ROOT APHIDS; worse than Spider Mites I thought I had fungus gnats for almost a year, trying to be organic I treated them with sticky traps, neem oil, insecticidal soap and horti-oil. Nothing worked completely, so I stepped it up. Spectricide, Malathion, Talastar/Bifen, Floramite... Nothing worked. I was noticing a couple of sickly plants here and there. I thought they had nute deficiency or locked out. I flushed for a couple weeks and no better. Then I noticed what looked like tiny spider mites. But there was no tell tale spots on the leaves. I got my 30x scope and saw little translucent bugs / larvae. i got my growers bible and compared what i had... APHIDS!!! I remembered aphids from my dads roses... these looked completely different and I didnt know they could fly. They are TINY as juveniles and hard to spot and identify. Check your traps and watch the flying pattern. Gnats are small and clumsy and easy to catch/kill. Root aphids are bigger 2x the size and know how to fly... they will dodge your attempts to kill them and even fly straight at your face... and up your nose. lol Fully mature root aphids have little black stripes like a bumble bee on their rear ends. The problem with these root aphids is they can lay 4-8 live young everyday and they only need to mate once in their lifetime to reproduce (or maybe not at all, im not sure). They young are so small that spraying the plants will not get them all. And when you spray the adults fly away. Anyways I STILL have them. Seem impossible to kill off. I harvest next week, thankfully 90% of the plants made it thorough. These flying root aphids are fairly new to indoor gardens so there isnt much info on exterminating them. Here is my suggestion and anyone whom has had these feel free to input; 1. Use DE (diam.earth) i will never plant another plant without sprinkling a Tablespoon as top dressing. follow up every couple of weeks otherwise your going to have to spray the plants. I would much rather treat the soil. 2. Sticky traps to monitor. 3. Im planting marigolds in the room as a deterrent. 4. Soil drench with Dr. Bonners castile soap @ 5ml gal every 2 weeks 5. Trash old soil, leaves, immediately after use. 6. Bug spray, I use Bifen 1x week. Ive also read about a new product called Met 52. It is a bacteria like mykos but it kills the bugs in the root zone. Its expensive and only a couple guys have used it. I will most likely try it next round if I dont exterminate them this time. Anyone with experience with the Root Aphid please share your thoughts on extermination. Please dont advise on organic treatments, they dont work once the infestation has occured. I wash the pesticide off the plants prior to harvest anyway. PS.... anyone who thinks spider mites are a nusense you aint seen nothin yet. $$
I've beat them 3 times now, in my garden (2 years ago), and two others (this year). If you think root aphids are serious wait till you see/get broad mites. You have ALOT of options but all require VERY VERY intense regimens and actions. The most important aspect of killing these bastards is breaking their life cycle. They can morph to the next phase in as little as 3 days depending on grow room conditions. Step 1: lower the room temperature to around 65-68 degrees to slow their reproduction cycle a bit. Step 2: treat the soil. Complete pot dunks (30 min. Minimum) are the #1 best way to ensure your insecticide of choice hits each and every one of them (30 gallon blue tubs work best for this). Regular waterings just don't do the trick as well. You must do this EVERY THREE DAYS, for at least two weeks. Botanigard (30ml/gal) worked best for me in my garden. In the other two I used Azasol for the dunks and then sprayed cedar oil on the top layer of soil. When the top soil dries spread food grade diatomaceous earth over the entire pot rim and top soil. The soil MUST be dry before applying DE, it becomes worthless once it's wet. I found using a sifter works best for this. Step 3: Completely saturate your entire grow room (NOT PLANTS) with cedar oil (or Botanigard). We're talking pots, hoods, floors, walls, ceilings, fans, light cords, EVERYTHING. Do this EVERY THREE DAYS. Step 4: understand you will loose a plant or two or three during this process (Botanigard was practically harmless to the plants, Azasol wasn't as friendly). Step 5: flower everything and start over after a deep deep clean of everything in your rooms. When you think your rooms couldn't be more clean, clean it again. Step 6: you won. P.S. Organic treatments DO work as well. YOU MUST BE THOROUGH. You cut one corner, or halfass a treatment and your back to square 1, END of story. Bham Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Thanks for the help Bham. I agree with your method. But got the response to late. Here's how I finished those punks: I ended up hitting the flower room with oil soap 2x's a week. I didn't want to use chem methods because I was late in flower. Then I went nuclear in veg and used Imid as a root drench and foliar every two weeks with oil soap sprays in between. They're Done! I use the Imid in veg now as preventative. It stays systemic for 30 days or so. Now how about those Broad mites huh? What little invisible bitches!! I ended up with those as well and am just getting over them. It took me a year to figure out what was wrong.