Fungas gnats

[Hudo]

That's mycelium. Visible web of fungal hyphae and actinomycetes breaking down nutrients in the organic matter, making plant available. You scraped off the good stuff.

It was long stringy white stuff almost cobweb looking ?

 

[Donothing-garden]

It was long stringy white stuff almost cobweb looking ?

That's a good sign. Cm layers of Neem meal though is crazy though, It's like 5% N so U could end up with an N toxicity as well at that rate.

 

[frankreynolds]

Also should rotate pesticides used, regardless of organic or not.

 

[Donothing-garden]

Also should rotate pesticides used, regardless of organic or not.

Pests don't build a resistance against predatory insects/biocontrols though.

 

[frankreynolds]

Pests don't build a resistance against predatory insects/biocontrols though.

Yeh that's true., but other biological controls like BTI should be rotated.

 

[R3za92]

Pests don't build a resistance against predatory insects/biocontrols though.

Yea they can which is why you should use a variety and rotate.

 

[Hudo]

Yea they can which is why you should use a variety and rotate.

How do they build up a resistance to somthing eating them is this posible

 

[pug]

i reckon fungus gnats are a sign that something is slightly out of wack. i've had my fair share and each time it was because either my watering or my vpd was not where it should be for the stages of the plant. couple of things which i have found helps ...

itchy's favourite, but a goldie - soil moisture. the solution for me was a blumat moisture reader to get a better idea of what was occurring.
vpd - if the temperature and humidity can be controlled within vpd recommendations at different stages of a plant's cycle, the plant has a very good chance of being healthy and then there is little chance for bugs and other nasties to set in.
hypoaspis - love these things. when a soil is less than two years old, i will make sure to use them before every new planting. you can get them in smaller and cheaper quantities from bioworksonline.
neem and kelp meal tea - i soak some neem and kelp meal in water for 24 hrs and water twice each plant cycle.
good quality worm castings - like to topdress with at least 1 inch of good castings twice every cycle
cover crops - using them between each cycle maintains good moisture levels, provides nutrients and keeps all the microorganisms happy
timings - insects seem to get more active at certain times in a moon cycle ... usually heading towards full moon. leading up to these times, it's good to to take a bit of extra care, to make sure that the soil stays at a good moisture level. too dry and then too wet, will cause problems.

other methods that i haven't tried, but might be worth having a crack at ... Biodynamic peppers. this is some archaic bad arse shit ... lol ... where they basically get the bugs, burn them and use the ash over the soil or in a spray.

all this stuff is preventative and is good for the future (the hypoaspis seem to get rid of fungus gnats in about 3-4 weeks from introduction to soil). if you are in in the middle of an infestation, the only thing i've found to make an impact is to cover the whole pot surface with a mesh and secure it in such a way that no bug can get out. aircom filter mesh is probably the best bet, but i guess that geotextile mesh would also do the job.

this is difficult with a soft fabric pot, but can work with a hard plastic or wood pot. you will need to have a slit in the mesh, so it can slide around the trunk and need a way to fix the mesh to the outside of the pot and to the trunk. a little slack is also needed, so that you can still water through the mesh, without having water go everywhere.

it's not ideal and a royal pain in the arse, but it can do the job for 3-4 weeks while flowering, so you don't end up smoking more bugs than flower.

 

[Hudo]

i reckon fungus gnats are a sign that something is slightly out of wack. i've had my fair share and each time it was because either my watering or my vpd was not where it should be for the stages of the plant. couple of things which i have found helps ...

itchy's favourite, but a goldie - soil moisture. the solution for me was a blumat moisture reader to get a better idea of what was occurring.
vpd - if the temperature and humidity can be controlled within vpd recommendations at different stages of a plant's cycle, the plant has a very good chance of being healthy and then there is little chance for bugs and other nasties to set in.
hypoaspis - love these things. when a soil is less than two years old, i will make sure to use them before every new planting. you can get them in smaller and cheaper quantities from bioworksonline.
neem and kelp meal tea - i soak some neem and kelp meal in water for 24 hrs and water twice each plant cycle.
good quality worm castings - like to topdress with at least 1 inch of good castings twice every cycle
cover crops - using them between each cycle maintains good moisture levels, provides nutrients and keeps all the microorganisms happy
timings - insects seem to get more active at certain times in a moon cycle ... usually heading towards full moon. leading up to these times, it's good to to take a bit of extra care, to make sure that the soil stays at a good moisture level. too dry and then too wet, will cause problems.

