White maggots in buds! Please help!

OPU

Well-Known Member
I am 6 weeks into flowering. The undergrowth and a bit of the top colas are being attacked by some white maggot-like bugs. They are ONLY attacking the buds. They are microscopic. When I view them through a 90x microscope they are barely bigger than the head of a resin gland. I've never seen anything like it and have searched over and over for and answer. I wish I could take a pic of them but they are too small to capture. I've included a pic of the damage. They are only on the buds and are ' sucking' them dry and turning them brown. They look like maggots but seem to have have legs and antennas at 90 x resolution. Please, someone help. I thought thrips at one point and used spinosad. But there is no damage to the leaves to indicate thrips. There is no sign of adult thrips at all. Thought fungus gnats and covered soil with sand but thy are only in the buds. Not indicative of fungus gnats. Has anyone seen anything like this before? I'm at my wits end. Savior, with some real knowledge? These are the best photos I can do of the damage. They are NOT visible to the naked eye.
 

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tyke1973

Well-Known Member
Are you sure that these are not cattapillar's sorry about spelling i have been hit by them out side to the effect that they caused carnage mould because there 90% water if not a higher % once there in the buds out of sight not much ya can do apart from cut the mould they will cause out and throw all that plant to hash because they will float makeing it easy to pick them out.

But if you do get mould of any kind then don't use it it can cause black spot cut back about 1/2 ince past any effective area
 

OPU

Well-Known Member
I pretty sure they're not caterpillars. They are more like like maggots with antennas. And they are seriously microscopic. The size of a resin head. I can't even see them without magnification, let alone pick them out. Never heard of or seen anything like this.
 

tyke1973

Well-Known Member
Is the room air tight apart from the inlet,and vent for the out let,if so have ya got tights over the inlet duct,i also use a micro mess over the out let vent if its air tight then they have either come in via either of these roads.

If ya don't think this keep any windows closed,while ya working in the room then open them after, use bug catchers,the sticky strips
 

JointOperation

Well-Known Member
lol.. you got bud rot.. which attracts all sorts of grose bugs.. or caterpillars destroy plant matter. causing bud rot.. either way.. if thats indoors. you need to clean up that room.. and bomb it if the house is infested.. we had a bee infestation we were tearing down sheetrock to replace and found a nest that was 3 feet by 1 foot thick against an entire wall/ceiling .. it was a mess.. talk about some BULLSHIT.. and annoying.. i found out because id go into my room.. and almost get stung trying to water . i kept thinkin i let a bee in. id get rid of it . then there were tons of them.. then i found the nest / bombed the room.. and the house.. and no problems since. ..

also if ur taking in air from outside.. u wana get a filter.. ive had thrips come off a plant outside a window.. go threw my intake and into my veg room.. wasnt fun cleaning that either..

just some noob mistakes that i made.. but everything been runnning like a machine now..
 

bird mcbride

Well-Known Member
Be sure to totally sterilize the op before you use it again.
What kind of grow system are you using?
 
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OPU

Well-Known Member
Have you looked at images etc relating russet mites.


Could be a possibility.



J
Hey Jondamon.
This is 100% what they are. I've never heard of them until now. It seems that they have recently become a scourge. Do you have any experience with treating them? They seem pretty tough to tackle. I have some Mighty Wash that I'll be using. That works great on spider mites.

Everyone else, thanks for the answers. I am growing in soil and keep my room very clean. It is airtight with a negative pressure and my intake is filtered twice.
 

jondamon

Well-Known Member
Hey Jondamon.
This is 100% what they are. I've never heard of them until now. It seems that they have recently become a scourge. Do you have any experience with treating them? They seem pretty tough to tackle. I have some Mighty Wash that I'll be using. That works great on spider mites.

Everyone else, thanks for the answers. I am growing in soil and keep my room very clean. It is airtight with a negative pressure and my intake is filtered twice.

Never encountered them myself. I do know they are very difficult to eradicate.




J
 
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