Bugs in my soil with seedlings. Advice needed. + rep

sow217

Well-Known Member
Hi all,

I am noticing some small white bugs in my seedlings pots in the soil crawling around the base of my stems. I am using Fox Farm Ocean Forest and i have heard that their soil sometimes contains bugs. Does anyone have any advice so I can rid my seedlings of these bugs and prevent problems further down the road for my grow. Thanks for all the help!
 

imrickjames

Well-Known Member
could be spider mites, I know dish soap in some water will take care of those with no harm done to the plants.
 

sow217

Well-Known Member
thanks for the quick replies. Where can i find this orange dust or sevin dust? also does anyone else have any techniques using the dish soap.
 

Luv2Blaze89

Active Member
As for the Sevin Dust, I believe you can find it at any store such as Lowes, Home Depot, WalMart anything with a garden section I believe.( I could be wrong) It's in a medium sized can, that kinda looks like carpet powder. (The stuff you use to make your carpet smell good lol)

As for the Soap/Water technique. Simply get a spray bottle mix a fair ammount of water/soap together and simply mist your leaves and soil with it. Don't use to much soap tho.
 

imrickjames

Well-Known Member
Also if the soap doesnt work, you can use rubbing alcohol which surprisingly doesn't hurt the plant, just make sure it dilluted to 70% or lower and its safe.
 

sow217

Well-Known Member
Also if the soap doesnt work, you can use rubbing alcohol which surprisingly doesn't hurt the plant, just make sure it dilluted to 70% or lower and its safe.

what ratio of soap to water should i use or also what ratio of rubbing alcohol to water should i use? thanks for all the help again
 

imrickjames

Well-Known Member
what ratio of soap to water should i use or also what ratio of rubbing alcohol to water should i use? thanks for all the help again
I usually dillute more to start to make sure the plants can handle it (certain strains can be more sensitive to it than others) A teaspoon to 1 liter should be fine. With the alcohol, 70% straight has been fine with me, but try 50% if you want to be safe.:peace:
 

goobis

Member
I have the same problem with my girls. I flushed them today cause i thought they had nute burn, about 6 weeks old from sprout, so i have started them on nutes for the past few weeks, so I flushed my soil and what do you know tiny bugs emerged on the topsoil. Tiny white bugs were all over my pots not the plant itself but on the soil and the pot, too small to get a pic. There were also larger, but still tiny, winged darker bugs.I have no idea what kind they are but I would love some insight on the subject and How are you sure the rubbing alcohol wont hurt the girls cause i will try this remedy because i dont want my root system to be destroyed or my house to be infested.
 

IAm5toned

Well-Known Member
I have the same problem with my girls. I flushed them today cause i thought they had nute burn, about 6 weeks old from sprout, so i have started them on nutes for the past few weeks, so I flushed my soil and what do you know tiny bugs emerged on the topsoil. Tiny white bugs were all over my pots not the plant itself but on the soil and the pot, too small to get a pic. There were also larger, but still tiny, winged darker bugs.I have no idea what kind they are but I would love some insight on the subject and How are you sure the rubbing alcohol wont hurt the girls cause i will try this remedy because i dont want my root system to be destroyed or my house to be infested.
fungal gnats or white flies... both more of a pain in the ass more than anything else.
keep in mind when you force them to surface like that by overwatering, your also drownding the roots...........
i hear neem oil works wonders, and also nicotine water or pepperwater. theres lotsa recipies for simple cheap pesticides that work pretty good on this site if you dig hard enough
 

Luv2Blaze89

Active Member
If your going to use soap, i'de say about 80% water/ 20% soap..if your plant handles it well then do a little more ratio. and again and again until your bugs are gone. Just dont put more soap then you would water. As for the rubbing alchohol, i'm not too sure about that. Never heard of that solution.
 

imrickjames

Well-Known Member
I have the same problem with my girls. I flushed them today cause i thought they had nute burn, about 6 weeks old from sprout, so i have started them on nutes for the past few weeks, so I flushed my soil and what do you know tiny bugs emerged on the topsoil. Tiny white bugs were all over my pots not the plant itself but on the soil and the pot, too small to get a pic. There were also larger, but still tiny, winged darker bugs.I have no idea what kind they are but I would love some insight on the subject and How are you sure the rubbing alcohol wont hurt the girls cause i will try this remedy because i dont want my root system to be destroyed or my house to be infested.
Ive used alcohol to spray on top of the soil and on the plant, never soaked the soil with it, I dont know if the roots would like that too much. I would stick to soap on that issue. start off with a small ammount though too make sure the plant is ok with it. Good luck! The war on bugs sure is a tough one. :peace:
 
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