bug-laden soil

[ISTANDALONE]

i've been having some insect issues, which i've pin-pointed to the soil. after careful inspection, there are none on the plant itself (this is after i used spanishflys garlic and soap mix). what i'd like to know, is there any thing (pesticide) that is for treating the soil? the local hydro/organic gardening store only has remedys for plant dwelling bugs. i've heard to boil four or five ciggarettes(the nicotine is way poisonous i guess) and spray that on the leaves, do you think this would work for soil? like make some of it up and water the plant with it? i'm about three to four weeks from harvest and those buds are putting on a lot of weight. i'd hate to have to harvest now, but if i have to i will to prevent losing everything. any help is greatly appreciated and thanks in advance.

[BrazyJay]

i have heard of watering with a tea of boiled tobacco (didnt specify what kind)... but i dont know if i would chance it... maybe someone who has done it can offer advice

[ISTANDALONE]

i was def considering that. anyone out there used spanishfly's garlic and soap mixture? i made some and used it before i realized that my bugs were soil dwellers. now the tips of my leaves look frosted, but it's the soap that dryed there. spraying with plain water doesn't remove it, and wiping every individual leaf would take days. any suggestions?

[jonster]

spraying insecticide is only killing the temporary, surprised you haven't contemplated the source.
composted soils can rot/mold without proper breakdown and with the right contents develop bugs, if this is what ur using just switch to some organic potting soil, but switching soil is the first thing i'd do anyway's.

[BrazyJay]

maybe try spraying just soap and water on them, then the next day spray just water (only use distilled or other sources of good water, if it has minerals it will leave spots on the leaf after drying)

[ISTANDALONE]

maybe try spraying just soap and water on them, then the next day spray just water (only use distilled or other sources of good water, if it has minerals it will leave spots on the leaf after drying)

i used soap and water (and garlic) and put it on the plants. then figured out the bugs were soil dwellers. i'm using coir, perlite and plain soil (hyponex) for a medium. i could change out the soil, but theres no way to get all the soil out from the roots(or is there?), and even one bug left over will quickly turn to the numbers i have now. so if i was to remove and replace the soil, is it possible (or even feasable) to wash the soil from the roots and put it in new soil without killing the plants?

[chimera]

Originally Posted by ISTANDALONE

i used soap and water (and garlic) and put it on the plants. then figured out the bugs were soil dwellers. i'm using coir, perlite and plain soil (hyponex) for a medium. i could change out the soil, but theres no way to get all the soil out from the roots(or is there?), and even one bug left over will quickly turn to the numbers i have now. so if i was to remove and replace the soil, is it possible (or even feasable) to wash the soil from the roots and put it in new soil without killing the plants?

I seem to remember that if you flush the soil with plain soapy water the bugs will exit your soil, then you can nail there asses with some killer shit. By the way if you don't use something to kill them immediately they'll just borrow back into the soil.

[jonster]

what other options do you have? spraying the soil with poisons will be sucked up into the plant thinking it's a nutrient causing worse destruction then bugs would.

it's called transplanting man, just pull the plant right out of the soil, the rootball is strong and will remain intact, shake it around catiously to remove unwanted soil,

thrivealive b-1 vitamin helps during these types of thing's and will gurantee successful transplant with strong root structure development,

you really need to determine the source of the problem or it will just return.

[leerox]

Originally Posted by BrazyJay

i have heard of watering with a tea of boiled tobacco (didnt specify what kind)... but i dont know if i would chance it... maybe someone who has done it can offer advice

Thats what I do, seems to work. Just get 3 malborough's, open them and put the baccy in 500ml of water, leave over night, pour through coffee filter, then add to spray bottle. Then remove top layer of soil, spray and the little bastards die. Then replace soil with new. You can also spray the full plant (lightly)

[ISTANDALONE]

[QUOTEBy the way if you don't use something to kill them immediately they'll just borrow back into the soil.
][/QUOTE]
which is what i'm in the process of doing right now, once i figure out what method of eradication i'll use.

you really need to determine the source of the problem or it will just return.

the cause, is the soil. as for how they got there, anyones guess is as good as mine. maybe just a bad batch from the store. who knows. still nobody answered the question of, if i transplant and wash the soil out of the rootball then transplant, will the plant make it? also i'm about 3 weeks till harvest, you think i should leave them be, or just do the transplant?

