Fungus gnats or WINGED ROOT APHIDS???

[Boyd Crowder]

Way to stay with it. Fingers crossed the acephate powder knocks em down for the count.

i have some wifi bagseeds , im planning on trying to pop a few , then into some acephate treated coco, then just water in the gch/imid every time

Had those before, very annoying.
They established themselves in floor drain p-traps and bathroom sink overflow system, inside the sink where you cant really clean.
Both places were fixed with large amounts of near boiling water.
Preheat ceramic sinks first by filling with hot water to lessen possibly of cracking from drastic temperature change.
A gallon through overflow hole and a couple of gallons down floor drain did the trick for me.
This also put a stop to occasional mosquito in the winter time that previously boggled my mind.
Good luck.

gonna give this a try

Once identified it was easy to kill drain flies. Few big pots of boiling water down every drain in the house with a follow up a few days later and they are all gone. Now if I even think I see one I boil some water. Problem solved. I do not even consider them in a garden problem any more.


They sure we're annoying as hell back when I was treating them as a gnat or aphid.

these things are worse than:
spider mites
broad mites
thrips
no weed in the stash

anyone wanna add to this list?

im hoping the wifi experiment works out
i have some hammerhead and karma testers i wanna get started with along with a few mycotek and other kool beans to try

last two times i tried to pop some beans were an unmitigated disaster.
all because i didnt understand the ferocity nor the presence of these root aphids.

 

[kalopatchkid]

these things are worse than:
spider mites
broad mites
thrips
no weed in the stash

anyone wanna add to this list?

im hoping the wifi experiment works out
i have some hammerhead and karma testers i wanna get started with along with a few mycotek and other kool beans to try

last two times i tried to pop some beans were an unmitigated disaster.
all because i didnt understand the ferocity nor the presence of these root aphids.

RA's are definitely the worst thing I have experienced, I def feel your pain. Next worst thing for me is black twig borers that are only 1mm in size and carry fusarium...big headache for me growing outside in HI. Nothing like seeing big healthy plants branches wilt one by one until the whole plants dies in mid-flower.



I got rid of RA's with 10 minute IMID soaks plus 2 months of veg on the strains I cared about. Havent seen them since thankfully. I tried all the organic stuff first and none of it was phasing them at all. I think the bastards came with some non-canna plants I got from a local nursery.

 

[Boyd Crowder]

RA's are definitely the worst thing I have experienced, I def feel your pain. Next worst thing for me is black twig borers that are only 1mm in size and carry fusarium...big headache for me growing outside in HI. Nothing like seeing big healthy plants branches wilt one by one until the whole plants dies in mid-flower.



I got rid of RA's with 10 minute IMID soaks plus 2 months of veg on the strains I cared about. Havent seen them since thankfully. I tried all the organic stuff first and none of it was phasing them at all. I think the bastards came with some non-canna plants I got from a local nursery.

thats funny you mention it
i have done some rootball soaks thatseemed to knock them out thorughly , but6 then laziness came in and wiped me back out
lol

ill prolly do a soak again next feed
i just hate the mess and having chemicals splahing on me and everywhere

but they look much happier this morning after feeding w GCH and especially promisinig , topsides seem to respond to the foliar as i suspected

 

[Boyd Crowder]

I'm gonna say foliar feeds are the way to keep little.ones in the game while reestablishing their root systems. My littlest clones are bouncing back . Wait till medium dries completely , the feed w gch or imid mixed ed in and phd for the win

 

[Clayton_Bigsby]

Whats the best preventive measures in an organic living soil to save myself the hassle of ever having to deal with an infestation?

 

[buzzmobile]

Whats the best preventive measures in an organic living soil to save myself the hassle of ever having to deal with an infestation?

Gnatrol
https://nufarm.com/usturf/product/gnatrol-wdg/

 

[stashpot]

if you have gnats i wouldn't worry to much unless its really a problem, if numbers stay low they are fine.
if you cant handle it, buy some Diatomaceous earth 2-4mm bags not the powder... and top dress your plants and wrap the buckets in tights. 2 weeks later remove the top dress layer. job done.

 

[stashpot]

if you have gnats i wouldn't worry to much unless its really a problem, if numbers stay low they are fine.
if you cant handle it, buy some Diatomaceous earth 2-4mm bags not the powder... and top dress your plants and wrap the buckets in tights. 2 weeks later remove the top dress layer. job done.

While they are top dressed with D.E feed water from below as little as you can.. you don't want to get the D.E wet...
So I normally pour my water/feed into a tray then put the bucket into it and leave for 5 mins it will absorb the water.

 

[Clayton_Bigsby]

I have a huge fungus gnat problem. I got some gnatrol and hit with 2 teaspoons per gallon twice now. That is the medium infestation application rate. The label says to hit 3 times in 15 days. I already hit twice and the infestation seems worse if anything! My plants are looking terrible and getting worse everyday!

Im going to hit with the max application rate (3 Teaspoons) tomorrow. I also have some Root and Foliar pack tea brewing for the application tomorrow as well. If this doesn't work. I don't know what else to do.

 

[buzzmobile]

I have a huge fungus gnat problem.

Make sure that they are actually fungus gnats and not root aphids.

 

[moses wellfleet]

Yeah if you have crawlers on the edge of containers then most likely root aphids.

 

[Clayton_Bigsby]

Yeah if you have crawlers on the edge of containers then most likely root aphids.

What are crawlers? I've identified a fly on a yellow stick trap as a fungus gnat but I could have both.

Whats the best product for root aphids? Im so tired of dealing with this that'll i'll just apply for root aphids and fungus gnats.

 

[imiubu]

I have a huge fungus gnat problem. I got some gnatrol and hit with 2 teaspoons per gallon twice now. That is the medium infestation application rate. The label says to hit 3 times in 15 days. I already hit twice and the infestation seems worse if anything! My plants are looking terrible and getting worse everyday!

