EARTHWORMS (common) Family name: LUMBRICIDAE Its worth mentioning Earthworms in this tutorial section, even though they are not Pest Predators. The humble earthworm. He's down there under your feet somewhere, working just as hard as his distant, distant cousin, the Ant. The Earthworm has to really work hard to eat. In the process of mining and tunneling and churning up the soil - they AERATE the soil. We should all know that this is extremely important for the growth of a nice root system. One of my favorite sayings is "more roots = more bud. True dat. Earthworms deposit Nitrogen(N), Calcium(Ca), Phosphorus(P) and Potassium(K) in the soil. One organic type of feed is Worm Castings. Its mostly made from Earthworm shit. No BS. If u farm worms, u can create your very own organic fertilizer. Its so easy. So, its Friday night and Im gettin the fuck outta here. I trust u will all be responsible citizens tonite, and stay mellow and safe. I will be back in the morning. Hope this helps Good growin y'all Freakbro1
Thanks for posting all this great info, Bro. I'm just starting my first outdoor grow. Looking forward to reading more of your writing.
Thanx for the kind words. On with the beautiful ugliness... LACEWINGS Family name: Chrysopidae Lacewings will eat Aphids and Spidermites.They are usually green with large, semi-transparent wings that extend well past the length of their bodies. They have 2 long antennae that protrude from their heads, grow to about 2.5cm and can be approached and handled without difficulty. *** LADYBUGZ *** Family name: Coccinellidae Ladybugz or Ladybirds are AMAZING PEST PREDATORS because they eat tons of other insects that are damaging to weed. They eat Aphids, Mealybugz, Scale and Spider Mites. How convenient... Ladybugz MUST eat Aphids and the others in order to lay eggs. The more they eat, the more eggs they lay. Awesome !!! As a result, the amount of new Ladybugz born is directly proportionate to the amount of pests they consume. One female Ladybug can consume up to 5000 Aphids in a lifetime and lay 3000 eggs. Ladybugz are a weed growers Pest Predator of choice. Keep these good guyz around your grow at all costs. PS: If u kill a Ladybug, you are going to go to hell. Hope this helps Good growin y'all Freakbro1
Great info. But I have maybe 20 plants outdoors here in SE Ky and I just have/need to spray em with something. A few are getting bit up... right now trying sevin or whatever it is.. The "nature' stuff I bought doesn't work...
On a side-note here: I just heard on the news that Dennis Hopper, star of stage and screen, has lost his courageous battle with cancer and passed away. Dennis was one of the original "Easyriders" from the movie, back in the day. I also fell in love with this movie and wanted to be like that. God speed Mr Hopper. Now u can ride that hog on the tops of clouds...
Good morning GC. Its a very rainy and cool Sunday morning here. As I sit here and look out my window, Im wondering how my little seedlings are doing. I planted them out back about 2 weeks ago. 8 of 12 sprouted. All NL this time, I want to see why all the hype with growing NL. Anyways, its gonna be one of those nice lazy days where I will furnish u with this last Pest Predator tutorial, log off, go and get my paper, pen, bottle of Jack, bottle of Coke, Ice tub, slippers, pipe, weed, TV remote and go and sit in front of a roaring fire all day and plan this weeks lessons on MOLD and FUNGUS... SPIDERS Family name: Arachnid Unfortunately, a common garden spider is not enough to prevent a pest attack from occuring in your grow. U need them in large numbers to prevent any damage and even then, spiders are very slow in their work. They also tend to spin webs in places where u dont want them, and are not controllable. Alot of stoners I know have Arachnophobia. They still dont kill them. Its your judgement call and it depends wether your indoors or out. Outside, its no prob - just let nature do its thing, but inside, u could learn to hate these helpful but slow Pest Predators. Talk at ya later, That Jack n Coke is callin me man. Hope this helps Good growin y'all Freakbro1
Hey GC. Another Monday. Fitting for a "groaner". So, What did the judge say when the Stinkbug walked into the courtroom ??? "Odor, Odor in the court". Heres some cool wallpaper:
Love the thread. I noticed i had some small little black looking (might just a dark color) bugs on the top and underside of the leaves of my plants. I bought ladybugs, but im interested to know where i could order some of the other predatory insects online? Also, i haven't really confirmed the pests identity, but i narrowed it down to like aphids or mites and one other i cant remember the name of (correct me if i'm wrong, i'm new to the dealing with pests thing), so i figured if i just get more ladybugs and something else it should be taken care of. I'm really hesitant to spray anything, im 5 weeks into flowering. So i would like to go all natural here, i.e. just predatory insects. If this is not smart let me know, and by the way the problem isn't huge. Started on a smaller plant i put in flowering with my big'un and then its just kind of spread a bit. (didnt notice bugs at first, i was worried about it but had no choice but to put them together). Thanks in advance
After further research, i have concluded that they are spider mites. ordering predatory insects from http://homeharvest.com/beneinsspidermites.htm
Hey. A magnifying aid (30x) is a good thing to have. If those critters are about half the size of this period (.) Thats them. You sound like youre in control and not freaking out, which is good. I think u have a good gameplan. BUT if it does turn on you bad, you might have to get hardcore and maybe be forced to spray budz. Hope not. If u do, lets deal with that then. Look for webbing also.
