Gnats laid eggs in bud!! Must exterminate!

[lampost]

So I didn't even know this was possible!! I'm sure there'll be some doubters here, but after thorough inspection I'm pretty damn sure that's what's happened!

I've had a small population of gnats the entire grow. I spray the soil with pyrethrum and neem pretty often and it was doing a good job of controlling their population. Through veg, I'd only see 3-4 at the most when I visited the room... sometimes none.

Now, I'm 3-1/2 weeks into flower and the population seems to have exploded. I see 10-20 of them flying up to the light when I enter and turn the fan off. Then when I inspect my plants closely I find another 10-20 hanging out on/under the leaves toward the top of the plant. It almost seems like they're dead or sedated or something because they just sit there and don't move.... don't make any effort to fly away as I crush them.

So, I've bought some fly strips and upped the spraying frequency to almost daily. Today, I noticed several gnats grouping on this one particular bud... probably 8 gnats or so. As I brushed one off I noticed some small brown stuff. At first I thought it was guts. Then I crushed 1-2 more and noticed more brown fuzz stuff. I broke out the pocket microscope and it was very tiny gnats/larvaes!!! I'm guessing they were planted and somehow hatched on my bud!!

Has anyone ever heard of this?!?! I've got to put an end to these fuckers RIGHT NOW!! That is totally unacceptable to me to have fuckin' gnats making themselves at home in my buds. What is the THE BEST WAY to get rid of these little fucks!! I'm off to get mosquito dunks now... I plan to break them up over the soil and then water. Also, I'll probably soak one in the bucket of water overnight before watering. Are these things pretty safe? My understanding is that they're just some kind of bacteria that's harmless to the plants? I'm also going to get some apple cider vinegar... any other ideas on how to eliminate these fuckers would be much appreciated!! I totally eradicated spider mites and these fuckers are even more persistent!!

Oh yeah, my humidity isn't that bad. Probably around 45-55%. I don't know how it's gotten so high as the humidity outdoors is only like 25% but it seems to stay above 40% inside. I'm thinking about bringing some fresh air in from outside (not directly into the room, but into the basement level).... but I've been told that's a bad idea without filtration. How is that a bad idea? What do I risk by doing that? I think achieving low humidity is worth the risks.... but I digress...

lampost Reviewed by lampost on 03-08-2010. Gnats laid eggs in bud!! Must exterminate! So I didn't even know this was possible!! I'm sure there'll be some doubters here, but after thorough inspection I'm pretty damn sure that's what's happened! I've had a small population of gnats the entire grow. I spray the soil with pyrethrum and neem pretty often and it was doing a good job of controlling their population. Through veg, I'd only see 3-4 at the most when I visited the room... sometimes none. Now, I'm 3-1/2 weeks into flower and the population seems to have exploded. I Rating: 5

[Vancefish]

It is risky letting unfiltered outside air into the grow room. Mainly BECAUSE of the risk of bugs.

However I've been doing it every morning to air out the room after having that Hotshots pest strip in there. Then once the stink goes away, I close the outside window and open the hall door to cool the room (I need a fan, filter and hoses to cool my new hood).

Sorry I can't help on the gnats. Haven't had that pleasure yet. It seems I've had all your other issues, as our grows progress too. SURE hope I don't have gnats too!:wtf:

Investigate how gnats handle the cold too! If they don't like it cool the room a LOT at night. but just an idea!

[lampost]

Hey, I'm guessing we're both kinda in the same stages right now!

So I have the grow in one corner of my basement (semi-closed off with b/w poly). I was thinking about bringing the air just into the basement so it wouldn't be coming in anywhere near my plants. Then it eventually it would circulate through my grow room since I've got good ventilation. Is it still a bad idea? I didn't think bugs would be an issue this time of year, but I guess they're always there. I probably won't do it, but if my RH climbs to 60% I might be forced to. Humidity has been high here lately. Today it was like 57%!!!

Good luck w the spider mites bro. I think gnats are easy I just gotta get serious about 'em!

[lampost]

FUCK!! I think these are actually winged root-aphids after some further investigation... a much more serious problem...

Oh well... I exterminated the spider mites so I'll take these bitches down too! Looks like gnatrol and/or spectracide...

[oldhaole]

This is a solution I use for insect problems. Let two cigarette butts soak for 24 hours in 16 oz of water. Spray the plant with nicotine water liberaly including the underside of the leaves. This works on the whitefly problem on my cannabis. I aso use it on my roses to kill aphids.