also, soil mites are phoretic, which is why/how they keep coming back so quickly.
 

joe mac

Member
they are not harmless soil mites. I actually witnessed them clumping together on my roots and sucking them dry when the infestation was at it's peak a few months ago. I had fliers too. The whole works.

Yes, I also had fg at the time pretty badly. Now there are no fliers of any kind ra or fg. No I have not counted legs on the nymphs cuz they are so small even with my loupe they are hard to see. Much less stand still. They do look like baby ra's tho.

I don't have rotting roots or anything anymore I have had all that cleared up for a while. I am POSITIVE of what I am dealing with ra.
 

joe mac

Member
okay i'll jump back on this bus again...

i have successfully eradicated these pests from my indoor organic grow by firstly using emulsified PURE neem oil (5ml/lite) as a soil drench. i water for 3 times over 2 weeks ensuring that the soil is fully saturated. once you have finished with the drench then top dress with neem cake and you will be RA & FG free....

honestly using poisons to deal with pests has to be managed very, very carefully...from my experience very few people even understand the term 'half life' when it comes to pesticide/chemical use...let alone personal safety and the use of ppe...

Yep, Been using azaguard which is derived from neem oil. This has been somewhat effective to reduce the bugs but it has deffinitely messed up the quality of smoke, terpines and such.

For no better than this stuff has been to eradicate the little buggers this seems like a waste of time. Also as badly as the last harvest tasted I will never use this stuff again in flower.

I also tried straight neem oil mixed into water as best I could. a few months ago when I first discovered my bugs. Stuff almost killed my plants but not the bugs.

From my experience pure neem is NOT compatible as a drench/soak for hydro use.
 

ozzieAI

Well-known member
Veteran
From my experience pure neem is NOT compatible as a drench/soak for hydro use.
unfortunately that is probably the case, did you pure neem oil or that hydrophobic stuff? also pure neem needs to be emulsified...

but it has deffinitely messed up the quality of smoke, terpines and such.
no one can tell that i drench with neem oil by the final product i produce...

good luck
 

medicalmj

Active member
Veteran
they are not harmless soil mites. I actually witnessed them clumping together on my roots and sucking them dry when the infestation was at it's peak a few months ago. I had fliers too. The whole works.

Yes, I also had fg at the time pretty badly. Now there are no fliers of any kind ra or fg. No I have not counted legs on the nymphs cuz they are so small even with my loupe they are hard to see. Much less stand still. They do look like baby ra's tho.

I don't have rotting roots or anything anymore I have had all that cleared up for a while. I am POSITIVE of what I am dealing with ra.
Sorry to hear that. I understand in nature, ants are instrumental in getting aphids around underground and to your roots. Since you haven't any ants perhaps some medium are more conducive to aphid outbreaks than others. Maybe more of an issue in hydroton than rockwool? Idk, just a thought...
 

joe mac

Member
unfortunately that is probably the case, did you pure neem oil or that hydrophobic stuff? also pure neem needs to be emulsified...


no one can tell that i drench with neem oil by the final product i produce...

good luck
this
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Sorry to hear that. I understand in nature, ants are instrumental in getting aphids around underground and to your roots. Since you haven't any ants perhaps some medium are more conducive to aphid outbreaks than others. Maybe more of an issue in hydroton than rockwool? Idk, just a thought...

supposedly hydroton is better than coco or rockwool when it comes to ra
 

ozzieAI

Well-known member
Veteran
did you emulsify it before you applied it JM, sounds like you didn't and this may have affected it's efficiency...properly dispersed in water it should have knocked any bugs on the head...but that is in a soil environment...i have no experience using neem oil in hydro...
 

joe mac

Member
as best I could


So i've got some nematodes coming I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how often to apply them in ebb buckets?
 

Granger2

Active member
Veteran
Joe Mac,
I use todes periodically in coco/perlite with good success. I'm pretty sure they drown in a few hours in water. Give it a try. Good luck. -granger

Also, to clarify, there are a crapload of aphid species. Ants will wrangle them to feed on the honeydew they excrete. Root Aphids are not any old aphid species that ants have dragged below the surface of the medium to feed on your roots. They are subterranian species of aphids that feed on roots. They don't need to be placed there. They are root feeders. -granger
 

mk6

Active member
If you want to KILL root aphids and never have them come back then use Bayer Complete contol, this is a kill solution, not a control solution. I have delt with these lil buggers with lots of products none of them worked to kill them and not have them come back, Bayer will work. add it to you res, water your medium with it. my medium is coco so I added it to my res and and killed them their eggs and was done with it, then I did full fush and and have never had root aphids or gnats again an yes' it will work for rockwool, or hydro too.
 
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