How concerned Should I be with Small Bugs/Aphids?

Hello all.

I grow in a 2x4 cabinet with coco in pots.

Recently I got a few Death Star clones and I put them into flower about a week ago and last night I was noticing small bugs crawling around the rim of one of the pots. I've never had pests before. Coincidence? Probably not. They also used soil.


Initially I was seeing winged creatures, what I believe were gnats, or just simply fruit flies (that may be what they were, it is summer) Those seem to all be gone now, but I still see these little creatures crawling around the rim of the pots. When I look at them under magnification, they look like aphids as far as I can tell. They seem to be all similar in appearance, just varied color - green, brownish-clear, and black. Look kinda like below, as far as I can tell. I don't exactly have scientific grade magnification equipment. And they're moving.



There's not that many really and they are not crawling on the plants at all. I only see them on the rims of the pots - I don't even see them in the coco. I also see them near the saucers where the runoff collects. i don't know if they're crawling down there or if they may be being flushed out of my coco. I'll have to pay attention when I water tomorrow.


Anyway, at what point do I need to be concerned? My plants look really good - one of my healthiest grows to date at this point. I know some pests can actually eat dead matter and can actually be beneficial to the plant, right? I'm using Great White for the first time, but I've used mycorrhiza before though without issue

I'm only 9 days into flowering; If I'm going to treat it with something, now is the time to do it. I've heard good things about Azamax.

Any suggestions or insight is welcome and appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: But every picture I see of aphids seem to indicate they are leaf dwellers/eaters and like I said the pests I see are staying down on the ground.

are they fungas gnats google a plc aphids aren't usually in or on the soil

I don't think so. Unless they go through a stage where they don't have wings or if there are species whose wings are super small in relation to their body. Fungus gnats also seem too large.

They look like fleas. They don't seem to fly. Then again they don't seem to jump either. They're really small... about twice the size of a period (.) you see on your screen.

When I look at them under this little magnifier I have they seem to most resemble aphids. And there is the color variation. Aphids are are the only pests I've sen in my google searches that vary in color that much. But once again they are down by the coco not up on the plant.

root aphids?

You checked under the leaves right? Many of these love under the leaves and you can hardly see they're there. Some do live in the soil too and you'll see them fly around. They'll multiply and the youngin will feed on the roots.

Good idea to spray neem whether you have bugs or not. Prevention is key.

Damn!

So I come home today and these fuckers have multiplied a lot. Still I don't see them on the plants and I don't see them crawling around in the coco (although I know they've got to be in there), They're crawling mostly in the saucers. Many have drowned.

The good news is that they are really focused on this one plant. I have 8 plants. If you look around the rest of the cabinet, you see one here or there, but nothing like this. I ordered a 4oz bottle of Azamax from Amazon today so I'm hoping that kills these bastards!

This sucks! I've doing this a year and a half with no pest problems. I always clean my cabinet well in between grows. Oh well. I knew it was a matter of when, not if. I also should have been more careful bringing those outside clones into my cabinet. I knew better but I guess I was feeling bullet-proof because I hadn't experienced any major problems.

I apologize for the shitty pictures... I don't have a camera capable of taking a decent macro...

Definitely root aphids

So how did I likely get these pests? I'm pretty sure they weren't in the coco because I had used coco from this brick in previous grows. Is the most likely culprit these clones I received from this dude? When I got them they were freshly rooted in rapid rooters and planted in soil. I pulled the plugs right back out of the soil and put them in coco. I'm surprised I didn't notice any issues during veg. But maybe their colony was growing during that time.

Will Azamax get rid of them? For root aphids, I would just want to add it to my nutrient solution, right? Or should I foliar spray it too? Or maybe I should to be safe. I hate to spray anything on the plants

Very likely it's from the clones. So many horror stories of people receiving cuttings that if I happen to receive one I immediately inspect thoroughly and get the neem going, which is what is in Azamax.

It should work but if it gets too infested and the Azamax doesn't work I'd pull it, not worth ruiningt he other plants. Spray the unaffected plants as they may be there already without you knowing it.

id use safers end all insect killer the one that kills eggs theres 2 different spray bottles that way your killing the eggs and the adults

Thefarmer12 said:

Very likely it's from the clones. So many horror stories of people receiving cuttings that if I happen to receive one I immediately inspect thoroughly and get the neem going, which is what is in Azamax.

