Is this fungus gnat damage?

[MindSoup]

 

[JonDaMon]

6 minutes ago, MindSoup said:

Bastard Thrips!

 

Little fuckers, and hard to get rid of, especially in flower, I've thrown everything at them over the last year but they always somehow manage to come back. Mites/Orius flies help, but only at high RH so not suitable for flower, sprays work (check out experiments with Dettol thread) but again not suitable for flower. Neem soil denches  work (for a while), but you have to do a lot of them and Neem is an absolute chore to use. 

 

The only thing I haven't tried is roves, like Dave I have been put off by the price, but you can farm them yourself (there's a thread for that on here as well) so really you only need to buy them once and I have been told from several people now it's basically the only way to get rid of them.

 

Other than.... 

 

What Ned said, they will more or less disappear if you keep the right soil moisture, but as it gets too moist for thrips it starts becoming more ideal for gnats, so keep that in mind. 

 

 

 

I’ve mentioned it before but maybe has missed you. 
 

citric acid powder. 
2-3 teaspoons in 1000ml of water will act as a contact killer for any pest and is organic and can be sprayed right up to harvest. 
 

Test spray first to make sure your mix isn’t too strong on a lower part of the plant. 
 

 

further to this you can mix it with neem for use as a preventative during veg. 
 

by mixing it with neem you’ve pretty much got a fully organic pest spray for pennies each time as most organic OMRI listed pest products contain these 2 ingredients. 
 

 

once mixed with neem DO NOT use during flower on buds. 

[MindSoup]

That came under the "sprays" umbrella, I think you (or someone else) mentioned it on that thrips thread or the Dettol thread. I did try it and it did work, for a while, but like everything else they came back eventually. One downside of living in the sticks I guess, there's critters everywhere. I got a spiderite infestation over the summer and realised my fig tree was absolutely swarming with them. 

 

Rove beetles mate, I've got the bits to make the farm/tub but everyone was shut over Christmas so only just ordering the roves. They're so expensive it's mad, I bet you could cut the price in half and still make a healthy profit. This time next year rodders....

[JonDaMon]

Just now, MindSoup said:

 I did try it and it did work, for a while, but like everything else they came back eventually.

 

it’s only a knock down on its own without any neem so unless entry points are stopped they would come back anyway as it’s not giving their lifecycle or the plant anything to help as it’s not systemic just a knock down. 

[MindSoup]

Yeah same as the Dettol. With sprays I've usually done 3 applications 3-4 days apart to try and catch and stragglers which seems to be the most effective method. The trouble is they seem to know when I've flipped to flower or something, so for the last 2 outbreaks spraying hasn't been an option unfortunately. 

[ipju]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I´ve released cucumeris and hypoaspis. The site I ordered from also recommended blue sticky traps so I got some of those too.

While waiting for the predators to arrive, I´ve sprayed with a citric acid solution.

I also started watering from the top again to get the humidity in the upper layer up. There are still some gnats around. Hopefully the hypoaspis and sticky traps will keep them under control.

 

Still some reading up to do on the rove beetles and other solutions. I´m guessing these little bastards won´t give up easily.

[MindSoup]

 

 

[Wooden Monkey]

Good luck getting rid of them 

 

Not sure I’d recommend what I did to get rid of them but it worked for me!
 

Find yourself some old woodland with big oak trees (that way you know there’s no man made shit) and take a good few cup fulls of leaf litter and a little bit of soil from different places, chuck it all in a bag and take home free predators, fungus and bacteria and add to you grow

 

Most people grow in a monoculture which is the same as farmers, who have to use a shit ton of pesticides because they create the perfect conditions for pests and are predator free

 

good luck

[MindSoup]

@Wooden Monkey you know it mate, for our style bringing in some nature works wonders. Have you got Rove Beetles? I never seemed to get a population going, but as of today I've got my new little farm going. 

 

 

[ipju]

I might try that @Wooden Monkey but probably better wait til spring when things warm up?

 

For now the storebought predators seem to be doing their job. Can also recommend the blue sticky traps.

[Wooden Monkey]

On 18/01/2024 at 21:18, MindSoup said:

@Wooden Monkey you know it mate, for our style bringing in some nature works wonders. Have you got Rove Beetles? I never seemed to get a population going, but as of today I've got my new little farm going. 

 

 

@MindSoup no idea what’s living in mine anymore tbh, just know it’s full of life which right now seems to be in balance. I’m guessing there must be loads of pests or there wouldn’t be any predator's

 

good luck with the livestock, let me know how you get on cos if it works I’m definitely having a go mate

 

On 18/01/2024 at 21:21, ipju said:

I might try that @Wooden Monkey but probably better wait til spring when things warm up?

 

For now the storebought predators seem to be doing their job. Can also recommend the blue sticky traps.

 

@ipju make sure you have over an inch of mulch for everything to live in, just don’t blame me if it goes wrong, I’ve only done it once  And may have got lucky

[MindSoup]

1 hour ago, Wooden Monkey said:

livestock

 

Oh yeah mate it definitely works, pretty well trodden path now, you've seen the thread yeah? You might well have a good population going already, fat spliff and magnify glass have a good look what's going on down there. You can start a wee farm with like 10 if you want, just as back up if the shit hits the fan, but might be no need if you've got a good balance.