Will Gnatrol Make My Bud Dangerous?

[buzzmobile]

Where exactly do you get these? I've been to the home improvement stores and didn't see any, even asked and they were all clueless (no surprise). Also would this same treatment work for white flies? I think that's what I have anyway. The spray has been keeping them off the leaves but they keep popping out of the soil in droves.

I make yellow sticky traps with yellow plastic folders and Tree Tanglefoot. I cut the folders (Duotang) into sections and spread a thin layer of Tanglefoot on the section. Hang it up and the gnats, whiteflies, thrips and other critters will head for it and get stuck.

Whiteflies do not breed in soil. They develop on the undersides of the leaves. I fought whiteflies for years and it was a never ending battle until I brought in some Encarsia formosa (predator wasps). They did the trick for me and they have reproduced in the grow room several times.

mr. bush, those may be springtails in your bucket. The mosquito dunks will do nothing to control them. They are more of a nuisance than a serious pest. Soap spray will kill them if you feel the need.

 

[Greenskies00]

Cold Shot

Cold Shot

And at the same time, they've never done shit in ANY of my grows.

In fact the mites and gnats seem to bask in them, gathering energy from the yellow glow. Then they gain super strength, speed, heat vision, etc...

That's hilarious. I'm laughing my ass off! Super Gnats in little capes and masks...

 

[mrbush]

mr. bush, those may be springtails in your bucket. The mosquito dunks will do nothing to control them. They are more of a nuisance than a serious pest. Soap spray will kill them if you feel the need.

[/QUOTE]

in about 10 days i have only caught about 7 of them bugs on my sticky traps so i do not have many. I just hate to see them. I can change my reservoir every day but that is rough on nutes
I can not take a very good picture with my camera.
They do not appear to be harming anything but i hate to see them.
I figure the dunk will not hurt nothing so i might as well try. But thanks for the heads up in case they do not work

 

[buzzmobile]

I figure the dunk will not hurt nothing so i might as well try.

That seems reasonable to me.

 

[inflorescence]

That seems reasonable to me.

That's a philosophy I definately do not follow when growing.
Unless I'm sure what the problem is and I know what I'm using will take care of it then I would never add something just to see. I've seen problems before when I did subscribe to that philosophy in my younger days.

 

[buzzmobile]

Just to expand a bit. I had already given him advice about the use of Gnatrol. The dunks had already been put in the reservoir. The photo appears to be springtails to me but I am not sure. If I was certain I would have told him that the dunks were a waste. They could be fungus gnats. Dunks do no harm to anything other than a few target species. I do not advocate pesticide application prophylactically. In this case the dunks were dunked. It was reasonable to me.

 

[mrbush]

Just to expand a bit. I had already given him advice about the use of Gnatrol. The dunks had already been put in the reservoir. The photo appears to be springtails to me but I am not sure. If I was certain I would have told him that the dunks were a waste. They could be fungus gnats. Dunks do no harm to anything other than a few target species. I do not advocate pesticide application prophylactically. In this case the dunks were dunked. It was reasonable to me.

thanks so much buzz, that is exactly what i was thinking.
I was under the imression i had gnats. the bugs flying around that i catch look like them. I studied and read on the efects of this substance. It says it is safe for fish ponds and any thing other than human drinking water. it says it is even safe for pets.
The one is already in my tank. Before i posted it was there.
I do not just start throwing shit in my flowers.
That is the reason it only went in one container.

 

[HeadyPete]

Nematodes may live in your media if you use coco or RW in a hydro system, but the majority will be lost with a nute change. It is possible they will re-populate over time if there is sufficient food source (ie pest larvae). They are quite hardy and are not even affected by most pesticides. The key is moisture and there is plenty in a hydro rig. For soil application, it is important you keep the medium moist for the nems to be effective. They need the water channels in soil to move about and hunt prey.

How often do you change nute solution? The nems really need only 4-7 days to be really effective, but the longer, the better. Also, only use half the dose package, then use the other half 2 weeks later, or after a rez change.

Hey moose eater, good to see you. It's been awhile.

Makes sense about the Gnatrol and the immune insects, it being a bacteria. Gnats can't evolve away from a hungry nematode, that's for sure.

 

[mrbush]

hey thanks hp
i change my nutes every week and i grow in hydron.
my little larvaes are just swimming around but they must be in my roots because i change the solution and they keep coming back. I even changed it in mid week once (i thought if i killed the little ones there would be no more. but they come back

 

[HeadyPete]

Hey, the hydroton will not support alot of nems, so best to reapply after rez change. The nems will travel into the roots and get them wherever they hide, assuming this is a pest they prey on.

A week should be sufficient, plus the second dosage and you should be laughing.

 

[mrbush]

well i changed my nutes today. I did not see much differnce between the two, but i figure i will give it one more week.
The bugs do not seem to be hurting nothing, but i do not like them
my roots are about 3 feet long and snowy white

 

[mrbush]

i forgot about this thread.

my gnats are all gone
it seemed to work for me

 

[buzzmobile]

Hooray!

 

[10k]

BTI is NOT a "pesticide"
It is harmless to people, plants, fish and animals.
In fact, BTI could save millions of human lives in third world countries where malaria takes roughly one million childrens lives per year. It could also prove effective in combating west nile virus world wide. BTI is "a good thing".

Heres a few helpfull (although somewhat confusing) links about BTI.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacillus_thuringiensis_israelensis
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/biopesticides/ingredients/factsheets/factsheet_006476.htm

side note...
Yellow sticky traps are an effective way to catch fungus gnats once they become flying adults, and thus is a good way to keep tabs on the population as it dies off.

btw... blue sticky traps are the color of choice for catching thrips.
bti has little or no effect on thrips, but it IS deadly on fungus gnat infestations as it cuts off the life cycle so no new generations survive long enough to mature and reproduce.

hth,
10k

 

[buzzmobile]

BTI is NOT a "pesticide"

Any substance that kills pests is a pesticide. It is a very broad term. Some pesticides are dangerous to humans. Some are not.

 

[10k]

Ok, I guess I really meant its NOT a "chemical" pesticide.