GONNA CRY!! Found pest / bugs during late flower!!!

[jackmc]

Sorry to hear about your bugs Xo. I don't know what they are either. But don't fret get some neem oil to have around (I use SM-90.) Having something like that on hand is comforting insurance. I also keep a bottle of Bayer Serenade, which is also organic, in case I find rot or mold on my buds at the end of the grow. If possible keep the RH at 30%-40%. Make sure you don't have any standing water in your grow area etc... In my case I thought that the small black bugs I was seeing were fruit flies (?) I use a product for trapping flies that's a sticky tube with plastic ends so you can set it on it's side. Iwouldn't worry too much I think your doing great!

:Sharing One:

 

[medi]

I second the traps, I've had a lot of success with them. Also, an add on to using cider vinegar is to add a drop of dish soap as it reduces surface tension so they fall in.

Like Vas said not all bugs are pests, hypoaspsis miles for instance eat fungus gnat larvae, among other pests. One other way you can manage the situation if they're fungus gnats is to lower temperatures, it slows down their development cycle, at temps above 77f their development cycle takes about three weeks, so lowering it would extend it above 4 weeks which combined with traps means you could virtually eliminate them for the grow. Good luck!!

 

[Margahooja]

Just curious, what type of soil are you using?

 

[Anthropolis]

Yeah I wouldn't stress too much this close to harvest. I personally like Neem oil and I add Neem meal (the byproduct of processing Neem oil from the Neem tree) to the soil and that seems to be keeping bugs out of my tent. Neem meal (aka Neem cake) can be ordered online. The other guys have great advice too.

 

[epenguin]

I would go with Vas and Archie, Get some sticky traps. Or catch them by hand. A good clapping of the hands works wonders!
You are so close to harvest and it is not a huge infestation. Chill and kill(by hand) it is very organic ! And as Medi says, they are not all bad.

Good luck chum, eP.

 

[Waira]

Xoto- Hmmm, hard to tell in that pic-- I know, if it's that small, focus is an issue! Right off the bat, from the shape and bulk of it, it may not be a fungus gnat, but the pic res' could be messing with this,.. did you happen to mash some of them by hand? Were they soft, and flew erratically? Or were they kinda crunchy, and flew more or less straight? (thinking small beetle here)... IF it's a gnat, (and they're the most likely suspect), they'll be hangin' out around the soil; when you water, they take off quickly,... about 3 mm or so,... soil/fungus gnats have a roughly mosquito-like body; they are everywhere outdoors, so having them find their way inside is hardly uncommon,... the sticky traps will help (yellow and blue are attracting colors), but only to catch adults-- it's the larvae in the soil that cause damage if the infestation becomes truly major (small numbers are more of a nuisance, and it doesn't sound like you have a major deal happening so far) ... Astro's and Kush T's (cheers mate!- how are ya- :Cheers product recommendation is the ticket= biological weapon! Totally safe for plants, peeps, etc.,.... >>> IF not, without a better pic, I can't say with any certainty what it is,... beetles are super rare for pests, so there's that,...

.... yeah, these other products will work, but not as effectively as the bio-weapon does! Pyrethrum is a neurotoxin made from chrysanthemums (organic/food safe); true neem oil (first press) is from neem seeds,.. has other nice benefits for the plant, plus is anti-fungal, but must be applied carefully or it'll burn leaves,.. not rec' for use when having to treat actual buds (residues),... DE is a physical killer-- made from diatom "shells" that are like glass shards at their scale, cutting/piercing and bleeding them out! :xlaugh:.. tends to get washed away though after a few rounds of watering,..... *** ..got a magnifying lens? Pick one off, and have a look while finding a pic online of fungus gnats-- that'll tell you right away!

 

[xotorazeko]

Thank you all so much for your invaluable help and support.
I'm humbled to say the least.

Earlier today I'd ordered some yellow sticky tapes off Amazon, should arrive tomorrow (by the time I get to use them it will have been 48 hours since noticing the little buggers for the first time).

After reading your messages I placed a bowl (yellow) of white wine vinegar (don't have apple atm) with a couple drops of soap in the box.

Also read online that cinnamon helps with dealing with larvae. Does anyone know anything about this?

Oh, I also ordered some H2O2 just in case. I'm thinking about letting the soil dry (apparently it helps to kill the larvae) and if needed be, dilute some when watering. What do you think?

@archie: thanks! ordered the yellow stuff

@astronomy420a: mate do you think I should disinfect the whole room where the grow box is once I'm done with this batch? I will throw away the box anyway and build a new one but I'm not sure if I'd need to disinfect the room. What do you reckon?

