Could you help me identify these critters? I'm guessing they are aphids, but not sure. Sorry for the big photos. I don't know how to resize them. I suppose I can find out how to treat them with search, but first I need to know for sure what they are. If you have any recommendations, they are most welcome of course. I'm at the stage where first few trichomes are just starting to cloud so I think I still have a few weeks to harvest. I happened to find a ladybird - the only one in the whole field - and put it on the plant but if just kept falling off and crawling away.... Anyway, these are the nasties: And this is the leaf damage: Thanks! Netty
yep those are aphids. shouldnt be too hard to fight, ladybugs and some other critters love them, theres a couple of effective insecticides and they wash off quite easily. if your plants are still in veg, use neem oil. if theyre in flower for longer than two weeks I wouldnt put anything other than water on there, so Id just try to wash the aphids off and away so that they cant crawl back up the plant. keep in mind the buds (if there are any) are gonna have to dry without molding afterwards and intense light and water on your plants is not a good combination. if you cant wash them and theyre inside, you can buy ladybugs. outdoors it would probably be smarter to get some lacewing larvae cuz they cant fly off. I would however soak the buds in water and carefully rinse them off at harvest to get rid of the sugary aphid piss - of course youre gonna have to make sure they dry well after that.
If you add some regular washing up detergent to the water (or bubble bath) this will make it easier to get hem off and it will make no difference to the plant.
Thanks. I'll try the washing procedure. The plants are outdoors in pots and there's still some strong sunlight most days... Is it best to do this in the evening then, so they don't get sun when wet? I was thinking the sun would help them dry quicker and prevent mould and stuff. And what's the best way to do the washing? Pot upside down and use a watering can, or dip into a bucket and rub the leaves gently?
I would take a big plastic bag, wrap it around the stalk and the pot so that barely any water can get through to the soil and then rinse off the entire plants in the shower. lightly rubbing the leaves that have larger numbers of aphids on them wont hurt, but I defenitly would not put soap or detergent on a flowering plant, thats bound to taste unpleasant when smoked and sure isnt healthy. aphids dont hold on to the plant very strongly, so just water and gentle rubbing (only the leaves, not the buds!) should be enough to get them off.