i think i have aphids but now sure

[Will Ferrell]

I think i have aphids but "NOT" sure
Ive noticed there are teeny tiny bugs crawling around on the floor in the growroom. Some are alot bigger than others, the biggest ive seen them get is about the size of a gnat. When i try to squash the bigger ones, they hop out of the way.
I was thinking they were aphids, but i just now read an article that said aphids dont jump, so now im wondering what the heck i got going on in there.
I released 1500 ladybugs in there yesterday morning thinking there were lots of aphids for them to feast on, but now im not sure.
I guess can yall tell if that sounds like an aphid problem?
Also, will it affect the ladybugs if i keep my lights on at 24/7?
thanks.

 

[Will Ferrell]

i just did a few more searches and noticed the bugs im seeing in the growroom look alot like thripes. Ill start doing my research on thripes now. hopefully ladybugs like those too

 

[BluJayz]

Gnats have wings and might just be flying to another spot away from you instead of "jumping".

Gnatarol and AZAMAX are you organic friends along ladybugs.

However your lady bugs need night time if you release them during the day they will fly away/into the lights and die.

Release them at night let them nest and wake in the AM to feast on your flying fuckers. You want them to feel at home, not just thrown in to work.

 

[Will Ferrell]

Gnats have wings and might just be flying to another spot away from you instead of "jumping".

Gnatarol and AZAMAX are you organic friends along ladybugs.

However your lady bugs need night time if you release them during the day they will fly away/into the lights and die.

Release them at night let them nest and wake in the AM to feast on your flying fuckers. You want them to feel at home, not just thrown in to work.

i did also try azamax, but i didnt have enough of it and did the best i could with what i had, and the next day, they seemed to be gone. but 3 days later, there they are again. So i ordered the ladybugs hoping they can help.

i have some plants that are almost a month in veg of 24 hour light, along with a bunch of auto seedlings that are almost a week old in 24 hour light, both in the same room. I like to keep the lights on 24/7 cause the seedlings, but i also would definitely like to have a happy home for the ladybugs. Ive seen them fly towards the light already, but i have them in air cool tubes so they seem to be ok, unless they get sucked through the tube which i havent seen yet but im sure is happening.

 

[BluJayz]

Azamax is not a Nuclear bomb, its preventative maintenance. You will use it until you harvest with a crop infested with aphids.

If they are not flowing and are strong then can handle a heavy leaf drench too. To wipe out the adult population. The babies are resting in the soil, likely in the bottom of your pots. Go ahead and poke the holes in the bottom and watch em go crazy.

24 hr lights are not going to work to keep your lady bug colony flourishing.

This is a completely different argument but 24/7 lights not your best option. Plants need rest to re structure food and energy among itself and roots grow the most at night. Bigger roots = Bigger fruits.

 

[Will Ferrell]

lets just say i keep the lights on 24/7. i wonder if the ladybugs will just simply not sleep and die of delirium, or will they eventually seek shelter in the dark crevices or under pots?

 

[Will Ferrell]

ok well i will definitely start turning the lights out then. Any recommendation of how long i should turn them off? id like to have them off just long enough for the ladybugs to be well rested lol

 

[Will Ferrell]

i bought some neem oil too thinking it was for aphids. hopefully thrips dont like that stuff either

 

[Will Ferrell]

i sure would like to like your post but cant figure out how to do it for the life of me

 

[BuzzD2Kill]

Bug spray ur area, use basins so bugs cant just walk to another pot, use good organic bug spray on ur babies. Rinse and repeat for 2 weeks, 3-5 day intervals, then do it once a month for shits and giggles. GL. Ive used azamax for everything, if it didnt work I mix it thicker.

 

[jondamon]

If they jump away then its most likely springtails.

Springtails are generally not harmful to plants but are attracted to warm moist conditions.

They are an integral part of soil ecology and some actually consider them beneficial as they are detrivorous feeders.



J

 

[Will Ferrell]

Bug spray ur area, use basins so bugs cant just walk to another pot, use good organic bug spray on ur babies. Rinse and repeat for 2 weeks, 3-5 day intervals, then do it once a month for shits and giggles. GL. Ive used azamax for everything, if it didnt work I mix it thicker.

Is it ok to mix nutes with azamax? im thinking ill just start using azamax with every other feeding.

 

[Will Ferrell]

If they jump away then its most likely springtails.

Springtails are generally not harmful to plants but are attracted to warm moist conditions.

They are an integral part of soil ecology and some actually consider them beneficial as they are detrivorous feeders.



J

thats what i was told a long time ago so i never worried too much about it. But now it just seems like its getting out of control and there big ones and small ones and teeny tiny ones and flying ones. There everywhere! lol

 

[Velvet Elvis]

no. best to use alone.

and it sounds like thrips to me. most are lirrle slivers of white, look like saw dust almost and leave white specks all over leaves from them feeding.

spinosad is the shiznit. youre welcome

 

[BuzzD2Kill]

Ive never used it as a drench, GL.

 

[jondamon]

thats what i was told a long time ago so i never worried too much about it. But now it just seems like its getting out of control and there big ones and small ones and teeny tiny ones and flying ones. There everywhere! lol

If there's flying ones then it isn't springtails.

Or you could have a combination of a few different bugs.

Usually flying culprits are thrips, fungus gnats, winged aphids, white fly.


SPINOSAD will help most DEFINATELY. Its my go to product.



J

 

[Will Ferrell]

ok cool thanks guys im off to the growshop now to pick up some more azamax and ill get some spinosad too and try that stuff out. Ill prob be posting a bunch of other problems later. My plants dont look happy. Only about 3-4 look good out of 24

 

[BeastGrow]

Ugh I had those on Thrips (aka Leafhoppers) on my outdoor plant last year. They have several stages. Adults have wings and can hop/fly a good distance. They lay like a white webbing around the stems and such.. not like a spider between branches. ON the leaves and stems.

What I would do try small amount of handsoap or dishsoap diluted in water and spray the entire plant.. then maybe spray with water and get most of the soap off the plant.

Neem oil might help too.

Lastly if none of that worked then you could go for something heavier... some sort of veggie safe pesticide.

Kill as many as you can by hand too.

Make sure to clean around your grow room. They will hide on nearby plants too!

 

[thumpinhard]

thrips are extremely small..and foliar spray with spinosad is supposed to work..do it a few times i was told every three days. i am looking for a soil drench because they live in a larval stage in the soil and need to be eradicated there as well as the leaves. they have a 7 day life cycle and lay huge amounts of eggs that end up in the soil as larvae.

 

[BluJayz]

ok well i will definitely start turning the lights out then. Any recommendation of how long i should turn them off? id like to have them off just long enough for the ladybugs to be well rested lol

Well it's recommended at least 4 hours of darkness for vegging plants. That suggestion has nothing to do with ladybugs.

The point of the darkness for ladybugs is most crucial in the releasing of them. You want to release them at dark while its cool and they will still be some what hibernating when you place small groups at the base of each plant. They will nuzzle up to the plants and make a permanent home. Then when the lights go on its feasting time! Then back to their new homes at night. If you release them during the day, they are more likely to seek out other homes not directly in the infestation.

You want to release a small amount each day over a 3 day span. Until you reach desired population control.

You don't want to release too many because they will leave looking for more food and the infestation will re grow when they are gone.

Ladybugs are an awesome addition to any garden. The best part is spending the first 30 min in the garden looking for the best leaf/bud shot with a ladybug.