@kusht: glad to know for sure what I'm dealing with, thanks! I saw the stuff but find it bit pricy for my very small grow. hopefully I will be able to sort the mess without needing it. what do you think about H2O2?

@epenguin: thanks! that's pretty much what I've been doing since yesterday. old skool methods work the best eh )

@Anthropolis: I am thinking about buying some neem stuff .. just in case for the future

@Margahooja: Got the "plant magic soil supreme" mate. Really like the stuff to be honest. Been using their Oldtimer range to feed the ladies as well.

@jackmc: Thank you so much for your suggestions. Unwanted guests aren't very nice I'm afraid My digital crap meter reads around 30% RH. Should it be higher or is lower the better at this stage? Plants seem to be happy and continuing to grow.

@medi: thanks for the information! I've been reading a lot about (organic) growing but nothing yet about insects. definitely will pick up some materials to study in the near future. it is fascinating stuff, how mother nature works.

 

[xotorazeko]

Wow!! So many replies Cheers everyone!

Waira: To be honest it didn't even cross my mind to examine them in detail. Surely there will be some tomorrow I reckon and will see about it then. I appreciate how difficult it must be to look at the picture a random looney posted and go about identifying what the little black dot might be )

I've got a cheap but effective magnifying glass somewhere. If I can dig it up (was waiting for the harvest time), I will try to get a better pic of these things.

Figure you also recc gnat-off? Found the stuff on amazon but £20 seems bit dear. what do you think about sticky yellow papers, vinegar and h2o2?

cheers!

Xoto- Hmmm, hard to tell in that pic-- I know, if it's that small, focus is an issue! Right off the bat, from the shape and bulk of it, it may not be a fungus gnat, but the pic res' could be messing with this,.. did you happen to mash some of them by hand? Were they soft, and flew erratically? Or were they kinda crunchy, and flew more or less straight? (thinking small beetle here)... IF it's a gnat, (and they're the most likely suspect), they'll be hangin' out around the soil; when you water, they take off quickly,... about 3 mm or so,... soil/fungus gnats have a roughly mosquito-like body; they are everywhere outdoors, so having them find their way inside is hardly uncommon,... the sticky traps will help (yellow and blue are attracting colors), but only to catch adults-- it's the larvae in the soil that cause damage if the infestation becomes truly major (small numbers are more of a nuisance, and it doesn't sound like you have a major deal happening so far) ... Astro's and Kush T's (cheers mate!- how are ya- :Cheers product recommendation is the ticket= biological weapon! Totally safe for plants, peeps, etc.,.... >>> IF not, without a better pic, I can't say with any certainty what it is,... beetles are super rare for pests, so there's that,...

.... yeah, these other products will work, but not as effectively as the bio-weapon does! Pyrethrum is a neurotoxin made from chrysanthemums (organic/food safe); true neem oil (first press) is from neem seeds,.. has other nice benefits for the plant, plus is anti-fungal, but must be applied carefully or it'll burn leaves,.. not rec' for use when having to treat actual buds (residues),... DE is a physical killer-- made from diatom "shells" that are like glass shards at their scale, cutting/piercing and bleeding them out! :xlaugh:.. tends to get washed away though after a few rounds of watering,..... *** ..got a magnifying lens? Pick one off, and have a look while finding a pic online of fungus gnats-- that'll tell you right away!

 

[Waira]

..hey bud-- sticky traps will not solve the problem- reproduction is in the soil, and that's where you hammer them!... vinegar-- ditto; no peroxide!! that'll f' your soil herd (microbes) up totally :slaps:... another product with identical active ingredients to Gnat-trol are mosquito dunks, used for ponds; you can get them in a granular form too, besides the pucks, and for far cheaper,... local stores/garden centers/pet stores likely will have them (call around).... I use the granular one, otherwise you have the break the pucks up into bits; i like to get the bacteria started fast by mixing up a gallon of non-chlorinated water with 1T molasses or brown sugar and a dash of plant nutes, then add the dunk stuff, and let it sit for a day, then water normally,... it'll take a few days, but once ingested they're doomed!.... good! look up a pic of soil gnats, and scope one of them out with the mag'....ID is easy that way,...

 

[armanidog]

You said you were using a home made box. If you replace them I would not use lumber or dirt from from the same sources. They could have traveled inside on the materials you used and when they got nice and warm they hatched out.
Any real ripe fruit in the house? Put a ripe banana, etc out and see if they come to it.