[Ganja Guerrilla]

dont do anything drastic, leave them till after you harvest.

dispose of the soil & then bomb the hell out of the place.they wont kill mature plants in 3 weeks time, yet its possible to shock the plants with chemicals and remedies, and stop resin/trich production and you end up with buds "almost" ready, I have had this happen with mere PH swings, so the likelyhood of chemicals or remedies causing the same poor results are high.

ride out the 3 weeks

gluck

[Arkie]

Healthy soil is full of bugs, worms, bacteria etc...it's a living ecosystem within which all the inhabitants play a role in releasing nutrients to your plants. If the bugs aren't harming the plants I wouldn't bother the soil. The only bug problem I ever had in outdoors situations was cutworms which was cured by planting in an open ended soup can in the hole. Termites will bore into the center and kill the plant and ants sometimes. Kill the bad bugs will usually kill the good ones too. Lots of plants in different locations usually is good enough to keep one in good supply till the following year. Bugs are our friends

[urgr8estfear]

my favorite :

SEMI-NATURAL DISASTERS!!!

One SAFE way to get rid of pests in the soil is FLOOD!
Drown the bastards!
Seriously, insects (and the like) need oxygen as do the plants roots.
If you flood the soil completely for a few hours (put it in a bucket), all that needs oxygen in the soil dies, except the roots for they can hold their breath the longest.
You may want to tap/quake the pot the soil is in, while flooded, so the eggs that are buried will float and any oxygen bubbles will rise to the surface.

It's time for a 'natural disaster' in your grow.
DROUGHTS will kill off anything living (buried) in the top layer of your soil too!
(but drought is more tricky for the plants)

Best way I got to combat bugs that fly is airflow/fans.
All your flying troubles are like 0.1 grams or less in mass.
Fans produce vortexes which make the little f***ers spin out of control smack into the fan or something else.

So FLOODS, DROUGTHS, HURRICANES and EARTHQUAKES.
Like people, insects despise of these things!
Hell, insects even despise of rain.
For an insect, getting hit by rain is like you getting hit by a truck made of water.
OW!

These are not magic ways to get rid of ALL the nasties that want to harm your plant.
But it's a very good start and, as you may ask the people that live next to the ocean in Asia, natural disasters are a great way of controllling the numbers of inhabitants in a certain area!


*** urgr8estfear sarcasme mode on ***

Who said death and destruction are good for nothing?

*** urgr8estfear sarcasme mode off ***

Have a nice grow!

[urgr8estfear]

Originally Posted by Arkie

Healthy soil is full of bugs, worms, bacteria etc...it's a living ecosystem within which all the inhabitants play a role in releasing nutrients to your plants. If the bugs aren't harming the plants I wouldn't bother the soil. The only bug problem I ever had in outdoors situations was cutworms which was cured by planting in an open ended soup can in the hole. Termites will bore into the center and kill the plant and ants sometimes. Kill the bad bugs will usually kill the good ones too. Lots of plants in different locations usually is good enough to keep one in good supply till the following year. Bugs are our friends

Ohhhh, this guy is scary!
I like him!


Ofcourse one could argue that the bad needs to exist first in order for the good to be able to do it's work later.

Then again, if our beloved MJ plants had such an easy life in the past, they never would have bothered to make resin to protect itself.

Do you see the beauty of evil now?

[ISTANDALONE]

dont do anything drastic, leave them till after you harvest.

ride out the 3 weeks

sounds like that is exactly what i'll do. the way i'm looking at it now, the yellowing which has occurred has slowed quite a bit. it's possible i guess that it wasn't caused by my bugs at all, or a combo of too many nutes and bugs. anywho, at the rate of yellowing as it's going now, i'll be able to get through to till harvest without much more damage (i hope). thanks for the replys guys! i'll burn one for you tonight.