Unknown bugs infestation

[Biggobelly]

I am having a problem identifying a bug that is eating my crops. It is about 3mm long, black with beetle like plates to protect its wings and a back-end that it can raise up like a rove beetle. It flies like fungus gnats but in soil it moves fast like a predator. This is the only bugs that I can see and they are causing yellow fan and stunted growth. Too fast for me to get a pic. Any ideas? They almost look like a Devil's coach horse beetle but without the big pincers.

 

[troutman]

Get yourself an organic pesticide.

 

[gladysvjubb]

You need HOTSHOT No Pest Strips. That is your only hope! I have no bugs in my grow because of them.

 

[gaiusmarius]

could they be thrips?

don't get no pest strips btw. thats way over kill and only a last resort to save unique genetic mother plants in veg phase. only usable if you don't ive in the same air.

if you have thrips some captain jacks dead bug, or some other bio product containing spinosad will take care of them.

 

[Wendull C.]

Do they hop? It sounds like root aphids.

 

[Ichabod Crane]

Get a white bowl or container like for sour cream or cottage cheese. Fill it half way up with water and place it under the light so the light hits the water. The bug will be attracted to the dish and fall into the water. When it drowns you can scoop it to see what it is.

 

[master kusher]

one word: neem

 

[Biggobelly]

I've caught them in a yellow sticky and they look like fungus gnats, however, mosquito dunks don't work on them, spinosad only gets a few flyers and a spinosad root drench did nothing but almost kill my plants.
They are not root aphids as they are black and slender with a tail that it can raise like a scorpion and they are fast. Watched one run across the soil and then take off and fly around the pot. I thought they were rove beetles, but they fly.

 

[Dog Star]

Dust your medium with grounded cinnamon for larvae,and for flyers use yellow sticky
traps.. cinnamon kills larva much faster then Bti..

 

[gladysvjubb]

NO PEST STRIPS!!! It is your only hope! Just do not stay too long in your grow room. Do what is important and then get out.

 

[gaiusmarius]

NO PEST STRIPS!!! It is your only hope! Just do not stay too long in your grow room. Do what is important and then get out.

stop telling folks to use those as a first step. this is the nuclear option

 

[Ichabod Crane]

The dunk needs to be fresh when you use them. I like to use the bits. But these take several applications before they work. I treat every 5 to 7 days with them for about 5 t to 6 times. Most people dont have the patients to do this all the way threw.

But before you do that you should identify what you have to know how to treat for it. That is why I said use the water to catch one. I find it difficult to tell exactly what I have caught in a sticky trap because it sticks their bodies together so much.

 

[MJPassion]

NO PEST STRIPS!!! It is your only hope! Just do not stay too long in your grow room. Do what is important and then get out.

Are you a shill for HOTSHOT?

 

[gaiusmarius]

Are you a shill for HOTSHOT?

ican't believe there are people still using those on a permanent basis as part of their grow room. that shit is basically a nerve agent!

one of the best methods i have found to get rid of fungus gnats is to let the medium dry the hell out, no watering till the plants are just about to hang their leaves. this kicks the population right down to the point where you don't find them anymore for quite some time. depending if you have treated all infected medium with the dry out or not. in coco i will let the slabs get so dry that they become lite, but just before they start hanging i water again. then i can reuse the slabs multiple times without getting over whelmed by fungus gnats anymore.

 

[neongreen]

^^ gaiusmarius is spot on, as usual.

To the OP - The bug you're describing sounds like one which is probably not doing any harm to your plants. If you really must eradicate them, then try a more conventional approach as others have suggested. Try neem and/or diatomaceous earth.

 

[Ichabod Crane]

Before he tries anything he needs to find out what it is. Then he can target that pest with the best options instead of wasting stuff that doesnt work.

I have used the mosquito bits with success. A table spoon every 5 to 7 days. After about 5 or 6 times they are gone. Most people just dont do it enough to make it work.

 

[buzzmobile]

Before he tries anything he needs to find out what it is.

Listen to Mr. Crane. Identifying the bug is the first step. Otherwise you may believe someone who recommends using no pest strips.

 

[Biggobelly]

NO-PEST Strips are a no-go. My grow is in my living space.

 

[pumpkinpie eyes]

damn. dont uze sprayz. clear out, scrub out, start again. youre smokin pesticides- ugly and un healthy.

 

[Biggobelly]

They've been identified as a variant of Rove Beetle that has started eating plant roots.