is this thripes?

[Gimpykid12]

i have 2 4 week old grapefruits sitting in a bubble bucket in my closet.
just recently I've noticed holes in the some leaves with big spots of gray where it seems the chlorophyll has been sucked and its starting to make the leaves droop. Ive found stems of lower foliage eaten away including a fair sized axillary bud site. I haven't seen anything but get the feeling there could be something incredibly small flying around. I'm thinking thripes will spraying on Thuricide (bacillius thuringiensis) work for these or am i better off making the tabacco spray. I havnt had this problem until i brought in 2 clones stored in perlite last Saturday that i got elsewhere so this has came on pretty quickly. I always assumed hydro would be a lot more sterile for insects. i cant get a picture right now. I appreciate any feedback.

 

[Rosy Cheeks]

Thrips leave small, short scars in the leaf tissue, although a light infection will not look like a major thrips attack, so you would really do yourself a favor by posting a pic. Thrips are very small, light in color, and they run and hide when you inspect the leaves.
If you're in flower, you can use neem oil to keep them at bay. Pyrethrines are a quick and efficient (and biological) way of getting rid of them, but I would only use that in early flower. I don't know if bacillus thuringiensis would work, it's generally something you add to the medium, in order to fight pest larvae.

Many insects do like the hydro environment, so do not expect to be rid of them simply because you rigged a bucket. As long as there's heat, water and food (in the form of decomposing vegetal matter and nutrient spills) in your growroom, there will be insects.

Keeping your growroom clean is the best way to fight them.

 

[The_Leader]

you got black spots on top of leaves below affected area? if so its thirp poo. w/the damage u see thrips wouldv pooed tons. no black spots (look on pot to if possible and floor) no thrips.

bbl

 

[sirgrassalot]

"I havnt had this problem until i brought in 2 clones stored in perlite last Saturday that i got elsewhere"

I've never done that, I even keep my pets away from my grow area in the spring & summertime. In the case there's a chance of transference from them. One of them loves the garden he can always find a tasty treat on the floor somewhere from a recent harvest & gets his buzz on. I've never had any issues with nasty insects or bugs. The odd fly, hornet, house spider & potato bug but nothing detrimental to the plants. Knock on Hemp

 

[HeadyPete]

Yes, let's have a pic before you spray for anything. Bt would be a waste. Thrips don't spend any time in soil normally, only to overwinter under leaf litter. Eggs, pupae and adults all live on the plant. Spinosad is the best and most effective control for thrips. 1 dose will do it. This is thrips (thrips is for singular or plural, like moose):

If you have big damage I would suspect a caterpillar. Any black pellets on the leaves anywhere?

 

[Gimpykid12]

heres picutres

heres picutres

i don't think its a caterpillar unless its insanely fast and good at hiding. and i cant find any thripe poo as far as i can tell heres pictures. do any insects lay eggs in the rockwool cause im about to pull the excess to make sure. whatever they are they have quite an appetite for not being able to see them.







theres a little nute burn on the tips but all the spotting in the middle is very reccent along with the holes. im gonna try the tobacco juice, better immediate fix then nothing i guess.

 

[MynameStitch]

The one in the top pic that looks like light got too close to it.....

Thrips don't chew holes in the leaves, they chew the top layer making it look like spider mite damage but the chew holes are bigger, they leave whitish spots on the leave surface and you can also see black spotting which is there droppings. From the pics I see, I can't tell if the one on the bottom has white spotting or not...... I have not seen them lay in rockwool, but I am sure they can if they want too. The bug has to be big for it to leave holes, well big enough to the naked eye that is..... so I would use a tobacco juice like you said, or use neem oil, safer soaps. If it is caterpillars which I don't think they are, you can just hand pick them. I think it's something else.....

You have some other kind of pest problem....... you look on everywhere on your plants? underside leaves? plants run off water? Look for bugs come out of the soil after waterings?

