Phylloxera - Help us God!

[lampost]

Phylloxera - Winged Root Aphid

Anyone unfortunate enough to have a run-in with these little suckers! I can tell you straight up that they are worse than spider mites. Reading a little about them it seems they destroyed 9 out of 10 grape vineyards in France prior to 1900s...

These bastards are just about impossible to eliminate from what I've heard. They are best fought with a systemic (imid?), however, it stays in the plant for a LONG time so it can really only be applied safely in early veg!!

I think WAY more people have these then realize it. They are often mistaken for fungus gnats. And in fact, that's what I thought I had until I realized they were laying eggs in my buds!! They will destroy your root system and the plant will die a slow death. Apparently, people can still make it to harvest, but the plants are sickly and dying and suffering from nute-lockouts starting in early- to mid- flowering. Yield is definitely affected in a full-on infestation. Most people assume the root aphids are actually fungus gnats and they blame their problems on nute deficiencies, bad water, etc.

Does anyone have experience battling these fuckers!! Since it's going to be an on-going battle I think I may use some organic chemicals since I'll be applying them through flower. I'm thinking Botanigard looks nice. Was also thinking about Spectracide... rumored to work really well... but you have to root drench it and that's a nasty chemical as far as I'm concerned. I'm sure it's taken up by the plants. Even though it's not a systemic it's likely still taken up... it just doesn't work when inside the plant.

I think this will be my 3-part regimen:

Tobacco spray
Botanigard
Pyrethrums

Anyone have any input? Stories? Suggestions?

lampost Reviewed by lampost on 03-09-2010. Phylloxera - Help us God! Phylloxera - Winged Root Aphid Anyone unfortunate enough to have a run-in with these little suckers! I can tell you straight up that they are worse than spider mites. Reading a little about them it seems they destroyed 9 out of 10 grape vineyards in France prior to 1900s... These bastards are just about impossible to eliminate from what I've heard. They are best fought with a systemic (imid?), however, it stays in the plant for a LONG time so it can really only be applied safely in Rating: 5

[WashougalWonder]

Will Neem not work on them? Neem can be put in the soil and the plant will uptake it. Neem is not toxic to us. Neem can be used right up to flower if you can tolerate the taste.

Then there are the No Pest Strips.

Never heard of these bugs.

[lampost]

Sorry for the delay - I meant to post this right away. Here are some links showing pictures and methods of treatment. You'll see many people have had trouble eliminating these things... some going as far as cutting down and starting over.

Fungus gnats or WINGED ROOT APHIDS??? - International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums

Here's another thread that discusses them as well:

Phylloxera information - aka root mites aka root aphids - International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums

[lampost]

I can't believe nobody has any input on these! These things are worse than spider mites and are probably just as common.

I'd you're get unexplained deficiency symptoms in early flower and your yield aren't quite up to par, then this could likely be the culprit (and it most certainly is if you're battling a so-called "fungus gnat" infestation that doesn't seem to respond to fungus gnat treatments).

Anyone who is getting clones from a dispensary should be especially wary. My bugs came from dispensary clones.

[khyberkitsune]

If you have this problem, the best treatment is not a systemic poison, but to absolutely shatter the reproductive cycle.

Soil: bottom of pot should have an inch-thick sand layer or more, top of soil should have the same. This stops flies from escaping to breed in the air, and stops insects in the air from laying eggs into the soil or burying into the soil to get to the roots.

Hydro: Not as often found in hydro, but can happen in coco/hempy buckets. Seal the bucket, that's about all you can do before resorting to a poison.

[lampost]

If you have this problem, the best treatment is not a systemic poison, but to absolutely shatter the reproductive cycle.

Soil: bottom of pot should have an inch-thick sand layer or more, top of soil should have the same. This stops flies from escaping to breed in the air, and stops insects in the air from laying eggs into the soil or burying into the soil to get to the roots.

Hydro: Not as often found in hydro, but can happen in coco/hempy buckets. Seal the bucket, that's about all you can do before resorting to a poison.

Actually that wouldn't do shit to these bugs. They actually have like 10 life stages and at certain points they are born pregnant and they can actually reproduce asexually. So, they're a bit more difficult to eliminate than that.

By the time you see winged flyers you have a full-blown infestation. They only grow wings when they're population is too high in one location and they need to spread out. They typically exist as non-winged aphid-type bugs and they eat your roots.

I've lost one of my plants to this, but I think I've stopped them for now. Hopefully the rest will be OK.

I will try to post pics of the damage when I have time. Basically at day 25-30 of flower the fan leaves are already yellowing severely.