Yes, the root aphids have punked me , I'm in NorCal which is a really bad area for root critters ilke this. I have treated them with insecticidal soap and then Azamax, but there are still bugs a week later. I have eight plants in a DWC system and five plants in soil in my grow room. They are in early flowering, no pistils yet. I've been told to trash them all and sterilize my room and equipment before starting over. I don't think I'll do indoor soil anymore. BE WARNED - never reuse soil, ever, and take your potting soil out of a new bag when you are planting. So, I don't want to trash them, and want some opinions about trying to do a save. I can take them out, unpot them and do a root trim. Then dip them in Azamax or Admire (1.47% Imidicloprid), and repot with new soil. Take them outdoors in the nice spring weather and let them drink up some sunlight. They might rally - who knows? But, my photo period is about 11 hours sun right now, and will be 13 before they'd finish growing buds. Will they stay in flowering with the changing light, or have heart attacks and get all weird? That's my question, can I move them outdoors and hope to get some harvest, or am I just dreaming? Is Azamax or 1.47% Imidicloprid a better choice for pesticide treatment? I really appreciate your input on this, thanks for your time. WR
Hey WR im not an experienced grower and am currently in week 3 of vegging in my first grow. Im using FF soil w/botanicare ProBlend. Like you I realized I had these little bastards for the first time TODAY, and I know how discouraging they can make you feel. Unfortunately, I can't answer your specific question about moving them outside. But what I can say is that across the board from multiple forums to grow shops to friends I have attending Oaksterdam all swear by Azamax. I just picked some up today and sprayed the shit out of my foilage and drenched my soil with the solution. From what I have learned so far is that this is a systematic pesticide, meaning the pyrethrean in the Azamax needs to work its way into the leaves, roots, and overall system of the plant.. then the aphids will begin to eat this azamax in the system and essentially it will gradually kill them off. In other words, don't expect immediate results with this stuff, it takes time and persistency, and eventually yes it is going to work as long as your persistant and possibly even use additional controls such as nematodes. In terms of putting them outdoors.. if the plants indoors are that much of a pain in the ass, and you have the space for them outdoors, why not? If time isn't much of an issue i would say since your early in flowering the plant will most likely work itself back into a veg state, but thats a total guess. You have a good point, soil indoors can be a pain in the ass.. I just watched a buddy harvest 10 beauties on aeroponics and he didn't have a single issue with any kind of bugs.. But either way we are all doing this because we want to grow ourselves some dank medicine, and it would be a travesty if growing great herb didn't come with facing challenges! I know I haven't answered your questions WR, but I hope it helps and just know there are thousands of us out there with the same problem! Good luck and continue to respect cannabis
Hello all!! Long time reader first time poster. Hope this helps and is useful to someone else. Just to let you know these are only companies that I have used I am sure there are others....I saw this and wanted to give you my two sense about beating root aphids and other pests for that matter. I battled these guys for a lil bit and found that the only thing that kills root aphids ( in all their stages) is close supervision and a mixture of the following procedures in the proper order. First off you will need to kill all the one that are alive in whatever growing medium you are using. To do this use a liquid Pyrethrum dunk. Monterey gardens Take down is a great product to do the dunk with. 8ml per Gal is a good dilution rate with no damage to the root zone, Does not have to be flushed, but can and should be flushed with ph'ed water to remove the dead pests. can be done later or the next day. Now that you have most of the population dead you are 1/3 of the way there. Now it is important to use a Pyrethrum Fogger/Bomb to clear the environment of any pests that might have been out traveling during the pyrthrum dunk. I use the Pyrethrum TR fogger. Almost there... NO don't stop there it could all have been for a total waste. The last step is just as important as the others. For this I use Azamax Foliar spray. I am sure others have advice or other ways to tweak this and can not wait to read their advice. This has worked so well with little to no stress or stunting that I am probably going to use this as a permanent preventive measure to ensure a uninviting environment for the pest to survive and reproduce. Hope this helps, and you can beat them, just follow this or do something like this, multiple product done multiple times is key, the right order helps too! Good luck!!
Thanks for the info. I've been reading and reading, trying to find the best cure for root aphids in DWC. What you say makes sense to me. Did you do this process once, or did you have to dunk, bomb, spray multiple times? Also, have you ever tried Botanigard? Any info from you or others would be appreciated.
