Soil and Pests

[Guest]

I was just wondering what everyone thinks bout this. Do soil grows just naturally attract more pests than Hydro or is it just my luck. I havn't had spider mites Yet, but I do have thrips and just can't seem to get rid of them. I have tried all the normal stuff like Neem, Safers, Organic Pyr... <-- Spelling. I have sprayed them more than once a week. These little bastards just won't leave. I have heard they don't like Garlic.

Also I just had this thought run through my mind. Has anyone evertried one of those ultrasonic sound thingys to repell mosquitos on indoor garden pests? Think they might work.

Mo,

 

[dubmantx]

I think that Hydro attracts more pests than soil actually. This is because of 2 reasons. Hydro usually has large pools of water somewhere be it in the meduim resivoir etc. Also with hydro you get vigerous and i mean vigerous growth. You have a lot of real juicy green vegetation that attracts pest insects.
Soil tends to grow slower so you dont get as many pests I have noticed. Indoors that is. Bugs are a bitch outside with anything.
I dont know anything about thrips but I do know of this wickid organic pest spray. I can get you a recipe. I know it has garlic, pepper of somesort, and dishsoap in it. And it does a number on pests.

 

[Guest]

Definately interested dubmantx. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Guest]

High BigMo

High BigMo

Yellow Sticky Traps are a must for ANY indoor garden Hydro OR Soil/Soiless.

Use near base of plants and on the walls/hanging all around your room. Also lay some on the soil surface if you can.
U can make your own (they sell the glue at large garden supply outfits, or buy this type:
http://www.planetnatural.com/site/yellow-sticky-traps.html

"No Pest strips" are available at any big box store such as the home dumpo or lowes, they too use the yellow glue but cost an arm and a leg.. I believe I read a while back either here or at OG whwere BOG says to replace the traps once every 6mths at least, ours end up getting wet and are replaced all the friggin time! lol

the above linked site has a couple great articles on pest management. From the site;

Article #1

Natural Pest Control For The Long Term
By Eric Vinje, Planet Natural

Long Term Natural Insect Control
The reason we promote and provide products for long term natural insect control is that it is the most cost effective insect pest management approach. It is the method by which you provide stable, continuous suppression of these pests by promoting their natural enemies. The long term approach is also the least toxic insect control method. Chemicals are only used as a last resort and normally not needed.

Why Chemicals Should Be A Last Resort
Resistance: The major disadvantage of conventional insecticides is the ability of the pest to develop resistance. Approximately 500 insects and related pests (mites) have shown resistance. In fact, some cannot be controlled with today’s chemical arsenal.

Secondary Pest Problem: Even chemicals which are effective against pests often kill beneficial organisms. The situation created then allows other insects (not the usual pests but other insects taking advantage of the available food) to rapidly increase in number since no predators are in the field to prevent the population explosion. Sometimes the resulting (long term and economic) damage is greater from the secondary pests than from the pest originally targeted.

Economics: The combination of resistance, secondary pests and legal limitations brought about by safety and environmental concerns has increased the cost of insecticides. Also, a matter of economics to commercial producers is the demand for pesticide-free food (large supermarket chains are advertising independent testing of their produce in response to consumer pressure).

Integrated Pest Management
Long term control is achieved through an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. IPM is an ecological and economic approach to pest control that utilizes various strategies to manage pests. These combined strategies are more effective in the long term than any one strategy used by itself. IPM is also very interesting, uncomplicated and it eventually makes achieving your growing objectives easier.

The IPM Process
IPM is a process that combines various strategies to produce a long term reduction of the pest population. The products in this catalog will help you achieve this objective in the most cost effective way and they are the safest for you, your pet and the environment.

1. Do a little background reading on common insect pests of the plants you want to grow. Field scout and monitor with traps to identify pests (not all insects are pests!). Learn the pest’s life cycle so that treatment can be chosen and timed to be most effective.
2. Establish a level of acceptable damage (not all pests are of economic importance).
3. Monitor the pest situation regularly. Only when monitoring has indicated that the pest will cause unacceptable damage should treatment be considered.
4. If the pest population is high enough to cause unacceptable damage, use any and all available means of IPM, but start with those least damaging to pest predators and the environment. For example:

• Cultural Control: Reduce the pest’s food, water, shelter, growing room and other needs. Enhance the environment for the pest’s predators, parasitoids and pathogens (cover crops can be used to attract pest predators). Select plants that are more resistant to pests.

• Mechanical Control: Hand pick or kill pests physically. Use traps or barriers to keep pests out (sometimes traps alone will give control). Heat or cold can be used to destroy pests.

• Beneficial Insects: Regular releases of predators and/or parasites (as a prevention and control measure) is part of “conventional” farming IPM.

• Biological Pesticides: These insecticides are living or are toxins produced by living organisms (some of which are microbials such as bacteria and protozoa). They are safe for the environment, have little or no effect on beneficial insects, and are in most cases pest specific.

• Soaps, Oils and Abrasives: These insecticides are generally “natural”, degrade within several days and are not particularly toxic except to insects. They dehydrate or smother pests, but are not selective in that they also can harm beneficials.

• Botanical Insecticides: These natural pesticides derived from plants provide a powerful “knock down” to a large number of pests. They leave no residues and breakdown quickly in the environment but can harm beneficial insects.

-------------------------------------------

Article #2

Common Sense Pest Control

There are more than one million insect species on this planet but less than one percent of those are considered pests. The other 99 percent play a crucial role in our food chain and many are indispensable. Flying insects such as bees and butterflies pollinate fruits and vegetables. Burrowing insects aerate soil and assist in the decomposition of organic material by returning nutrients to the soil. Insects also serve an important role as a food source for birds, fish, other animals and some plants. These facts seem to be forgotten in our quest to attain a “perfect lawn” and a pest-free home. Many people seem to think it is an “us against them” world in battling insects. But remember, a perfect lawn and pest- free homes are not really important in the big picture. What is important is preserving our health and maintaining a balance with nature.

