Identify the Gnat +rep for help

Yesterday I saw some Thrip damage and when I checked I saw some Thrips. I just got rid of some last week, no big deal there.

While I was looking I saw 2 white dots about the same size as the Thrips but they moved a lot faster. About the speed of a full grown Thrip.

Also when I cut a leaf off there's seemed to be a small spider web or something on the leaf that I couldn't see. When I cut a leaf off a piece of perlite was hanging just under the leaf, and I couldn't see what was holding it there.

I sprayed last night with Mite X and today I put a stocking over my intake (where the Thrips are coming from). I also just released 1500 lady bugs in the veg/flower room.

Then I went to check on my rooting station. I have a Rapid Rooter tray with a dome and 6 or 7 rooted clones in a 14" saucer. While I was checking on them something fell in the saucer which still had a little water in it from last night. It was a dead Gnat. (not sure what killed it)

This is the 3rd time that something fell near me that I saw out of the corner of my eye and heard fall, but this is the first time that I found what fell.

The Gnat is black with grey wings. Sorry the pics aren't very good, especially on something so small.

When I squished it red came out. I think I found the little shit that bit me twice last night. And Gnats also explain some of the strange damage I've been seeing to some of my leaves.

I checked the dirt and seen nothing. I rarely have any water at all in the run off saucers and the top layer of soil is dry most of the time.

Now I'm not worried about my veg/flower room. Anything that survived last night is getting eaten right now. (knock on wood). I do have a few questions though.

1 - Do any gnats have red blood & if not, which ones bite?

2 - Is this a Fungus Gnat or Black Gnat? If not, any idea what kind of Gnat it is?

3 - Can adults this size lay eggs? And if yes, should I move the rooted clones in the flower/veg room so the lady bugs can give them the once over?

4 - Do I have to worry at all about the clippings that are rooting under the dome? (I sprayed them with Mite X twice last night)

5 - Were those 2 white fast moving dots that I saw last night baby Gnats or something else?

6 - Last night I got itchy after sparying the plants in the veg room and it went away after I showered. Today I got itchy after spending some time in the veg room when I released the lady bugs. Could this be baby gnats that are invisible to the eye?

(I know I have to take a shower, that's not the question. I'm asking so I know if the itching is real or power of suggestion)

+rep for any answers

I've zapped many gnats with the alcohol....oh yeah, they bleed.
Looks like a fungus gnat to me.
White fast moving dots? Hmm...eggs hatching perhaps?....or the thrips themselves. SO MANY pesky insects in the garden.
The "baby gnats" you will find often underneath the leaves. When there is a large infestation, you will find them in your soil.
And your itching could have everything to do with some underlying reason having nothing whatsoever to do with the gnats or spray. Time will tell.

Good luck......gnats are demons from hell.

3 - Can adults this size lay eggs? And if yes, should I move the rooted clones in the flower/veg room so the lady bugs can give them the once over?

4 - Do I have to worry at all about the clippings that are rooting under the dome? (I sprayed them with Mite X twice last night)

You'd be amazed how many eggs just ONE gnat will lay in its lifetime.
I suggest taking a q-tip and swabbing with rubbing alcohol on your clones. I would never ever use any kind of spray on clones.

Babs34 said:

I've zapped many gnats with the alcohol....oh yeah, they bleed.
Looks like a fungus gnat to me.
White fast moving dots? Hmm...eggs hatching perhaps?....or the thrips themselves. SO MANY pesky insects in the garden.
The "baby gnats" you will find often underneath the leaves. When there is a large infestation, you will find them in your soil.
And your itching could have everything to do with some underlying reason having nothing whatsoever to do with the gnats or spray. Time will tell.

Good luck......gnats are demons from hell.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your help +rep

They weren't Thrips, Thrips are darker and slow moving at that size. At least I think those were the Thrips, I killed them a week ago or so and saw an adult which is how I identified what they were.

These white dots were something new. They may have been a newly hatched gnat, I don't know. They were under the leaf and unlike Thrips, they knew I was there and ran. I thought gnats layed their eggs in wet soil though.

Also, something bit me twice last night on the right wrist while I was spraying. If not gnats, any idea what would bite?

Bed Bugs are another nusiance that are bad around here, and they bite. I was warned not to go garage sale-ing for bargains because of them. Could they be in the grow room maybe? (that might explain the itching too)

Babs34 said:

3 - Can adults this size lay eggs? And if yes, should I move the rooted clones in the flower/veg room so the lady bugs can give them the once over?

4 - Do I have to worry at all about the clippings that are rooting under the dome? (I sprayed them with Mite X twice last night)

You'd be amazed how many eggs just ONE gnat will lay in its lifetime.
I suggest taking a q-tip and swabbing with rubbing alcohol on your clones. I would never ever use any kind of spray on clones.

Click to expand...

The clones took the spray in stride, it's organic, the only ingrediant I don't know much about is Sorbitol. I'd suggest to anyone reading to add Mite X to you're arsenal of sprays, stuff works good, not on eggs though.

Well if gnats lay that many eggs I'm gonna go put the rooted clones in the veg/flower room. The lady bugs should take care of gnats & their eggs. I really don't want to rub alchahol on them, I'm thinking it might dry out their leaves.

Oh, if it is a fungus gnat, do their young suck the moisture out of plants? (The leaves have been real dry the past few weeks)

In my experience, fungus gnats are bothersome, but nowhere near the headache and heartache as much as thrips and spider mites. What I advise is to use a Hot Shot pest strip found at Home Depot or Lowes, etc. along with sticky traps for the fungus gnats, and a multi-pronged approach for the thrips and mites. Make sure to alternate products so they don't have the ability to develop an immunity to it. They're fungus gnats. Oh, and I could care less about rep points. Those that care enough to pay attention to what people say, are smarter than to look at some green little dots on a screen in measuring someone's worth. Best of luck.

Mcgician said:

In my experience, fungus gnats are bothersome, but nowhere near the headache and heartache as much as thrips and spider mites. What I advise is to use a Hot Shot pest strip found at Home Depot or Lowes, etc. along with sticky traps for the fungus gnats, and a multi-pronged approach for the thrips and mites. Make sure to alternate products so they don't have the ability to develop an immunity to it. They're fungus gnats. Oh, and I could care less about rep points. Those that care enough to pay attention to what people say, are smarter than to look at some green little dots on a screen in measuring someone's worth. Best of luck.

Click to expand...

Thanks man, but I really thing the lady bugs will eliminate anything short of a spider mite infestation. That's what I was worried that the white dots might have been. I'll know for sure eventually if they were spider mites.

+rep anyway

I still need to know if I have to worry about the clippings that are under the dome in the Rapid Rooter tray. Would 99% humidity have any negative effect on fungus gnat eggs or young? And if there are any eggs, how long will they take to hatch?

And a new question. I've been underwatering purposely because this is my first grow and I'd rather underwater than overwater. I started giving them 1 cup of water at a time (every few days) and I'm up to giving them 5 cups of water at a time. They're in 5 gallon pots, so I get very little run off if any. And I water every 4 or 5 days so the top layer is dry most of the time. How the heck did I get Fungus Gnats? (no fungus anywhere and with the humidifier on, 40% humidity tops)

^Fungus gnats are actually named scarid flys. Fungus gnats are only the more common name for them. It really has nothing to do with fungus actually. The name association has more to do with the fact that they only seem prevelant when there is adequate moisture on the top of the root zone, and even more so when algae is present.