 

[The_Leader]

after seeing pics i also would say its not thirps or mites and honestly i dont think its a bug at all. you got a loop or means to magnify? if so check the area. if its bug related you will see a pattern from the chewing(beetles, worms do this).

imo and exp it looks like stress or actual physical damage from light or whatever. iv seen this before in older leaves w/o any bugs. transplanting, rh, temps, ect can stress, so gl.

im just thinking w/that much damage. the culprit should stand out?

 

[HeadyPete]

I agree with Leader, no bugs. This looks like damage from nuteburn/incorrect ph. When leaves grow and they can't get proper nutrition parts of the leaf in between veins do not grow at the same rate, or at all, and pull away from the veins. Think of an umbrella growing bigger, the frame getting bigger, but the fabric in between not able to expand, so it pulls away from the frame.

Definitely not thrips, you'd see a silvery whitish scarring on your leaves, very distinct and recognizable. Thrips lay eggs in a cut in the plant, they never spend time in the substrate, unless overwintering in leaf litter outdoors.

The big pest for laying in wet substrate is fungus gnats, a very minor pest and easy to kill.

I don't think you have any pests, but keep an eye for more visible damage, just in case.

 

[buzzmobile]

Thrips lay eggs in a cut in the plant, they never spend time in the substrate, unless overwintering in leaf litter outdoors.

Actually thrips have two instars during their pupal stage that dwell in earthen chambers in the soil. These are inactive or nearly inactive so there is no plant damage occurring while thrips pupate. It's the larvae and the adults that cause the damage above ground.

 

[MynameStitch]

m just thinking w/that much damage. the culprit should stand out?

Exactly, if the pest is making small holes like that it should stand out in the naked eye, if you don't see anything.... you got cats or dogs? Cats love cannabis plants and it's like there delicacys.
Bugs hide and sometimes only come out a certain times..... applying some neem oil a small amount never hurts, but be careful cause if you add too much or too strong it will burn the plants.

 

[HeadyPete]

Thanks buzzmobile. I went back and researched that and I missed the fact that only a couple species stay on the plant for the whole life cycle, most do spend time on or under substrate, as you mentioned.

 

[The_Leader]

whats up buzzmobile!! hows gardens cure doing?

wow i keep seeing ppl i know from other grow forums here. you still modin buzz?

sorry i got off topic. im stoned and tripping.

 

[Gimpykid12]

while it very well could be my pH or nutrient uptake problems i don't understand how the holes would of formed after the the fact because the big fan leaf in the picture used to be fine, unless that's just the extent of how burned it got in the area. i just killed the lights to transition to flowering so im gonna flush and clean the bucket to add in my flower nutes, ill start them off pretty diluted and see if the damage seems to be getting worse. thanks for all the feedback.

 

[MynameStitch]

Like I said in my previous post:

m just thinking w/that much damage. the culprit should stand out?

Exactly, if the pest is making small holes like that it should stand out in the naked eye, if you don't see anything.... you got cats or dogs? Cats love cannabis plants and it's like there delicacys.
Bugs hide and sometimes only come out a certain times..... applying some neem oil a small amount never hurts, but be careful cause if you add too much or too strong it will burn the plants.

The one in the top pic that looks like light got too close to it.....

Thrips don't chew holes in the leaves, they chew the top layer making it look like spider mite damage but the chew holes are bigger, they leave whitish spots on the leave surface and you can also see black spotting which is there droppings. From the pics I see, I can't tell if the one on the bottom has white spotting or not...... I have not seen them lay in rockwool, but I am sure they can if they want too. The bug has to be big for it to leave holes, well big enough to the naked eye that is..... so I would use a tobacco juice like you said, or use neem oil, safer soaps. If it is caterpillars which I don't think they are, you can just hand pick them. I think it's something else.....

You have some other kind of pest problem....... you look on everywhere on your plants? underside leaves? plants run off water? Look for bugs come out of the soil after waterings?

 

[The_Leader]

this is the reason i cant handle the infirmary long. how do you guys do it? i just want to rant at the op now, so i guess ill go back to the den...lol.

sheesh....growing w/o common sence must be hard? just saying