Hi GC. I forgot my synopsis on pests, good and bad, for this particular tutorial. We are going to move on to FUNGUS tomorrow. I know you'll enjoy learning about it cuz Im a FUN GUY . I just got bitch slapped. RECOVERING FROM A PEST INVASION Sometimes, the pests win . No matter how much u might spray to control or kill them - they just keep coming back to your tasty weed. To solve this u may have to create another grow room or simply find another patch, which means a total and complete chop of your harvest - u dont want to reintroduce any pests or diseases into your new grow. If U R growing indoors, first set up another grow room of smaller size, just enough to support some cuttings and clones. Take cuttings from the plants u have and move them to that room. Youll use the cuttings again eventually in your clean grow room, if u want to continue those strains. Next, take all the grow equipment excluding the electrical to the bathroom. Clean down all the equipment with bleach. Fill a tub with bleach and water and allow the grow equipment to rest there for a day. Dont wash electrical equipment. Clean it down with a cloth. In the grow room, start with the walls. Clean the walls down with bleach and water. U may have to paint them after. If u use Mylar, chuck it and replace it after. Dont use the same mylar after a pest infestation as some pests can find ways of attaching themselves to it. Dont neglect any corners and clean out any holes, extraction holes, fittings, pipes, etc. Then clean around the rim of the room. If your floor can be lifted up, do it and u can get to the corners better. After this cleaning has been done, u can consider "smoking" the room. Various pest killing smoke bombs can be bought at most grow shops. Follow the instructions carefully and smoke the bomb (?). I mean smoke bomb the room !!! This will guarantee the timely demise of all insects, eggs and larvae. but remember - eggs can remain safe from these sprays. That is why the labels recommend re-application 7 - 10 days after the initial treatment. Once this is completed, clean the room as u did the first time. Repeat if needed. The more u clean it, the better it will be. I aint sayin this lightly. Im DEAD serious y'all. Now u should have a clean room, free of pests. Electrical items should be dusted before returning them to the grow room. Dry your other grow room equipment WHICH WAS BLEACHED and return this to the grow room as well. Next, your cuttings need to be checked for bugz. U will not move any plants back into the grow room until u have taken cuttings from these cuttings. Grow these out for a week or 2 and check on them every day for bugz. If u find any, then u may have to use a pesticide on the cuttings. When youre sure your cuttings are clean, take new cuttings and place them in a grow medium. Take these to your grow room and watch their progress, being wary of any signs of pests and bugz in your grow room. Spider mites and other small insects can lay their eggs in cuttings and can be missed when u look for pests, becuz they arent obvious. The pesticides should have killed them, but some pests, like Powder bugz, lay their eggs inside the stem and seem to always come back. If u cant get rid of bugz like these, then u may have to get rid of your plants and get new ones. For breeders, this ultimately sucks. A long-term project can be terminated by a few bugz wreaking havoc in the grow room !!! Breeders should pay particular attention to maintaining a clean grow room at all times. REMEMBER...NEVER TAKE ANYTHING THAT HAS BEEN OUTSIDE INTO YOUR GROW ROOM. Tomorrow...FUNGUS. Hope this helps Good growin y'all Freakbro1
Yeah i hope i wont have to spray, but we'll see how it goes. Did notice webs on the underside of the leaves the other day when i got the ladybugs and they were crawling around which was one of the things that led up to me determining it was mites. Thanks for the response by the way, good to know i'm on the right track at least in solving in the issue. Ill post back if those insects i ordered work. I hope they do, but good to know ya got my back if they don't. Ciao oh, and is there somewhere in particular you got your magnifying scope?
Hi. U should be able to pick one up at any decent grow shop. For an inflated price, I might add. Some Nurseries may have them. My Wal Mart did too. 20 -30x is good to see the bugz and also to have a look at the plants trichomes. Keep in touch dude.
Wuzzup GC. I hope everyone had a good day. I did. When I woke up at 430 this morning, I tiptoed downstairs to my babies, as I usually do everyday, unlocked my grow room, and to my surprise, 10 of 11 sprouts had broke thru the surface of their respective soils. Thats a good sprout. Usually, I only get about 5 or 6 to germ. I'll be sending Nirvana a nice email tonite. Its funny - everytime I see sprouts, I get that Christmas morning kinda vibe, that I used to get as a kid. Another time I feel like that is when I see a first beautiful pistil reaching up to the light. I'll bet y'all get that naturally stoned feeling too. Its nice. FUNGUS Fungi are types of bacteria, organizmz and disease, which actually live by extracting nutes from the plant. Fungi include: MOLDS, MUSHROOMS, TOADSTOOLS & RUSTS, and are ususlly made up of LICHENS, which lack chlorophyll and grow as they obtain more nutes from the plant. Mold is a type of fungi that grows in high humidity. Most molds can be stopped by simply allowing fresh air into your grow room. Fungi can be eradicated by using fungicides. That simple. Stay tuned. I will have more for u after I go and see what I have in the fridge for nutes for myself.
Turning into a killer tutorial FreakBro.. better not let Norbert see it just want to add this about Slug and Snail baits you want to know what kind of chemical is used in the bait you buy, some are deadly to your pets..... source I didn't even know about some of the baits being able to kill earth worms . that is just scary. but hey, at least when you go shopping for slug baits you will know which to buy... wharf PS agreed R.I.P. Dennis
Sounds good, ill check around town, hopefully i don't have to order one. No doubt i will stay in touch bro. I am coming up on harvest of my first grow and am already looking forward to my improved second grow. I have learned a ton from the guys on these forums and still am. And I'm getting quite comfortable here . Really appreciate the quick response / help. If i have any ?'s ill throw em your way. Glad to hear you have lots of new little babies, good luck with your grow!! Be easy
Wharfrat - excellent info man. Thanx for adding it to the thread. In all honesty, I wuz prolly gonna neglect putting info like that on the thread. Not that I didnt care, but becuz of my sometimes forgetful stoner memory. I love all animals, especially my Border Collie and my Cat. I would not be the same person in life if I lost them becuz of my own ignorance. I trust that y'all feel the way I do. Im going to get todays lesson and I'll be back in 15.