Getting rid of root aphids

....so you didnt try merit 75 then? Seems it would be alot easier to just use some merit then change up your whole setup. Dunking the rockwool in the merit solution is the was to win this battle. pretty simple. Im still root aphid free.

Hey strictly! Still no aphids? Using the Merit and when I drench my rockwool they definitely scatter like mad but, still seem to return after a few hours. Any advice??? A heavy 1/2 Tsp per 5 gallons is my dosage. Haven't seen any adults in over a month but the babies are still hanging in there!

i got this shit all over my hydroton and potting in hydro.. thought they were root aphid but ive been trying to get rid of them for about a month now...
have u ever heard of a bulb mite??? im thinkin thats what this is.. (predator & pest) ive been doing gognats dip and organocide dips every 2-3 days.. i change the nutes out every sunday.. i have a 3 part nutrient solution, h2o2, root excellorator (good shit - cures root rot - $70)

heres a pic



.. seem to get more everytime i dip.. maybe theyre just coming out cause theyre dying...idk. doubt it!
but if theyre bulb mites.. i guess they dont go away!!! wtf!!

but if they dont i will just take a shit load of clones and stop doing hydro and go soil... i have some soil now and theyre doing great..

my hydro plants that are getting affected have slowed growth down tremendously, they have root rot (but the root excellorator i recently got cures root rot and there are new white roots coming through!

WHAT DO I DO???????? ive made so many posts about this!

anyone?!?!?!?!?!?!?????????????????? ppl say how much this website helps but geez!
i havent got shit from anything on here!

I've had reasonably good luck controlling root aphids using Mosquito Dunks. Supposedly, they are organic. I've also been adding H2O2 and I dropped the water temp. from about 74F to 62F. Roots are looking strong and what few bugs are left are looking weak.

I've also read that Bayer Tree and Shurb kills root aphids, but it's not organic. You can get it at Home Depot or any big box store.

Well last night i went down there and some of the hydroton looked to have mold growing but i got closer and they were tiny webs.... so theyre not Aphids!!!
Its gotta be a MITE!! wtf... i knew it was a bulb mite...



anyone know anything about these bulb mites?!?!?!?!? i guess they're a predator and pest...

That picture looks like an aphid to me. Look at some pictures of aphids, and compare. The distinguishing feature is the little prongs on their ass, if you see that, it's an aphid.

Bayer Tree and Shrub contains Merit.

yeah they look alike but look up a bulb mite! they look identical lol... i also think its a mite because in some hydroton they are starting to form tiny webbing between the cracks in the potting and hydroton...

can you use bayer tree and shrub in hydro or would I just be using it as a dip?

I've used it as a one-time dip of the roots in the solution. I don't know if it will have any effect on mites.

Here's a good page on aphids:

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7404.html

ok thanks .. im open to do n try anything to get rid of these aphids/mites

Well, you could try using a scrub brush on your armpits.

yeah ill give that a try.. ill go to the dollar store asap and get some with long brissels to get deep in the pots.... after christmas i can get something with merit in it... the organocide is so gross n sticky n smells like fish... i dont mind the gognats.. and dip tomorrow again

Ortho max bug b gone. I read on another forum about a guy who was using it in his flood trays at a rate of 6 ml per gallon. I did it an my plants did not show any stress at all. I poured the Ortho in 3 days before I changed nutes and it nuked those suckers.

For my plants in buckets (the plant is in a rockwool cube I put into. Net pot and cover with hydroton) I created an Ortho flush. I mixed 1 oz of Ortho to 1 gallon of water and poured it over each plant site. Total aphid destruction! And again no plant stress what so ever.

I have spent a fortune trying organic remedies on my plants to end up losing them in the end. Chemical pesticides work the best and if used properly will not harm anyone or anything except the bugs harming your plants.


The one thing you will need no matter what you do is a good enzyme like sensizyme or hygrozyme. The enzyme will break down the dead bugs and turn them into food for your plants. If you do not use an enzyme there is a good chance the bugs will cause root rot when they decompose.

okay thanks that helped me.. i will try that asap!!! do you know if there is MERIT in the Ortho? and im guessing you can find it at home depot.. im going to do either the dip or same way you did it.. i have a big tote with 6 smaller plants in it and 3 individual buckets with larger plants.. rest is soil and im guessing that if theyre in the hydro setup that they will be in the soil as well but you just cant see them???

open for suggestions.. ive been doing gngnats/organocide dips/dunks every 2-4 days .. i should change it up maybe??

strictly seedleSs said:

Okay, day 6 and one more dip, this time I used Merit 75 WP. I used 1 teaspoon of merit to 10 gallons of water. I added it to my reservoirs with the nutrients already mixed in at full strength. I wouldnt use this stuff anywhere after 2 weeks into flower, but its safe in the veg cycle.

Click to expand...

How long did you leave it in your system? A few hours, days or the whole nute cycle?

OK I got my Merit 75 today and just finished up using it. I used 1 TSP per 10 gals and just added it to my rez. I did however mix up the whole batch in a 1 gal jug and poured it directly on the root system waited 10 mins and turned on the pumps to flood the buckets and dilute the mixture. I have no more Root Aphids they are all piled up on the top of my buckets. Still trying to decide how long to keep the solution in the rez anyone have experience with this?

This may not be on point as I grow in soil.....but worth a try maybe.

From the first day I start feeding, I mix in three drops of mild dish soap (like Ivory) to every gallon of water that I use for anything for my plants. Feeding, watering, flushing, spraying...every time. I never have any bugs in my soil. Soap doesn't bother the girls at all.

When I first learned this it made sense to me. My Grandmother always used to dump her dishwater in her flower boxes, that's how she watered them. She used to say it kept the bugs and slugs away!!

I sure miss her flower boxes

Good luck!!

Only use Merit in veg. Only need it for a few hours really. I used something with less imid in it and submerged my roots for a few min


Soap wont kill them all. Studies show an insecticidal soap applied in a root drench for 2 min was 96% effective

imid, imid, imid, imid.......imid

sorry I guess everyone already knows that.

Seedless... Still no RA's? - am helping a friend rid his room of these things. - am curious to hear if they came back. - thought this guy was exaggerating about their persistence until - got involved. These things are ridiculous.
Has anyone else completely rid their grow of these things? Merit 75 I assume...?