Im going to hit with the max application rate (3 Teaspoons) tomorrow. I also have some Root and Foliar pack tea brewing for the application tomorrow as well. If this doesn't work. I don't know what else to do.

Firstly, identify what kind of critters you have as @buzzmobile stated.

How I learned to control my insects was to first identify then understand them, their life cycle etc...

Otherwise treating them IME is rather futile.

Look for photos of both gnats and root aphids and you will see there is a distinct difference in their appearance both in adults and the larvae. Root aphid larvae look like little aphids in the soil/ clustered on roots.

Gnats look like little white 'worms' with a hard black face. Get your loupe out and have a peak at your soil. Maybe scoop a small amount from under the surface, place into a low container and fill with water? Might cause the larvae to float for better viewing? IDK, just an idea.

Root aphids only become winged when their food supply is diminishing. They are born female and produce an incredible amount of live female offspring every few days. This is the reason they are so dreaded. And the fact they aren't visible until there is an infestation/ plants failing makes them difficult to identify quickly.

Once identified choose your weapon of destruction and get to it, unrelentingly!

Root aphids are a bitch and I'd much rather have gnats or even the borg honestly.

I've used nematodes for root aphids. They are incredibly efficient and just die off once their food source is decimated. A little on the pricey side though IMO, and it may require several treatments.

For gnats, I use liquid BTI (Mosquito dunks) or grind up the dunks and top dress/ water in.

Top dressing with Diatomaceous Earth is effective for the gnats as it cuts up the larvae as they crawl to the top to hatch their wings.
I would think not so much for the RA.
However, as previously mentioned bottom water! It's an awful mess when wet and negates the usefulness otherwise.

Personally, I would never use Imid. But that is my choice. Takes longer to eradicate the RA but I am not putting a systemic treatment into my soil for my meds. A trade off I'm willing to deal with.

I consider "sticky traps" a monitoring tool and not an effective control tool.
Let's ya know what bugs are present and at what saturation etc.

Man, I'm all over the place here haha.
Hope this is helpful anyway

OH... Do not forget your IPM! Prevention is so much easier than freaking out on an infestation.
Again, IMPE.


Best

 

[moses wellfleet]

The rice root aphid, rhopalosiphum rufiabdominale so named because of the reddish brown abdomen. They can appear to be very dark if they are crawling across a light background.

Photo credit: Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado state university

 

[Clayton_Bigsby]

So I dug around a little more today before i hit with the Gnatrol and Root and Foliar packs and I found no signs of Root Aphids. Unless they're damn near impossible to spot because I didn't see any bugs other than 1 fungus gnat larva and 1 soil mite.

Other than that the root systems looked great. The plants look garbage. Im still having a hard time believing Fungus Gnats can cause this much damage. The biggest buds are the size of the top half of my thumb. Looking like I might get a half OZ out of plants I should be pushing 3-4 OZ's from.

Some of them were extra clones I put in 1 gallon containers so I can understand those giving me a half OZ but even the plants in 3 gallon bags look the same.

Heres some pics. Like I said, no visual signs of Root Aphids.

Also, is this a baby praying mantis? I found him in the room and just let him be.

 

[buzzmobile]

Also, is this a baby praying mantis? I found him in the room and just let him be.

That looks more like an assassin bug. Baby mantids look like miniature versions of adults.
https://bugoftheweek.squarespace.com/blog/2018/6/27/a-zealous-assassin-pale-green-assassin-bug-izelus-luridusi

There may be a fungal disease at work on your plants in addition to the fungus gnat infestation. The gnats can carry phytophthora and fusarium. I have searched for information on fungus gnat resistance to Bti but have not found any.
This link may provide more information on the use of Gnatrol.
https://www.redbudsoilcompany.com/blogs/the-redbud-blog/how-to-use-gnatrol-to-kill-fungus-gnat-infestations

A soap spray will kill adult gnats on contact, but the spray must hit them.

 

[Clayton_Bigsby]

That looks more like an assassin bug. Baby mantids look like miniature versions of adults.
https://bugoftheweek.squarespace.com/blog/2018/6/27/a-zealous-assassin-pale-green-assassin-bug-izelus-luridusi

There may be a fungal disease at work on your plants in addition to the fungus gnat infestation. The gnats can carry phytophthora and fusarium. I have searched for information on fungus gnat resistance to Bti but have not found any.
This link may provide more information on the use of Gnatrol.
https://www.redbudsoilcompany.com/blogs/the-redbud-blog/how-to-use-gnatrol-to-kill-fungus-gnat-infestations

A soap spray will kill adult gnats on contact, but the spray must hit them.

There is some green algae looking mold in the soil. You can see it on some of the chunks of perlite but its not out of control or anything. I figured it could be attracting the fungus gnats but never considered it could be causing harm itself.

How would i even go about treating a fungal disease?

 

[buzzmobile]

How would i even go about treating a fungal disease?

Get the fungus gnats under control first. Algae is not the major problem though it does serve as a food source for the gnats.

 

[Dropped Cat]

Mosquito chunks are working for me in my coco,
maybe 10 days since application and am satisfied
with the results.

Maybe a few fliers, and the plants are happy.

 

[Desert Dan]

Are people truly having success using mosquitoes dunks (BTI) against root aphids?

I thought I won the war using spectracide soaks, followed by IMID, then botaniguard every 10 days... I was wrong!

Funny thing is clones I’ve had in solo cups for several weeks are unaffected, only plants in later veg and flower have these fuckers crawling about? All I can think is insufficient contact with botaniguard due to a larger container volume?

Going to knockdown with pyganic 1.4 at 30ml/gal and hopefully get to harvest.

-DD