Alan Yoneda
Member
Can bugs live inside the soil? and if so, is there something I can buy to get rid of that. I use liquid lady bug to kill bugs on the plant. But what about inside the soil. Also, can fungus grow in the soil? Sorry im a newb.
Can bugs and fungus live inside the soil?
- Thread starter Alan Yoneda
- Start date
Phatlewtz
Well-Known Member
Unfortunately there are a vast number of nasty pests that can live in soil..lots of good ones too...if you allow your soil to stay very wet all the time it will create a slew of problems...good air circulation helps alleviate these problems and a good soil mix with a good aeration ratio will help eliminate a lot of problems, also cleanliness is paramount! It really depends on how you grow...have you started growing already? If so what's your setup like? The more we know the more we can help
Kingrow1
Well-Known Member
Fungus lives in soil, its not somthing that goes away easy, most organic matter is going to host a whole microcosm of fungus, bacteria and microscopic soil dwelling organisms.
Is there somthing in particular you want to kill?
Alan Yoneda
Member
I'm growing indoors inside my apartment in a Gorilla Grow Tent with a kind LED light I'm going to have four plants in a 4 by 4 tent. With fans and carbon filter. Also an exhaust fan. Is there anything to put in the soil that would help combat bugs and fungus?
ganga gurl420
Well-Known Member
Not all fungus is bad...and actually some is very good. Organic growers strive for fungus in the soil. Infact the nutes I blend into my soil has bacteria and fungus in it.
Alan Yoneda
Member
I just saw some fruit fly things flying out of the soil
I saw that too in mine the day I planted them lol. I never have them inside my place! I finished planting..noticed one flying to the soil..landed on it and stayed lol.
Dr. Who
Well-Known Member
Neem meal and Crab/shrimp shell meal is put into soil's when building to prevent unwanted pests from gaining access to it...(besides the nutritional value)No
In my experience, It works pretty damn good for most!
Sounds like fungus gnats. Not the biggest problem for growing MM.
I would use this to rid yourself of them - use it once every 5 days for 2 weeks or longer if needed. Water it in deeply!
https://4hydroponics.com/microbe-lift-bmc-2-oz
You WANT fungus to be growing in your soil!
Kingrow1
Well-Known Member
Dont know why you quote me there, op wasnt very specific. In a small grow fresh sliced onion and garlic will deter fungus gnats and diatomaceous earth on the soil will slice them to bits. I never found neem or gnat products to eliminate the problem just keep it under control. Preadatory mites and wasps were more effective than neem in the long run but ultimatley gnats cause very little damage so i ignore them thesedays.
Dr. Who
Well-Known Member
No attack kind - Slow down and take a breath. Simply adding that some prevention and natural killing of some soil born pests is available by amending your soil.
Neem meal at soil building does go towards prevention and some control.....Same for Crab/Shrimp/Frass meals.
I have always had wonderful results with the BMC-lift! Never fails if used right.
And yes, gnats are more of a bother then a problem.....I always have yellow sticky traps up! I can take inventory of the bugs they get and see if real problems lurk...
PEACE
tyke1973
Well-Known Member
Plenty of stuff out there to kill of fungas knat larva,you will know if you have knats jusdt by shaking the plants, I think they live very short lives matter of days but lay a few hundred eggs each day there alive, I have seen garlic work with them,cloves of garlic pushed into the soil.or like Dr who said neem oil,
ButchyBoy
Well-Known Member
My last Fungus Gnat outbreak was super small. I normally use spinosad as a soil drench. The last time I grabbed some beneficial Nematodes and watered all of my soil with it including my cooking tubs. I haven't seen a gnat since doing it and will add more as time goes by.
Budley Doright
Well-Known Member
Are you still using your urine?
Kingrow1
Well-Known Member
Yer sorry dude, my bad. I nevver foundd neem and gnat products to be completely effective just keep the numbers down which was dissapointing, garlic and onion seemed to repel them. I live with them these days and never see but a few, most probably get sliced up by my fans and inline which is quite good at keeping most bug numbers down.
Whoever said 'Teaming with microbes', thats an awesome book, i highly recomend it.
ganga gurl420
Well-Known Member
Never said I was.
SPLFreak808
Well-Known Member
To the OP, if in a dedicated indoor room then you can use some sticky traps and get your watering cycle down to where gnats aren't able to thrive. Try to time your plants to where they all dry out on the same day and your gnat count will diminish eventually to nothing.
You can add oyster shell flour to that list!
Richard Drysift
Well-Known Member
If you grow in soil pests can occur that's just par for the course. Fungus helps your plants absorb nutrient from the soil; not a bad thing actually. Gnats are no big deal get some neem oil, go gnats, or spinosad to spray as a preventative measure. You can't eliminate them but you can easily control their populations. I add neem meal in my mix globally as well but you still get gnats if you water too much. Best to let the soil dry out completely on top before watering again but if you see flying fuckers just sprinkle on some diatomaceous earth & they will be gone in a few dayz. Good luck happy growing