bug problem :/ i think but im a noob and need to know for sure

[thenewgrow]

can flies do harm to my plant they seem to breeding in the soil and i dont know what to do every day I open my closet with my plants come in between 6-10 flies out of the closet and I have started and become nervous about it what can I do and kill them. and do no harm to my plant :(

[Weezard]

Do a search for "fungus gnats".
Look carefully at the pictures.
They match up?
That's good news.
There are flyers like root aphid adults that are much harder to eradicate.
The adult gnats don't do any damage to your plants, but their kids, (larvae), are chowing down on your roots.

The search results will tell you how to deal with them.

Of course the best treatment is prevention.
Fungus gnats hunt by scent.
They sniff for root rot and fungus to assure their hatch a food supply.
They need to be able to find your roots, so anything that jams up their sniffer will throw them off the scent or physically block them.

Some folks use sand as a barrier.
It's messy during transplants and the gnats can and do lay their eggs in the weep holes at the bottom.
One guy, puts his containers in mesh bags and cinches it up around the stem to lock them out.

I use dryer sheets.
Lay them on top of the soil to break the egg laying cycle and I put one in the weep tray.
Works a treat!
Have not had an F.G. in 2 years now.

Aloha,
Weezard

[lipps]

Predatory nematodes will take care of any pest that spends time in the soil. Dryer sheets are full of harmful chemicals and the perfume can cause asthma attacks in people with chemical sensitivity. They make it hard for me to breath and my eyes water nose runs when someone has dried there cloths with them, people put them in drawers and closets to freshen clothes, man they stink.

What’s In Those Dryer Sheets? After reading this article, you may want to think twice about using them ever again. Instead, there are easy to do natural ways to eliminate static.

* Benzyl Acetate: Linked to pancreatic cancer

* Benzyl Alcohol: Upper respiratory tract irritant

* Ethanol: On the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Hazardous Waste list and capable of causing central nervous system disorders

* A-Terpineol: Can cause respiratory problems, including fatal edema, and central nervous system damage

* Ethyl Acetate: A narcotic on the EPA’s Hazardous Waste list

* Camphor: Causes central nervous system disorders

* Chloroform: Neurotoxin, anesthetic and carcinogen

* Linalool: A narcotic that causes central nervous system disorders

* Pentane: A chemical known to be harmful if inhaled

[Weezard]

Howzit Lipps?

Thanks for the post.
Would you be so kind as to post a link to said article?

Sounds like alarmist B.S. and I'd like to check their facts and citations.

I mean;
"* Ethanol: On the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Hazardous Waste list and capable of causing central nervous system disorders" :D

Give me a break!

Edit:
Never mind, I found the article.
@
Holistichealthsecrets dot com.
What a crappy article.
Really bad science.

I'm not saying that dryer sheets are completely innocuous.
I'm saying that, that article is over-hyped and misleading.
Garden variety fear mongering.

Most of those chemicals are used in the manufacture of liquid clothing softener.
The dryer sheets do use some of the listed chemicals in their manufacture.
But, the volatiles dissipate rapidly and the actual active ingredients left in the sheet have a very low toxicity.
Especially when they are just sitting on the soil, several yards from where I'm breathing.

That, and all sheets are not created equal.

Bounce, for instance, has way too much perfume.
The perfume is not what repels the gnats and bees.
That's there for peoples noses.
I don't want anything stinking up my buds.
I use Costco dryer sheets.
Very little scent, and very effective on the pests

I do worry a little about the OCD folks that eat large quantities of dryer sheets.

Woman Addicted to Eating Dryer Sheets on TLC's 'My Strange Addictions' | Video - ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/woman-addicted-eating-dryer-sheets-14079219)

She was chewing 4 to 8 sheets a day for 4 years.
Yikes! That can't be good.

Y'all be careful with that ethanol.
Lotta hazard in gettin' wasted. :D

Aloha,
Weezard

[thenewgrow]

can i just cover the container with black plastic or wil that prevent the plant from breating ? i dont like to use the things with chemicals im trying to do 100% organic :) and would like to go organic all the way this is my first grow ever :) and im afraid for this bug problem becors the littel ones comes up of the dyrt when i water and their are alot of them i got to see :/ need help fast on this i think "they are sucking water from my fan lef's i think the big ones"

[Weezard]

The most organic approach is about 2" of clean, (Aquarium), sand on top of the soil.
I suppose you could bag the containers with panty hose, but if it's tight against the weep holes, them li'l buggahs will lay eggs right through it.
You'd have to space it at least an ovipositor's distance from the soil, yah?

And for the already hatched, like Lipps said, nematodes!
I have used nematodes to decimate the larvae, then used friendly fungi to finish them off.
Look up "OG Biowar" . Good stuff!
Took out my broad mite infestation rapidly.

