Tiny Tiny Mites or bugs.. HELP!!

[BigMagno]

The plant is really showing great growing progress, but these small tiny mites seem to be thriving in the soil, and walking around the top of the clay pot. What is a great brand of poison sprayer that should kill these?
They are multiplying... Maybe some type of ortho.. something??

Help guys !!

BigMagno Reviewed by BigMagno on 06-02-2009. Tiny Tiny Mites or bugs.. HELP!! The plant is really showing great growing progress, but these small tiny mites seem to be thriving in the soil, and walking around the top of the clay pot. What is a great brand of poison sprayer that should kill these? They are multiplying... Maybe some type of ortho.. something?? Help guys !! Rating: 5

[DarthStoney]

take three DROPS of dish soap, drip it into about 500 ml water, stir but don't agitate to the point of foaming - you know, maybe rock the container back and fourth gently a few times. And then feed it to your plant. You should see the bugs go away.

That's the homeopathic remedy. Other than that, there are some gentle bug killers at the hardware store you can buy they won't harm the plant or get into the finished product for consumption.

[the image reaper]

probably not spidermites, they reside under the leaves ... regardless, you don't 'feed' your plant soapy water for insect control ... you 'foliarly feed' soapy water, meaning spraying or misting the leaves, top and bottom ... soapy water in the soil will elevate pH, at the very least ... I hang a No-Pest Strip in the growroom, and have never had insect problems ... ALWAYS read the label instructions and warnings carefully, when using any chemical products ... an insecticide containing 'pyrethrins' is normally quite safe (made from marigolds), but I can't stand the smell of the stuff :wtf:, neither can the bugs, I guess ... neem oil is usually recommended, but I'll never know why :wtf: ... the stinky crap has to be repeated several times to work, tastes and smells awful, and sticks to the plant for weeks, usually ... and, the spidermites are usually still thriving, anyway ... No-Pest Strips :thumbsup: ... good luck

[DOUGAL25]

sound like aphids?

:stoned:

[the image reaper]

aphids are also leaf-suckers, so not likely to be in the soil, I wouldn't think ... but, also a pest to be dealt with :smokin:

[headshake]

got any flying insects around? it could be fungus gnat larvae.


-shake

[BigMagno]

Since the plant is thriving, i doubt they are aphids. They are densly populated in the soil, I just sprayed some "Orthomax: Garden & Landscape Insect Killer" on the soil, and surrounding the clay pot rim. These pesks seem to get really agitated and are sooo small. And definitely there are a few more. I think they derived from dirty soil or plantmix.

I am getting desperate, how dangerous is the soapy-water method? Will the soapy-water kill them? What if the soapy water get's consumed by the plants roots? Is it really bad for the plant??

Negative on the flying pesks, these seem like soil type mites (and again I have no experience or knowledge of pesks other than these do not appear to thrive off the plant)

Thanks and much appreciation, here is a current pic of my baby.

(Below: Plant when I forgot to water it + 99 deg heat)

(below: Resalvaged into cabinet grow, soil is still rich with some type of soil mites)

[JD1stTimer]

I am also seeing tiny white bugs that I think are mites. The are small as a pinpoint and they crawl all over the surface of the soil, and sometimes on the leaves, but they don't appear to be feeding on the leaves. I think they are just predatory or soil-eating mites which will not be bad at all, in fact they will either compete against bad guys or eat the bad guys. I figure if you don't see any damage to the plants, the chemicals and soaps will be more harmful than the bugs. Honestly it gives me comfort to know that the soil I'm using can support living things.

Spider mites leave little webs all over the leaves, and they drop sugar which leads to mold infestations. Aphids also leave sugar everywhere. Both are easily recognizable.

One thing I do see is fungus gnats, but I haven't noticed any damage from them. Maybe they are impeding the growth of my plants? Could they be causing yellowing and necrosis of the lower leaves? Maybe if they are doing so much damage to the roots. But they usually don't damage established plants, only seedlings.

[Italiano715]

One thing I do see is fungus gnats, but I haven't noticed any damage from them. Maybe they are impeding the growth of my plants? Could they be causing yellowing and necrosis of the lower leaves? Maybe if they are doing so much damage to the roots. But they usually don't damage established plants, only seedlings.

Far as I know the gnats are harmless to your plants and just are more of a pain in the @$$ than anything. Hand-to-hand combat is the way to take em out!