other methods that i haven't tried, but might be worth having a crack at ... Biodynamic peppers. this is some archaic bad arse shit ... lol ... where they basically get the bugs, burn them and use the ash over the soil or in a spray.

all this stuff is preventative and is good for the future (the hypoaspis seem to get rid of fungus gnats in about 3-4 weeks from introduction to soil). if you are in in the middle of an infestation, the only thing i've found to make an impact is to cover the whole pot surface with a mesh and secure it in such a way that no bug can get out. aircom filter mesh is probably the best bet, but i guess that geotextile mesh would also do the job.

this is difficult with a soft fabric pot, but can work with a hard plastic or wood pot. you will need to have a slit in the mesh, so it can slide around the trunk and need a way to fix the mesh to the outside of the pot and to the trunk. a little slack is also needed, so that you can still water through the mesh, without having water go everywhere.

it's not ideal and a royal pain in the arse, but it can do the job for 3-4 weeks while flowering, so you don't end up smoking more bugs than flower.

Yeah moisture levels are key I have zero problems in my flower tent because I'm either DWC or like current grow is hempy pots with pvc tube I water down so the top 100mm of coco is pretty much bone dry my main problem is they love beer the cunts and my kegorator is in the next room constantly attracting them

 

[Donothing-garden]

O

Yea they can which is why you should use a variety and rotate.

One of the main reasons commercial growers turn to biocontrols is because increasing pesticide resistance.

 

[R3za92]

How do they build up a resistance to somthing eating them is this posible

The same way anything builds a resistance to something. It evolves to protect it self.

 

[Yamumzbum]

I fry the little cunts with my electric tennis racquet thingamajig

 

[Donothing-garden]

The same way anything builds a resistance to something. It evolves to protect it self.

It's definitely good practice to release 2 or 3 predator mites species for thrips or spider mites. Pests don't develop resistance to these predators though over time like they do to chemical pesticides. Predator mites are used in an IPM program usually with different pesticides to reduce the pesticide resistance problems

 

[itchybro]

How do they build up a resistance to somthing eating them is this posible

def not possible

let us know when the salmon in alaskan waters build a resistance to the bears eating them as they swim upstream to spawn
the deer in africa build a resistance to lions catching & eating them
worms that stick there heads up from the ground build a resistance to birds pulling them out & eating them
snails build a resistance to backyard chooks finding & eating them

 

[frankreynolds]

I mean can only assume a porcupine evolved that way to protect itself...

I don't actually know the answer to it, but bugs reproduce at a much faster rate and in much larger numbers than normal animals. Allowing a couple resistance instances to repopulate quickly leading to generations of them that are different.

 

[frankreynolds]

Seems like it is still possible just much less likely.

Biological control offers sustainable pest suppression, partly because evolution of resistance to predators and parasitoids is prevented by several factors (e.g., spatial or temporal refuges from attacks, reciprocal evolution by control agents, and contrasting selection pressures from other enemy species). However, evolution of resistance may become more probable as agricultural intensification reduces the availability of refuges and diversity of enemy species, or if control agents have genetic barriers to evolution.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1618416114

As with everything else needs to be managed properly.

 

[Pedro de pacas]

Birds evolved to fly to avoid cats, cats evolved to climb trees to avoid dogs, Dogs evolved puppy dog eyes to attract humans
and woman evolved boobs to attract men

 

[veritas629]

A pest can of course evolve defenses against predators, parasites, etc. However, those biological controls are evolving at the same time. A predator always needs to eat! Offensive advances, biological or technological, are generally at the forefront and defense plays catch up.

I just received some GNatural today and will give it a try soon. My gnats aren't out of control, but it seems like a good IPM tool to prevent a big out break.

 

[Donothing-garden]

A pest can of course evolve defenses against predators, parasites, etc. However, those biological controls are evolving at the same time. A predator always needs to eat! Offensive advances, biological or technological, are generally at the forefront and defense plays catch up.

I just received some GNatural today and will give it a try soon. My gnats aren't out of control, but it seems like a good IPM tool to prevent a big out break.

Hypoaspis is an awesome part of the IPM strategy as well. You can even blend them with a soil mix if it's in small batches that don't heat up too much

 

[Billygoat]

That's mycelium. Visible web of fungal hyphae and actinomycetes breaking down nutrients in the organic matter, making plant available. You scraped off the good stuff.

It was long stringy white stuff almost cobweb looking ?

Pretty sure I did not type that.. lol I would have to google several of those words I apparently typed