insect problem

vtharvestor

Active Member
I have alot of fruit flies in my closet. I think they like the organtic soil I have. Any suggestions, and what problems could they create?
 

VictorVIcious

Well-Known Member
They are probably not fruit flys. They are fungus knats. Get rid of them. They lay eggs in the soil and the larvae feed on the small root hairs. The mutiple exponentially. Buy an insecticide with neem oil in it. Treat them yesterday and again in three days. Then maintain it every week. VV
 

vtharvestor

Active Member
what will this insecticide have for effects on the plants, and do you have any specific brands of insecticide that i could find at any local hardware store?
 

VictorVIcious

Well-Known Member
No, well yes. If you get rid of the insects your plant may grow better. So I guess it will have an effect. They question I think you want answered is will it hurt your plant?? Dude please. If you have to ask....meanwhile the 20 gnats you started with have laid 4000 eggs. DO SOMETHING. VV
 

vtharvestor

Active Member
well, its working but there is still a decent amount of them. i spray the soil daily and i haven't noticed any problems with the plants, the growth is alot slower then last time, but im guessing thats because of the insects.
 

vtharvestor

Active Member
well i have been using insect killing soap with seaweed extract by safer brand. its meant for aphids mealybugs, mites and whiteflies. it kills the pests i have, but no matter how much i use it they are back the next day. there is little fruit fly looking bugs are the largest. and when i stir up the soil a bit i can see what looks like little white worms and tiny white/tan mites? any suggestions. i don't know what to do, im using an organtic soil that they must love. i obviously won't use this again, but i would hate to kill my little girls going now.
 

Jcway5

Well-Known Member
I actually had this problem and all i did was mix a tiny bit of dish soap and water and sprayed the top of my soil for 2 days...then eventually they were just gone, and no harm to my plant
 

Muffy D

Well-Known Member
I had to wait till the larvae matured (turned into flies) then I set a trap for them. I put out 6 fly strips around my plants and caught all of them before they could mature into adults and reproduce again. If you can't get rid of the larvae with pesticides you can just wait it out like I did. Their life cycle is pretty short.
 

vtharvestor

Active Member
well, i have been using dish soap mixed in water, with 8 fly traps and they are still all over the soil. all the fly traps are pretty well covered with bugs. i don't know what to do, i have them under 12hrs of light to try and salvage what i can from them. will the bugs affect the nugs, and how soon before harvest should i stop using the dish soap?
 
easist solution i know is to get to cigarettes and let them soak in a standard size cup of water overnight. then pour it on the soil. repeat as needed, but once or twice should do it with a good flush after.
 
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