Thrips after all?

[Boio_]

Hello Everyone!

I recently asked about a damage type on my plant and there were conflicting opinions on it, so I figured I'd give an update. The plants have grown well since the last time I posted, however the damage persisted. I was not able to install the osmosis system I bought yet due to adaptor issues.

Let me know what you think.

 

[GoatCheese]

I don’t think that’s thrip-damage but the photos are a bit small and lower quality to see clearly. Better photos would help to say for sure.

You can take a white piece of A4 paper and try to shake the plant on top of it to see if any bugs drop on the paper if you can’t see any on the leaves or under them. If you’ve had this problem for weeks there should be plenty of thrips by now.

The leaves on your plant could be drooping abit because of slight over watering, btw.

 

[Boio_]

GoatCheese I see. Will try the paper thing. Also will get a camera to provide higher resolution pictures. I have a tendency to overwater, although I always check the soil and even the sides of it and wait till the soil starts to pull in from the sides of the bag. Run off is possible but my frequency might be too high. At the moment it is roughly every 3 days.

 

[FletchF.Fletch]

It looks more like the pin-prick yellow mottling of Spider Mites. Thrips leave yellow rasps and black soot.

The thrips can be seen with just your eyes, and will move if you blow smoke on them. 2 millimeters long and squiggly when they move. Spider Mites can been seen with the Paper Test. Put an affected leaf on a clean sheet of unlined paper. Let it sit for a few on the paper, right side up, then tap it or shake it a bit over the same spot where it was sitting. Then watch for movement. If dust flecks start to move, you've got Mites.

 

[goingrey]

It looks more like the pin-prick yellow mottling of Spider Mites. Thrips leave yellow rasps and black soot.

The thrips can be seen with just your eyes, and will move if you blow smoke on them. 2 millimeters long and squiggly when they move. Spider Mites can been seen with the Paper Test. Put an affected leaf on a clean sheet of unlined paper. Let it sit for a few on the paper, right side up, then tap it or shake it a bit over the same spot where it was sitting. Then watch for movement. If dust flecks start to move, you've got Mites.

Agree, looks like mites. Not just mite damage, maybe even a couple of the little pests themselves in the first photo. Around the main vein..

Wouldn't there be webs if they were spider mites though? Or let's put it this way: Boio_ have you seen any webs?

 

[Boio_]

FletchF.Fletch goingrey I have tried rubbing them off but nothing happened and there are no webs. Very puzzling. Let's see what turns up once I get that camera going...

 

[Creeperpark]

Those plants are still in veg and small enough to give them a good spray down. You can have mites and in the early stages, and you won't see webs. By the time one sees webs with a naked eye, there will be a lot of damage and a full-blown infestation.! Don't wait to see webs before doing anything because then it's too late. Once one has a mite infestation he will need to use preventive sprays for many grows in the future. Mites are hard to kill and can be a real problem in some gardens if action isn't taken quickly.

 

[Boio_]

Creeperpark do you recommend a product for spraying them? They at week 5 now. I finally managed to install the RO filter. The other camera sadly didn't produce better pictures either.

 

[Boio_]

would Biobizz Leaf Coat kill em?

 

[Creeperpark]

I don't have to spray anything on my plants anymore. When I had mites in the past, I used cold-pressed neem oil with a drop of dish soap in warm RO water. Veg stage only! I sprayed the top and bottom of the leaves every 3 days for 12 days total. There are 5 stages mites grow through, egg, larva, protonymph, deutonymph, and adult. You have to hit them every 3 days to catch the different growth stages. When there is an environmental imbalance mites will appear and will stay as long as there is imbalance. Mites mostly only attack sick or weak plants and in your case the imbalance was due to impure water with a high hydroxyl content.(alkaline). Now that you have mites you will need to always spray as a preventive measure during veg. on future grows. Once they're gone you can quit spraying. Everybody gets a taste of mites one time or another. Never spray flowers.

 

[Boio_]

Creeperpark Gotcha...I think it's too late for spraying then since they are in flower. Let's see where this goes then, either way it will have been full of learning experiences and my next grow will be RO water only. Would there be any merit and isolating the sick plant? It has been in a tent with another one which is looking great. No damage or anything. You think it would be contaminated already? There was a wind blowing away from the healthy plant and they did not touch yet.

