Can you help identify these?

Bosgrower

Bosgrower

Well-Known Member
Based on images I've seen on the web, they might be root aphid larvae or thrip larvae.
My setup is a dutch bucket system (fancy 4 gal hempy buckets) 50/50 coco perlite over 2" of hydrostones. I have a drain to recovery setup and I'm seeing bunches of these tiny beasties in the recovery tray while flushing fresh nutes through the buckets. This is very magnified ... the biggest of these is less than 1mm in length. They look like dust particles on/in the water.
I'm dealing with some fungus gnats as well - the yellow stickies are showing less "traffic" and the diatomaceous earth will be here tomorrow ... so they're not my concern.
Thanks in advance.

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Crippykeeper

Crippykeeper

Well-Known Member
Bosgrower said:
Based on images I've seen on the web, they might be root aphid larvae or thrip larvae.
My setup is a dutch bucket system (fancy 4 gal hempy buckets) 50/50 coco perlite over 2" of hydrostones. I have a drain to recovery setup and I'm seeing bunches of these tiny beasties in the recovery tray while flushing fresh nutes through the buckets. This is very magnified ... the biggest of these is less than 1mm in length. They look like dust particles on/in the water.
I'm dealing with some fungus gnats as well - the yellow stickies are showing less "traffic" and the diatomaceous earth will be here tomorrow ... so they're not my concern.
Thanks in advance.

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Great picture how did you get them on to a slide ? As for what they are what kind of damage are you seeing on the leaves?
 
Bosgrower

Bosgrower

Well-Known Member
Crippykeeper said:
Great picture how did you get them on to a slide ? As for what they are what kind of damage are you seeing on the leaves?
Click to expand...
They're not on a slide but in a clear plastic cup. Just scooped some liquid with activity out of the nute reservoir and then used the 200x magnifier attached to my cell phone. Took a while to get them to pose :)
No noticeable damage ... just saw something suspicious in the DTR capture tray
 
MichiganMedGrower

MichiganMedGrower

Well-Known Member
Bosgrower said:
Thanks!!! That looks like the culprit
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I get them in varying degrees seasonally. They only eat rotting matter but are known to damage germinating seedlings. Although I have not had any real problems due to them.

Ever since I read to clear the fall leaves away from the house (where they eat and live ) their numbers have reduced.

I also remove runoff with them in it immediately to help keep them at bay.

If there is too much moisture and a severe outbreak of springtails the environment may also bring fungus gnats. Be wary.

over or under fertilizing can help them by burning the roots and giving them more rotting food. They seem to find the stressed plants and migrate there. I am sometimes warned of over nuting before I see any leaf damage.
 
chemphlegm

chemphlegm

Well-Known Member
MichiganMedGrower said:
I get them in varying degrees seasonally. They only eat rotting matter but are known to damage germinating seedlings. Although I have not had any real problems due to them.

Ever since I read to clear the fall leaves away from the house (where they eat and live ) their numbers have reduced.

I also remove runoff with them in it immediately to help keep them at bay.

If there is too much moisture and a severe outbreak of springtails the environment may also bring fungus gnats. Be wary.

over or under fertilizing can help them by burning the roots and giving them more rotting food. They seem to find the stressed plants and migrate there. I am sometimes warned of over nuting before I see any leaf damage.
Click to expand...
+
 
Bosgrower

Bosgrower

Well-Known Member
Just out of curiosity, wouldn't this make all hydro setups springtail breeding grounds? Or is it that I've got too much organic medium by using 50/50 coco perlite? I modeled this system on the dutch buckets that tomato growers use with extensive daily "flushing" and runoff returned to the reservoir but decided on a coco mix. Would I be as likely to have this issue with a more traditional all perlite or perlite/vermiculite mix?
 
MichiganMedGrower

MichiganMedGrower

Well-Known Member
Bosgrower said:
Just out of curiosity, wouldn't this make all hydro setups springtail breeding grounds? Or is it that I've got too much organic medium by using 50/50 coco perlite? I modeled this system on the dutch buckets that tomato growers use with extensive daily "flushing" and runoff returned to the reservoir but decided on a coco mix. Would I be as likely to have this issue with a more traditional all perlite or perlite/vermiculite mix?
Click to expand...
I have seen posts of all kinds of mediums. Particularly coco.

When I had Potters gold soil (that came with them) I started using a bale of promix Hp to see if the leaf compost in the soil mix was the culprit.

The springtails stayed in the Potters gold pots with none seen in pro mix pots right next to them.

And now I use ocean forest which also has composted products in it.

But coco is inert. And hydro. I guess roots still rot during the cycle and feed them. They are attracted to moisture like leaks in the house according to the Orkin Pest Control site I read.
 
Bosgrower

Bosgrower

Well-Known Member
I agree coco is inert, but it's still an organic substance ... that's why I was thinking that an inert inorganic medium like pure perlite or a perlite/vermiculite mix might be less prone to them. I think I'll lest the theory next grow unless I can find more info.
 
Bosgrower

Bosgrower

Well-Known Member
Oh yes ... you're right about the fungus gnats. I hadn't figured the connection. Anyway, a late October diatomaceous earth snow storm has dealt with those.
 
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