Bugs and Discoloured Leaves

[Dr. Babnik]

thrips indeed Dr. B'! I like products that have spinosad in them, or Azamax... both are very good at wasting these vermin! Both are not instant killers though, they sicken them first, putting them off feed, them they croak out shortly after,... spinosad is a neurotoxin derived from an obscure bacterium... Azamax is made from neem oil... multiple treatments will be in order, and using both as a 1-2 punch will be even better! Thrips are very mobile, adults can fly, so what you kill now may not be the end of them,... larvae undergo a sort of pupation in the soil, but don't feed at this time,.. diatomaceous earth as a surface layer will cut that shit out as a generation breaker! And from the looks of the damage, you have a significant infestation going, so be sure to clean up in there very well, give them no places to hide...

I use cypermethrin, an nerve poison approved for food crops.

I was completely fooled. The white discoloration had do be calcium from the hard water, since I us foliar feed a lot. And then it just exploded.

Fumigated the tent twice yesterday. Same procedure today. I also spray on the soil surface, but the toxin is quickly degraded when it is applied to plants and soil. It only kills insects, fish and cats. The cat has an atypical biochemistry...

 

[Waira]

:dragon3: Sounds like a 40oz can of Whoop-Ass to me mate! get evil-busy! ...Ca mineral scale would scratch off some if it got that heavy, and the plants would have let you know how sucky it is well before that most likely,..

 

[Dr. Babnik]

:dragon3: Sounds like a 40oz can of Whoop-Ass to me mate! get evil-busy! ...Ca mineral scale would scratch off some if it got that heavy, and the plants would have let you know how sucky it is well before that most likely,..

Well, bugs are bad. But it increases my knowledge. And that is not bad.

What worries me is the long-term consequences.... How much do they harm the flowes and the crop quality?
The plants doesn't seem to suffer. That's why it has gone this far. I started worry last week, changing from tap water to destilled water for foliar.

 

[Waira]

well, they're little vampires, sucking juices and tapping reserves,... plants initial health is a big factor in how well they weather such draining; yours is just starting to get bad, and was caught in time... more important is not having any freakin' carcasses stuck to your buds! This is one reason I like spinosad products-- low conc. levels used means minimal residues left behind,.. it's not oil based like Azamax/need, and has low odor too- .... Oh yes, a truly brutal bug war will flatten out your learning curve real f'ing fast! Just be glad it's not spider, broad or russet mites That is a level [HASHTAG]#1[/HASHTAG] shit-show to deal with!

 

[Dr. Babnik]

thrips indeed Dr. B'! I like products that have spinosad in them, or Azamax... both are very good at wasting these vermin! Both are not instant killers though, they sicken them first, putting them off feed, them they croak out shortly after,... spinosad is a neurotoxin derived from an obscure bacterium... Azamax is made from neem oil... multiple treatments will be in order, and using both as a 1-2 punch will be even better! Thrips are very mobile, adults can fly, so what you kill now may not be the end of them,... larvae undergo a sort of pupation in the soil, but don't feed at this time,.. diatomaceous earth as a surface layer will cut that shit out as a generation breaker! And from the looks of the damage, you have a significant infestation going, so be sure to clean up in there very well, give them no places to hide...

We have neem oil. Have to ask Her Ladyship where she keeps it. She collects and grows chillis, so we have a few boxes of grow and plant related stuff.

 

[Renaissance Redneck]

We have neem oil. Have to ask Her Ladyship where she keeps it. She collects and grows chillis, so we have a few boxes of grow and plant related stuff.

Neem is good stuff, bot you'd want to keep it off your flowers (carefully spraying, plus wiping it on the leaves). I'm with Waira, treating with spinosad, and a liberal topdressing with DE is a killer combo! If you have trouble finding DE, try a local ranch/feed store, they'll usually have it in the poultry section.

 

[Dr. Babnik]

Neem is good stuff, bot you'd want to keep it off your flowers (carefully spraying, plus wiping it on the leaves). I'm with Waira, treating with spinosad, and a liberal topdressing with DE is a killer combo! If you have trouble finding DE, try a local ranch/feed store, they'll usually have it in the poultry section.

Thanks for the tip! Was just about to look for DE. Now you told me which shop to go to.

 

[Renaissance Redneck]

Thanks for the tip! Was just about to look for DE. Now you told me which shop to go to.

Just a heads up, it's a very fine powder and you want to avoid breathing it. I use a shaker like they have at pizza places (for cheese & pepper flakes) to apply it. It slices the heck out of bugs

 

[Dr. Babnik]

well, they're little vampires, sucking juices and tapping reserves,... plants initial health is a big factor in how well they weather such draining; yours is just starting to get bad, and was caught in time... more important is not having any freakin' carcasses stuck to your buds! This is one reason I like spinosad products-- low conc. levels used means minimal residues left behind,.. it's not oil based like Azamax/need, and has low odor too- .... Oh yes, a truly brutal bug war will flatten out your learning curve real f'ing fast! Just be glad it's not spider, broad or russet mites That is a level [HASHTAG]#1[/HASHTAG] shit-show to deal with!

I am very happy to read this. It is good news, coz the plants seems happy. It only looks ugly. If they looked unhealthy and wouldn't eat, I would reacted earlier, but as I said, I blamed my water.
I have extremely hard tap water, so to avoid problems with calcium-phosphate chemistry, I feed extra calmag via the foliar feed Rocket Fuel (Big Plant Science).

When I'm done with the living thrips....

....I'll spend a day looking through each and every flower in 8 pots. Have to get a loup with a headband for the job.

 

[Dr. Babnik]

I couldn't find any bugs today!
I have also fumigated aggressively.