Bugs in the soil

bobj1598

Well-Known Member
My seed starting mix had beetles that hatched and crawled to the surface. Therefore I'm going to try and rid my other bagged soil of the critters before I use it. I watched a video where a grower would allow their soil to dry by placing a container of it underneath their grow fan. I don't have a fan like this.

I'm considering putting outside to dry in the sun, but do I risk other bugs laying their eggs inside of the soil? If I put the lid on the container and then placed in the sunlight (for heat) would the soil medium become moldy? I have about a week or two befroe I transplant, do you think 85L of this soil will have dried up enough in time to kill the food that feeds the bugs if I leave it in the room to sit?
 
It happens a lot with bag soil especially if it wasn’t stored properly by the store or supplier whenever I buy bag soil I open it up and spread the bag out so the soil lays a lot thinner do a light water and peroxide drench on it and then two days later it’s good and ready to go
 
My seed starting mix had beetles that hatched and crawled to the surface. Therefore I'm going to try and rid my other bagged soil of the critters before I use it. I watched a video where a grower would allow their soil to dry by placing a container of it underneath their grow fan. I don't have a fan like this.

I'm considering putting outside to dry in the sun, but do I risk other bugs laying their eggs inside of the soil? If I put the lid on the container and then placed in the sunlight (for heat) would the soil medium become moldy? I have about a week or two befroe I transplant, do you think 85L of this soil will have dried up enough in time to kill the food that feeds the bugs if I leave it in the room to sit?
If the bugs have exoskeletons ( arthropods) , try mixing food grade diatomaceous earth into dry soil. DE only works while dry. It's a great cure.
 
Soil is supposed to have insects. My soil has a diverse variety of insects. I'd go with coco, or dwc maybe, if I was going to try to avoid insects. That's only my opinion though.
 
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