Tiny white crawlers in my soil??!!??!!

Heres the best photo I can get of these things and even so i dont think you can really see anything at all, though there are hundreds in this pic.
you can kind of see a couple on the bottom of the photo on a chunk of bark of some kind. they are very very tiny slivers so look hard
Photo 53.jpg
 

SmeLLyTreeZ

Well-Known Member
If its not affecting your plants I wouldn't worry about it. Me and a friend both have the same thing in FFOF.. Not saying there harmless for sure but these havent hurt my girls in the slightest...
 
in FFOF?

the plants dont seem affected and I noticed the bugs about a month, maybe a bit longer, ago and they are doing good right now, thats what I'm confused about. I don't think they are predatory bugs but they don't seem to be doing any damage. they don't at all touch the leaves so if they are hurting anything it would be the root system, yet they are nice and green and growing tall and bushy.
 

devious23

Member
One more thing to consider. They could be Fungus Gnat larva. If they look kinda like a maggot with a little black head, thats fungus Gnat larva. Mostly just annoying, but if you don't take care of them they could be a big prob. If this is what u have, i recommend using GoNats or Bio Provado Bug Free. Good Luck
 
Do they look like this?
I have them too, there's so many of them, they're reaally tiny and both of my plants are really droopy (salvia plant) :(
I'm going to clone them soon, they look too unhealthy to me and i don't want them to die.
But i wonder what insects these are? It certainly is a pest to me.

Salvia Insect Pest 1.jpg
Salvia Insect Pest 2.jpg
Salvia Insect Pest 3.jpg

I looked for pictures on the internet and the closest i came was this:
collembola.jpg

These are called "Collembola"/"Springtails" apparently.
http://www.discoverlife.org/20/q?search=Collembola

But are they really collembola? =/
And what the hell do they want from me n my family!?
 

missnu

Well-Known Member
Couldn't these be fungus gnat larvae as well? Since they are tiny and slow...? Do they look like teeny tiny worms?
 

meezy4tw

Active Member
I would say you have springtails, going of the fact that they aren't on the plant itself but in th soil, as well as the fact that they are jumping. Springtails love moisture, if you have wet soil + the bugs you say, I'm prettu sure their springtails.
 
Couldn't these be fungus gnat larvae as well? Since they are tiny and slow...? Do they look like teeny tiny worms?
Are you talking about my pictures?

I would say you have springtails, going of the fact that they aren't on the plant itself but in th soil, as well as the fact that they are jumping. Springtails love moisture, if you have wet soil + the bugs you say, I'm prettu sure their springtails.
That's exactly what is happening. The creatures are on the soil only, there's really a lot of them and the soil is currently moist.
Would it be safe to leave both plants as they are then, eventhough they're a little droopy? I was wondering if they're droopy because it's winter right now since they need to be inside and get watered less often.
Sometimes it's so hard to tell what's going on with these plants.
 

legaltoker

Well-Known Member
Man!!!! i just have to say im really glad i came across this thread, i just noticed hundreds maybe thousands of these in all my soil the other day, crawling around the pot edge after watering. i have looked at the bugs very closely (30x micro) and i am like 99% sure i have the predatory miles bug........ just wanted to drop a line a say thanks to those of you who took the time to post pics and explanations in this thread......it really helped!
 

wineart

Well-Known Member
I know this is an older thread and you have all probably cropped by now. I have them too, thousands of them. If ya really want to see how many you have, try this. Put a slice of raw potato on top of the soil. Wait a couple of hours and you will see 1,000's of them, maybe more. I know I have fungus gnats. I don't see many flying around the grow room or the house, but I put yellow sticky tape out & have 1,000's of them too. I don't think they fly much.
 

wineart

Well-Known Member
I hadn't read the first page of this thread. Can't wait for this grow to be over so I can start fresh. My soil is Roots Organic as well as a few other here. My grow store told me they might have come from the bagged RO soil. I still have a couple of bags left. Can I sterilize it in the oven before I use it or will that ruin the biology of the soil?
Each of my last 2 grows (G13 Haze) I have had plants quit producing 5 blade leaves, down to single blade leaves with super whispy buds. Some plants have big dense buds (clones from the same mother), some you can read through. With all of the day to day variables being the same, I was assuming it was the bugs. I have Pineapple Chunk in the same room too & seems to be doing well, although one of the plants never started to bud for nearly 50 days while another P. Chunk plant (different seeds) is almost done (put in 12/12 the same day). Now the late bloomer is flowering like a champ...go figure....
 
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