It should work but if it gets too infested and the Azamax doesn't work I'd pull it, not worth ruiningt he other plants. Spray the unaffected plants as they may be there already without you knowing it.

Click to expand...

What about drenching? I would think that is the best, if not the only way to effectively deliver the stuff to root aphids. I would want to give the plants, the pots, saucers and top of the medium a good spray down too. I would think that since my leafs are not being affected, that it would make sense to treat the medium first and then treat with spray the following week. I was planning to call General Hydroponics before I use it at all to see what they recommend.

I think I made a mistake buying it off Amazon. It'll take days to get here and maybe even til next week. I didn't think it could get so critical so quick.

I'm considering canceling the amazon order and picking up some of the Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub that I've read others say was what they used to get rid of them.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_163006-24182-701810___?productId=3356706&pl=1&Ntt=bayer+advanced+tree+&+shrub+protect+&+feed

There's a lot I'd use a hair spray and a lighter

hells canyon genetics said:

id use safers end all insect killer the one that kills eggs theres 2 different spray bottles that way your killing the eggs and the adults

Click to expand...

That might be a good call. I don't think I can afford to wait for the Azamax and I don't think that Bayer stuff is organic. And it appears to be sold at Ace Hardware in a reasonable size at a reasonable price.

idk about the bayer id guess its not for products that are going to be consumed

just treat the soil root aphids dont bother leafs in less theres other bugs on the leafs?

Make sure you get an egg killer

safers should be about $10

hells canyon genetics said:

idk about the bayer id guess its not for products that are going to be consumed

just treat the soil root aphids dont bother leafs in less theres other bugs on the leafs?

Make sure you get an egg killer

safers should be about $10

Click to expand...

I picked up a bottle of Safer's End All but I just got off the phone with them and they do not recommend pouring this stuff directly to the soil. But the guy didn't seem like he knew his own product so I don't know.

I just can't see how something that doesn't get poured directly into my medium is going to work for this issue.

So now I'm not sure if this is the right product use. I'm VERY fearful that I have a disaster on my hands. I just have a bad feeling that I'm going to end up killing my plants trying to get rid of them.

I am absolutely at a loss as to what to do. I feel so helpless right now.

EDIT: I think my best option is to spray them with the Safer's, and in a week if don't see improvement, I'll have the Azamax and can treat the medium directly with that.

I've also read on Rollitup of people killing their plants with this Safer's End All so I'm really scared to use it. I've also read you've just got to make sure the light is off

Spinosad. It's sold under the name Monterey garden spray across the country.

Carolina Dream'n said:

Spinosad. It's sold under the name Monterey garden spray across the country.

Click to expand...

That's good to know. I've already bought Safers and a bottle of Azamax is on the way. So I think I need to see how those work before buying anything else.

I'm guessing that any of these products will kill them in the short term.

I've read root aphids are hard to eradicate completely and that the most effective way is to interrupt your perpetual grow cycle, sanitize everything and start new.

I may have gotten lucky in this regard because I was interrupting my partial grow. There was nothing in my veg area for over a week since I put these in flower. I didn't have clones going because the plan is to grow some Alien OG from seeds which I just started germinating a couple days ag

Ive used safers a bunch of times I wouldet do a root drench just spray the top of your soil lightly once a week till gone

you can also spread diatomaceous earth on top of your soil to kill them off 1..2...punch

Root aphids....Good luck!
By far the hardest pest to control/kill off!

Skip the neem - not effective at all.....

Botaniguard AND Acephate (Orthene) alternated once week for 2 weeks......(root drench) Be prepared to do the math for concentrations by weight per gallon. This is the ONLY thing we used some years ago to kill'em off that actually worked!
Use it on ALL the plants as they have them by now too!

I've been told imidacloprid works, but others say not so well.....They use it for dog's with fleas....glad I'm not a dog! Found as a factor in Colony Collapse Disorder in Bee's.

Now the fun part....Sanitize EVERYTHING in the grow......and I mean EVERY NOOK AND CORNER, EVERY SURFACE....Use a bleach solution to get the eggs or these bastards come back and with a mission! Pots, trays, walls, floor, ceiling,,,,EVERYTHING!!

Doc