 

[Three Berries]

potassium hydroxide and evening primrose oil makes a safe non toxic plant friendly insecticidal soap.

 

[Creeperpark]

Creeperpark Gotcha...I think it's too late for spraying then since they are in flower. Let's see where this goes then, either way it will have been full of learning experiences and my next grow will be RO water only. Would there be any merit and isolating the sick plant? It has been in a tent with another one which is looking great. No damage or anything. You think it would be contaminated already? There was a wind blowing away from the healthy plant and they did not touch yet.

If it were me I would take the infected plant outdoors in cold temps for a while. Say when you have a day that's in the upper 40sF or a night in the 50sF leave it outdoors to kill the adults. (8 to 14 C) If you put it out when the temps are close to frost then you will need to stay close to the plant and bring it back in after about an hour. In the past when I run into a sick plant, I moved outdoors and it perked up in most all situations. The mites may attack the other plant when you remove the infected one. The chemical-free ways are predatory mites and temperature manipulation. When you finish this run you need to clean the hell out of the area by using a bug fogger or Bug Bomb! I think the name is Dr. Doom Bug Bomb that works really well. For the next 5 grows you will need to use neem as a preventive on your seedlings and early vegetation growth. By flowering time all the leaves that was sprayed early will be gone.

 

[Boio_]

Three Berries I'm a bit lost here. They are in flower, would that option still be ok to use?

Creeperpark Impossible...I can't leave them outside, I'm considering aborting the mission then. If I can't spray them because they are in flower and the infestation will fully engulf my plants, I'm not sure if there is another option.

 

[Creeperpark]

Three Berries I'm a bit lost here. They are in flower, would that option still be ok to use?

Creeperpark Impossible...I can't leave them outside, I'm considering aborting the mission then. If I can't spray them because they are in flower and the infestation will fully engulf my plants, I'm not sure if there is another option.

One more option only as a last resort that works well. Above I was talking about a Dr Doom Bug Bomb or get any kind of a fogger/bomb that uses pyrethrin as the main ingredient. Pyrethrin is supposed to be safe to spray on vegetables. Regular store-bought pyrethrin pump sprays are not good enough because they are too weak. The foggers are the only kind of pyrethrin that works. Here's how you turn a fogger into an "on and off" spray can. Pull the white cap loose from the can and take a razor blade and cut the trigger guard off. Take the fogger and spray down your plants both them and that will kill anything that moves. Do it again in 3 days because the eggs will hatch. Pyrethrin doesn't kill eggs only adults. I haven't had mites in years but when I did I learned you got to be ready for them and always hitting fast and hard.

 

[Creeperpark]

I guess I was too late with the last post. He must have given up when he heard about temps. Sorry Friend.

 

[St. Phatty]

Three Berries I'm a bit lost here. They are in flower, would that option still be ok to use?

Creeperpark Impossible...I can't leave them outside, I'm considering aborting the mission then. If I can't spray them because they are in flower and the infestation will fully engulf my plants, I'm not sure if there is another option.

How about a thrip size Tidal Wave ?

Just dipping the plants in a tank of water will leave a lot of the parasites in the water.

When the buds are dried, the thrips will Abandon Ship.

You could probably still get some use-able bud.

 

[Three Berries]

Simple soap is a strong base and a lipid or fat. Long Chain Fatty Acids make the best insecticidal soap.

Using some potassium hydroxide and any LCFA and apply as a diluted mix would kill any soft body insect it hits.

You would not want to saturate the bud, the soap will break down quickly under the strong lights. So it would leave behind potassium.

 

[Creeperpark]

Simple soap is a strong base and a lipid or fat. Long Chain Fatty Acids make the best insecticidal soap.

Using some potassium hydroxide and any LCFA and apply as a diluted mix would kill any soft body insect it hits.

You would not want to saturate the bud, the soap will break down quickly under the strong lights. So it would leave behind potassium.

I think he said his plants was in flowering but I'm not sure now!

 

[Boio_]

Yup, they are in flowering! I opted for the live enemy of spidermites. Just released them in the grow area, let's see what they can do.