What is Common Sense Pest Control?

Common sense pest control is designed to help maintain a comfortable, healthy home, landscape, and garden while reducing reliance on pesticides.

Common sense pest control is not a “no pesticides ever” idea. It utilizes integrated pest management techniques that emphasize physical, biological and cultural pest controls, alternatives to pesticides and least toxic pesticides. The use of pesticides is suggested as a last resort and only when necessary.

The point is to provide you the information necessary to implement Integrated Pest Management (IPM), a.k.a. Least Toxic Pest Management, in your home and yard. IPM utilizes regular monitoring to determine if and when treatments are needed. It employs physical, mechanical, cultural, biological and educational tactics to keep pest numbers low enough to prevent damage and annoyance through least toxic and economical methods of pest management. IPM utilizes information on the pest and environmental conditions as well as the best available pest management methods.

Unlike most commercial pesticide applications, IPM treatments are not made on a schedule. Treatments are made only if monitoring indicates that pests will cause an unacceptable amount of economic, medical or aesthetic damage. Treatments are timed to be made when they will be most destructive to the pest and least disruptive to natural pest control methods.

Common Sense Pest Control Goals

Our goal is to educate people about using least-toxic and alternatives to pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, and to help you recognize the need to protect and preserve the quality of our surface and groundwater resources in response to the pressures of a rapidly growing population.

Pesticides are toxic to both humans and the environment. Reducing pesticide use to the greatest extent practicable will maximize the protection of both human and environmental health. Least toxic pest management prevents pollution and protects your health and the health of your family, friends and pets.

Why is this of value to you?

Pesticides are toxic chemicals. Many are known to cause cancer, chronic health problems and other adverse health effects in humans and other animals. The health effects of many of these substances are unknown. Using least toxic pest management in your home and yard, you will be protecting yourself, your family, and your pets from unnecessary exposures to toxic compounds.

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The above articles are just something i came accross while pulling that link up for you, if you have ANY specific questions on Integrated Pest Management PM me for a link to a great forum that legit gardeners use to ask pest questions in real time. Also have a few things bookmarked so just holla and we'll post them up..

Now for the good stuff..

An OUTSTANDING post on where to find predator bugs.. Try to narrow down your problem to a specific bug or bugs and it will make things a lot easier.. for each particular insect, there is a predator that is specifically designed by mother nature to eat THAT pest. Indoors be careful what you release or you'll find yourself with a new invasion of creepy crawlers (hey at least they wont suck at your top growth and roots!)
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=14950

Post on fungus gnats (everybody has them don't feel bad lol)
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=14218

Here is a post on Ants but contains good info on their friends APHIDS..
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=14784&highlight=ants

IC MAGS COMPLETE GUIDE TO SICK PLANTS AND PESTS
http://icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=11688

***If having problems finding the lil' buggers hideout check under the lip of your soil container.. Stay away from lipped containers as the underside provides a nice convenient place for the pests to hang out. This is especially true with mealys.***


Mosquito Dunks will keep the ones that would be in your reservoir away.

to "hand Pick" aphids, carpet beetle, and other foliage pests, use a straight powerful blast from your mister with straight rubbing alchohol or warm water with dish soap.. i make a pipe-tobacco (the purest u can find) tea and do sometimes add garlic and/or chile seeds but the nicotine is a very powerful insecticide on its own. I have heard that nicotine in its purest form is more deadly by weight than arsenic!!

This post could go on for ever so i'll stop here just holla back if any of this doesnt make sense, or you'd like more homework to read up on garden pests and how to rid yourself of them.

btw: neem is best used as a preventative and does little/nothing to adult insects, it takes care of larvae, use safer's soap or the homeade tea for adults. We use Bon-Neem by bonide, it contains a mix of neem seed oil AND soap and will take out both larvae AND adults in their tracks
http://www.planetnatural.com/site/bon-neem.html
Pyrethrum Powder will kill em too, D. earth etc.

Hope this was of some help to you

take care and be well

cj

 

[issack]

my head hurts.....i'll be back..

 

[Guest]

A lot of times the pests are already in the soil when you buy it. Bugs lay their eggs in the soil then they hatch and multiply. Good soil like Promix and FFs line of soil rarely have this problem.

 

[Guest]

Nothing a lil' nuke can't fix

Nothing a lil' nuke can't fix

have had GREAT success (best ever) using a mix of 25%peat, 25% outdoor dirt (flower bed dirt from the inner-city, yuck!) 40%perlite, 10%vermiculite, + lime

QUASI STERILIZED in the microwave (small amounts at a time) or in the oven for larger batches would likely work just as well..

DISCLAIMER (for those who re-use soil or use outdoor composted material)
All Beneficial Mycos (as well as nasties and pests/larvae) are killed off at these temepatures.

btw home depot has a special on promix, buy one bale get 2000 Fungus Knat Larvae FREE! lmao i sterilize promix and outdoor soil before bringing it indoors for this reason, many DO NOT with great success, maybe we just have bad luck

hope this helps

cj

 

[refried_brains]

perlite ontop of your soil helps aswell

 

[dubmantx]

Heres a link to the organic garlic bugspray stuff. Ive never used it but I have read quite a few testamonials to it. Plus its cheap... Couldnt hurt to give it a try if you need it. Spray the shit out of both sides of leafs and the soil too.
http://www.planetskunk.com/cannabis2568.html

 

[Verite]

Check the infirmary for a good post on thrips. Thrips have two life cycle stages under the soil if you dont get them there you wont ever get rid of them. There isnt one spray thats effective under the soil.