So, I inoculated my compost pile with it.
And use the dryer sheets to prevent re-infestation.
Now my only nemisi are PM and the "borg".

If I put my plants in the "gas chamber",(shower stall), with a no pest strip, it wipes out the borg, but can initiate PM.
Anyone have suggestions for that?

Aloha,
Weezard

[growdemon]

BEER for flies and Gnats


get some cheap stinky beer, stick it in little saucer cups, and put above your dirt
This attracts lots of flying bugs & kills them. empty and repeat until you don't see them any more.

[thenewgrow]

does the beer trick really work man :) i have read about this for some time back on a forum but they did say it was a myth ?
i think i will try it :thumbsup:
im desperate to try almost anything:jointsmile:

[growdemon]

yea it works.. I do it all the time.
oh yea.

sticky fly tape works too

well the weather is getting cooler now, these pests normally hate the cold too.

[Bobdylan420]

Hot shot pest strip. DESTROYS EM' !!!!

[lipps]

Howzit Lipps?

Thanks for the post.
Would you be so kind as to post a link to said article?

Sounds like alarmist B.S. and I'd like to check their facts and citations.

I mean;
"* Ethanol: On the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Hazardous Waste list and capable of causing central nervous system disorders" :D

Give me a break!

Edit:
Never mind, I found the article.
@
Holistichealthsecrets dot com.
What a crappy article.
Really bad science.

I'm not saying that dryer sheets are completely innocuous.
I'm saying that, that article is over-hyped and misleading.
Garden variety fear mongering.

Most of those chemicals are used in the manufacture of liquid clothing softener.
The dryer sheets do use some of the listed chemicals in their manufacture.
But, the volatiles dissipate rapidly and the actual active ingredients left in the sheet have a very low toxicity.
Especially when they are just sitting on the soil, several yards from where I'm breathing.

That, and all sheets are not created equal.

Bounce, for instance, has way too much perfume.
The perfume is not what repels the gnats and bees.
That's there for peoples noses.
I don't want anything stinking up my buds.
I use Costco dryer sheets.
Very little scent, and very effective on the pests

I do worry a little about the OCD folks that eat large quantities of dryer sheets.

Woman Addicted to Eating Dryer Sheets on TLC's 'My Strange Addictions' | Video - ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/woman-addicted-eating-dryer-sheets-14079219)

She was chewing 4 to 8 sheets a day for 4 years.
Yikes! That can't be good.

Y'all be careful with that ethanol.
Lotta hazard in gettin' wasted. :D

Aloha,
Weezard

Here: New Study: Scented Dryer Sheets Emit Toxins University of Washington | Apartment Therapy (http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/new-study-scented-dryer-sheets-159942)

Why You Need to Ditch Dryer Sheets – EcoWatch: Cutting Edge Environmental News Service (http://ecowatch.com/2013/why-you-need-to-ditch-dryer-sheets/)

Scented laundry products release carcinogens, study finds - HealthPop - CBS News (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20097302-10391704.html)

I learned years ago that companies will do anything to sell a product and my health doesn't figure into the equation. Your plants are going to absorb what the sheets are putting off that kill the bugs.

[lipps]

Scented laundry products release carcinogens, study finds - HealthPop - CBS News (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20097302-10391704.html)

New Study: Scented Dryer Sheets Emit Toxins University of Washington | Apartment Therapy (http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/new-study-scented-dryer-sheets-159942)

[Weezard]

Thanks Lipps.
Read those links.
Not impressed.

When you say;

"I learned years ago that companies will do anything to sell a product and my health doesn't figure into the equation."

I could not agree more.

But this;

"Your plants are going to absorb what the sheets are putting off that kill the bugs."

Is incorrect.
The sheets do not "kill the bugs".
That is not their purpose.
They are not poisonous, and despite the "scare ya" articles they are not even toxic.

They contain a voilatile compound that bollixes the scent receptors of fungus gnats.
When the gnat's try to sniff out some tasty fungus for their offspring, they get lost.
They can not find your plant.
Same with mosquitoes and yellowjackets.
They can't find you.
It is not the scent, that does it, I use unscented and they work quite well.

And while it is true that heating the sheet in the dryer to several hundred degrees, drives off traces of the chemicals used in their manufacture.
Laying them on top of the soil at room temperature does not.

And all of those links fail to mention one very important variable, the concentration of the detected compounds.
They were extremely low.
Undetectable without equipment that is able to sense parts per billion.

Choosing between a few parts per billion of an airborne, volatile, low toxicity, surfactant, while growing healthy plants.
Or letting them get infected, then dosing them with highly toxic pesticides directly on, and in, the buds, in parts per thousand, is a no-brainer for me.

So, if the sheets bother you personally, avoid them.
Most people have no problem.

If you find a better way to prevent FG & RA infestations I'm listening.
'til then, I just bought another box of sheets and I'm off to grow some bud, bud.

Aloha,
Weezard