Ok so this girl is in shock after a couple of little bastard fungus gnats got into my grow room and lots and lots of their little eggs were laid on my top soil. This resulted in the larvae of said eggs (tiny almost transparent worm like creatures in my soil!) hungrily devouring my baby girls roots system and the first thing I noticed was she wasnt draining properly, then stopped growing altogether!! As soon as I found the cause of the problems... I have applied the following measures to eradicate the tiny enemy's!!
1.) Firstly, Applie sticky traps in grow room or gnat traps with apple cider vinegar to deal with flying adult gnats.
2.) Do nothing for the first few days to soil Just Stop feeding, stop watering and Let the soil almost dry completely. This will kill a large number of the larvae before we even get started!! As fungus gnats need moist humid environments. I also upped my ventilation game by installing a much needed fan and filter kit.
3.) Mix up a solution in warm NOT hot water. 100ml water, 5ml plain liquid soap, 8ml neem oil. Shake lots and lots until all oil has disappeared, add more soap if needed. Wait until solution reaches your desired temp for your plants shake and drench the soil!!
4.) Then I added clay balls to the top of my soil, sand, stones or anything like that will work to deter any future flying bastards that want to lay their eggs in my grow room.
5.) I also thouroughly cleaned EVERYTHING in and around my plants with hydrogen peroxide and water solution and rinsed and dried everything thouroughly before my plants went back in.
UPDATE- So far, So good. No more adults seen and no larvae that I have seen alive. I will keep you updated on how she gets on. I will feed when soil is almost dry, then repeat neem application just to be double sure. Hope she catches up to where she needs to be ASAP!!
Arghh!! I have some kind of infestation in my soil!! This plant is the worst affected and appears to have stopped growing completely now!!
After feeding my girls... I noticed tiny tiny flea like wingless white / grey insects with 2 tentacles "Jumping around" on the drip tray
rghh!! I have some kind of infestation in my soil!! This plant is the worst affected and appears to have stopped growing completely now!!After feeding my girls... I noticed tiny tiny flea like wingless white / grey insects with 2 tentacles "Jumping around" on the drip tray
I think they are either springtails or fungus gnats. Im waiting for my microscope so I can upload pictures. Iv ordered some Neem oil and clay hydro balls to deter anything laying eggs on my topsoil. There are no bugs on the foilage or bud but lots in my soil. As its an organic grow I would like to know...1. Will Neem oil kill beneficil bacteria and fungi?2. Can I apply neem oil to plants in flower as a soil soak? If so what is the ratio oil to water?3.Will it be the pests that is stopping my plants draining properly?thanks in advance for all suggestions/commentsMissBling XxX