wtf are these?

Fine, let's follow the three S rule.

Here are pictures.


Here's a video

[video=youtube;QyMZ-Xw8M-k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyMZ-Xw8M-k[/video]

What are these bugs? I'm pretty sure they are killing my plants.

Spider Mite i'm affraid to say! And ye, they are bad new's and Must get rid of ASAP. Look in the Forum in the Plant Prob thread there will be a Sub. Thread for Bug's, and you should find your answers there! good Luck!

Look like fungus nats to me. Spider mites are verry small, and they are in the leaves eating new growth.
Fungus nats like to hang out in the soil if it stays moist.
Try to find some neem oil or you can make a easy soap pesticide out of dish soap.

Fungus Gnat's are fly's that lay their eggs in your soil and they feed of your roots o will see the new flys if you lift the pot up! That's Spider Mite for-sure, do they jump about mad when watering? Do you even have Fungus Gnat Fly's?

Ive never seen spider mites that big.

And every one knows everythings bigger in texas

You know, I've seen and read almost everything i can find about spider mites, but these don't look like spider mites. They jump around, spider mites don't jump do they? And I haven't seen any of these buggers on any of the plant, just in the soil. They seem to reproduce like mad crazy, they have infested two gardens, and my vegetable garden. They dig tunnels in the ground.I haven't seen any eggs though so I don't know if this is a colony, an infestation of something from using manure that wasn't quite dry yet.... But spider mites you say eh?

And I've read about fungal gnats but I have yet to see any of the other stages for them. And these things...I dunno they just look and at different from all the pictures I've seen and the information I've read...

We tried the neems oil, it didn't seem to affect them too badly. We also tried organicide, and predatory nematodes. We're currently trying Malathion. There's just so many of them, and they're everywhere.

I'm primarily worried that this is a hive situation, you know? Like, what if they're some odd sort of termite? But they don't look like termites either...I've never known termites to jump around like fleas.

My girls aren't in pots, they're all lined up on mounds. I've lost three to these bugs (I think the bugs are the culprit)

The plants start yellowing like a nitrogen deficiency for a while. Maybe a week. Then they begin to droop as if they need more water or you're over watering them. They're leaves feel poofy like it's a nutrient blockage or something. And then finally they die. Even if you try and transplant them. I transplanted two of my girls before they started looking too bad with the yellowing, and they're doing much better.

But I have girls that are in the very early stages of flowering and ummm... I don't think I should transplant them into pots at this point.

I'm afraid they wouldn't make it through the transplant shock in this heat while they bud, ya know? If they weren't flowering I'd do it.

You guys think I should take the risk anyways? Just get them out of there?

Have you tried a soap based pesticide? I found some on the net when I had pest in my outdoor veggitable garden. The are basicly ivory dish soap and water but you can also add cyenne pepper or garlic. Try a google search for organic soap pesticides. It got rid of all the bugs in my garden. Hope ya find something.

These look like one of 2 possibilities

1. THRIPS LARVAE
2. SOIL LICE

Google them to find images.

If they jump around and are small then they are definately one fo the 2 i have mentioned.

J

You could get yourself some of this (see pic below)

This is a fantastic organic insecticide.

I am in the UK and order this from the USA it costs me a total of $54 but the bottle only costs $19.99 it costs me $34 to get it to the UK but its totally worth it.
You use a few tablespoons per gallon or 2 teaspoons per 500ml spray.



J

fungus gnats are magots in the larvae stage. they wouldnt jump around like that.

The guy who said spider mites obiviously never actually had them . Those are gnats . Got em out side in my tomatoes , soil drenched with neem .

kingofqueen said:

The guy who said spider mites obiviously never actually had them . Those are gnats . Got em out side in my tomatoes , soil drenched with neem .

Click to expand...

If you think they are Fungus Gnats then you didnt have them.

Fungus Gnat larvae are very small clear worms with black heads then they emerge as a flying black insect.

As i already stated if they Jump and are small (just like the vid) then they are 1 of 2 possibilities THRIPS LARVAE or SOIL LICE.

J

oh man, They DO look like thrip larvae or soil lice.

Are both of these harmful in the soil? Or have we been worrying about harmless pests this whole time?

Thrips larvae and soil lice do eat your roots.

On my first grow i managed to successfully grow even with these in the soil but it did effect my yield.

If you check my second post on the first page for NATURALYTE spray get some it will rid you of them.

J

jondamon said:

If you think they are Fungus Gnats then you didnt have them.

Fungus Gnat larvae are very small clear worms with black heads then they emerge as a flying black insect.

As i already stated if they Jump and are small (just like the vid) then they are 1 of 2 possibilities THRIPS LARVAE or SOIL LICE.

J

Click to expand...

Well definately not spider mites is all i,m saying ! Whether its thrips ,soil lice ,fungus nats drench that soil with somthing ! get rid of those fuckers !

Dirtfree said:

Ive never seen spider mites that big.

Click to expand...

fuck iv seen those before, is that what gnats look like before they start flying the bastards, iv got some neem oil im just wandering how much i use when go to drench the soil. help me out bro

how much neem oil bro when mixing in water

Those are definitely not spider mites. The picture isn't clear enough to really see them but if they were termites they wouldn't be on top of the ground. Until I figured out what they are and start throwing chemicals at them, I would get some "glue boards" from your local Home Depot or whatever. Lay them down there and it won't take long to get a few trapped on the glue. Then take a close up picture and send it to me. Or take it to Ortho or Terminix and ask them what they are and how can you kill them without killing your "tomatoes".

It still amazes me the chemicals people put on/into their pot plants. ONLY use something organic and make sure it's for edible fruit UP TIL THE LAST DAY OF HARVEST. It will say it clearly on the container. Many of these chemicals are or can turn into cancer causing agents that you're ingesting. May not happen in 20 years but I know a few old farmers that died nasty deaths being around some of these kind of additives. Not trying to scare anyone- just give it some thought and proceed cautiously.