Pest Prevntion - What do you do?

[J.C]

Morning all.

 

So after i found thrips in my current run it got me thinking about what I can do to prevent common pests in the future, mainly thrips and spidermites as that is what I've had in the past.

 

I'm 90% certain that the thrips came in via the cuttings I got and for various reasons I'm going to use cuttings from the same person for the next couple of runs.

 

So I'm looking to create a proceedure for treating them when I first get them and then a weekly proceedure for keeping them at bay.

 

As I was pretty late into flower when I discovered the thrips I've just left them and tried to keep them under control with sticky yellow pads. I did buy a bottle of Monterey Garden Insect Spray that has Spinosad in it so would be keep to use that if anyone else does as a preventer.

 

Thoughts?

 

Cheers.

[MindSoup]

Neem oil should do the trick. 

 

Soil/root drench and foliar spray, then again 3 days later. If they're just little cuts in plugs you could probably dunk the whole plant and root ball for a minute or 2. 

 

Edited January 3, 2023 by MindSoup

[J.C]

@MindSoup - Forgot about Neem oil, been a few years since I used it. I remember it being smelly and you have to mix it with soap? Is that right?

[MindSoup]

Yeah smells pretty strong and needs an emulsifier of some kind, you can buy it with one already added though.

[J.C]

Are you fully organic? I'm not against using non-organic products, just don't want to have to deal with these issues again if I can help it

[MindSoup]

Yes I am mate but I'd still use neem if I wasn't, there are other non organic options like spinosad, but none of them are more effective. In fact a lot of pests seem to build a resistance to pesticides, but not neem.

 

TBF if you want a cheaper/more convenient option you could probably just use a bit of Bleach/Dettol for everything above the soil, I saw a thread about it a while ago. I'm not sure if the roots would like it though, maybe use peroxide for the roots. Probably still be worth doing a couple of treatments just to be sure. 

Edited January 3, 2023 by MindSoup

[BushDoctoR]

Probably not what you want to hear but the best way to avoid pests is to avoid cuttings from other growers. If a grower gives you cuts knowing they have critters that's a straight up permanent blacklist in my books, all the hardwork in looking after my garden is just too important to risk. Chances are they've sloppily tried to wipe them out and failed and in doing so have just bred resistant populations anyway.

 

Even cuts from trusted and reputable growers should be treated as a potential risk and should be quarantined and treated as a just-incase. I've learnt the hard way before, never again!

[J.C]

@BushDoctoR - I hear you, I'll have a word with him but either way I think I need a good proactive routine to keep on top of these things in case they are coming from somewhere else

[Thai Stick]

20 hours ago, BushDoctoR said:

Probably not what you want to hear but the best way to avoid pests is to avoid cuttings from other growers. If a grower gives you cuts knowing they have critters that's a straight up permanent blacklist in my books, all the hardwork in looking after my garden is just too important to risk. Chances are they've sloppily tried to wipe them out and failed and in doing so have just bred resistant populations anyway.

 

Even cuts from trusted and reputable growers should be treated as a potential risk and should be quarantined and treated as a just-incase. I've learnt the hard way before, never again!

Put them in the fridge?

[BushDoctoR]

2 hours ago, Thai Stick said:

Put them in the fridge?

 

The growers that knowingly pass on pests? Sounds good to me

[catweazle1]

Does anyone put diatomaceous earth in the mix at the start as a preventitive measure?

Edited January 5, 2023 by catweazle1

[J.C]

@catweazle1 - No, but I do have a massive tub of it and used it once when I had thrips before. I blew it onto the top of the pots

[catweazle1]

@J.C I will be making the loam part of my imminent dirt grow with it instead of sand, since it is essentially fine sand chemically. The difference is that sand particles aren't sharp edged.

Edited January 5, 2023 by catweazle1

[catweazle1]

Worm castings is another one. It contains chitinase, which is an enzyme that corrupts the integrity of insect exoskeletons. That makes sense since it would lower worms predation by insects by making the soil less hospitable for them.