Im currently fighting this little bastards myself ... Im about to use some mallet 75 (imid) but im really against systemics and non organics. sns and azo drenches has kept them at bay but im afraid on this big of a scale its just not doing the trick. Im using aero cloning then transplanting to sunshine Are there any professional large scale growers that have cleaned these out organically? ... please advise i cant just "start over" lmao ...
are you sure they are root aphids? soil mites & lacewigs are very common in healthy soil, and they are beneficial to you. they eat dead matter, and their poop (& bodies when they die) are a source of nutrition to your plant. they can commonly be mistaken for root aphids, and if you try to kill soil mites & lacewigs.......heh, good luck. they are quite resistant to chemicals. neem oil does not effect them, but thankfully soil mites & lacewigs are beneficial to us. there is only one way to tell if it is an aphid FOR SURE and that is to look at one of the insects under a microscope. -OSUB
They WERE aphids lol ... We took care of them with Mallet 75 (merrit) in veg combined with azo dunks then treated all of the flowering with dia earth on top and azo root dips. Lacewings and gnats ect dont straight up eat your roots and then shit all over. You end up with chasing some phantom nute block or cal mag block because the roots are fucked they cant uptake. Anyway mallet 75 and azo seemed to do the trick. I dont work for that grow anymore so im not sure if they came back... if any legit mmcs/opcs in CO are hiring get at me im the best
Aphids, not to mention the white flies, slugs, locusts, and the list goes on.....have been a huge burden it seems for everyone. On the east coast I've experienced blight for the first time ever. Every plant has been affected by something which has led me to this: For the aphids I tried spraying with a solution of one tbsp.garlic oil ( one bulb of garlic minced and mixed in one cup of veg oil then placed in a glass jar with a tight lid and steeped in fridge for two days). Three drops of organic dish liquid and a couple drops of hot sauce in one quart of water. It does seem to make them mad. I'm about to try SucraShuield which is available at GrowOrganic.com. They seem to have everything you could think of including live ladybugs which help for outside gardens. Unfortunately, some products are not for sale in all states and CA needs a pestacide ID# for commercial growers. Thanks for your posting! You saved me from bringing aphids into my house. I had a half used bag of potting soil that I thought had been sealed up enough to keep them out and sure enough after reading your post I found them in the soil. I'm thinking of Parasitic Nematodes but it sounds kinda creepy and is costly! Good luck getting rid of these pesky flies.
YES thank you FFOF. Used to love it. NorCal is talking about the dirt on soil. First time I have ever seen or had root aphids in my indoor. Yea spider mites everyone gets from time to time but these little bugs are pests! I believe it came from bad batches of FFOF. You know how gardeners always talk and troubleshoot issues. We do our investigative work until we find and solve the problem. Gardening specialists have been narrowing it down to the Fox Farm OF soil. It seems the quality has taken a nose dive. Quite possibly maybe the soil is not being properly sterilized but something is going on. Hope my plants will be okay. Thank god for azamax soil drench and foliar spray its helping. Gonna switch back to sunshine mix. Need to support a company that doesn't own pesticide businesses on the side. Hmmmmm interesting........ new owner purchased FF and owns pesticide companies. Something is going on.
Damn nematodes! Yea! Can't believe those things. Think I got a good hold of the situation which is a relief. Cheers to Azamax. Stopped spraying now because I am 3rd week in flower. May do another soil drench but I will feel it out.
Hello to all been a lurking member for a while but this is my first post. I have a small 4plant tent set up under a 600w Solis Tek and for the first time ever have been infested with root aphides. After a crap load of reading i was contemplating pulling them out and starting over as i was just about to go into flower but decided not to straight away and see if i could get them under control, as most say you can not get rid just under control/. I made a mix of 50ml of dishwashing liquid to 10lt of room temp water and then mix in 5ml of lavender essential oil and 5ml of either rosemary or lemongrass essential oil then i put the pot into a bigger bucket to act as a bath and then lower the pot into the liquid so it comes to a cm or so from the top of the medium (if using no medium just make share the roots are fully covered) and then leave to soak for 30min for each pot, then flush until all suds are gone and i finished of with a nutrient mix. They plants did not react in any way and i have not seen any sign what so ever of any root aphids with wings or without. After reading lots a horror stories i thought i should post on my experience... Happy safe growing to all..
Few options for root aphids: Organic/natural options- *Botanigard ES- 30ml/gal *SNS-203- 30ml/gal *Evergreen *Azasol *MET-52 *Cedar Oil Chemical options- *Merrit-75 *Spectracide (gamma-chyluthran or something close to that spelling Lol) *Acephate WHATEVER YOU CHOOSE, USE TWO DIFFERENT PRODUCTS and rotate between them every 3 DAYS. If you have the $$$ use 3. Keep them guessing, and treat them relentlessly for 14-21 days. Their life cycle is fast, "morphing" every 3-5 days. Bham Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum