How often do you get bugs in your FFOF?

Ive gotten FFOF on two separate occasions now. The last bag I got 2 years ago had a predatory mite in it hypoaspis miles. I'm pretty sure that is what the new bag contains as well. I opened my new bag of FFOF to find a small, fast, spider looking, bug. Pretty sure its the same mite as before.

I dont have experience with a lot of bugs but spider mites are not this slow, big, and I dont believe they typically live in dirt. But I'm only familiar with a couple kinds of bugs. What is your experience?

papa canna said:

Ive gotten FFOF on two separate occasions now. The last bag I got 2 years ago had a predatory mite in it hypoaspis miles. I'm pretty sure that is what the new bag contains as well. I opened my new bag of FFOF to find a small, fast, spider looking, bug. Pretty sure its the same mite as before.

I dont have experience with a lot of bugs but spider mites are not this slow, big, and I dont believe they typically live in dirt. But I'm only familiar with a couple kinds of bugs. What is your experience?

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I have been using ocean forest for a few years now and have never seen a bug come out of a bag or in my soil bin in storage.

MichiganMedGrower said:

I have been using ocean forest for a few years now and have never seen a bug come out of a bag or in my soil bin in storage.

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You must have better luck upstate than I do. I'm South eastern MI, but i've never seen a bugless bag of soil

papa canna said:

You must have better luck upstate than I do. I'm South eastern MI, but i've never seen a bugless bag of soil

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Try a different store. The bugs tend to come from the store and how they stock it.

Mine brings it right inside off the truck and not that many growers are hanging around the pallet. Which is always pretty fresh.

Also when you buy a bag pick it up and see if it is light and fluffy or heavier and denser. This means it got wet or humid. Which attracts bugs.

I use FF Happy Frog, and every bag comes with free fungus gnats!

Those hypoaspis miles are good friends!
I try to keep them in all my pots.

If you are seeing fungus gnats it is your own environment and watering practice bringing them.

They do not thrive in a healthy growroom. And the larvae do not survive in a dry bag.

I have seen 2 gnats in my room and none on the yellow sticky cards when I checked in 2 years with ocean forest. Or any other potting soil I used before.

The 2 were seen when I overwatered a bit. Fixed the problem no more gnats.

5 different stores in 5 years, ALL come with complimentary bugs. Hyposasis miles (good bugs), and fungus gnats. Reason I use promis firnthenfirst 4 watering to rid the GG4 issue

Yeah I'm seen them as well. I use to buy it actually till I ended up getting more bark chips then soil lol. Make your own compost and put your own amendments in. So much better off!!!

DemonTrich said:

5 different stores in 5 years, ALL come with complimentary bugs. Hyposasis miles (good bugs), and fungus gnats. Reason I use promis firnthenfirst 4 watering to rid the GG4 issue

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Capatilizing the word "all" did not make any bugs come from any bag of soil I have ever purchased.

It is growroom conditions bringing the bugs. Dryer conditions or more ventilation needed is always the advice I read.

MichiganMedGrower said:

Capatilizing the word "all" did not make any bugs come from any bag of soil I have ever purchased.

It is growroom conditions bringing the bugs. Dryer conditions or more ventilation needed is always the advice I read.

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It's not grow room conditions when I slice the bag right after bringing it home, to look and see bugs inside the bag before i've done any thing with it. No bugs in my current plants at the moment, just that bag of soil. Looks like its just predator mites. But where there are predator mites theres probably fungus nats

MichiganMedGrower said:

Capatilizing the word "all" did not make any bugs come from any bag of soil I have ever purchased.

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that was some funny @ss shit!!

(This is very useful informative post I know. Your welcome.)

I have perfect, controlled environments.
Guaranteed.

The bugs ARE compliments of FFOF soil.


FF rep acknowledged they put in HM to help with their FG issues. I was told this 3+yrs ago.

papa canna said:

It's not grow room conditions when I slice the bag right after bringing it home, to look and see bugs inside the bag before i've done any thing with it. No bugs in my current plants at the moment, just that bag of soil. Looks like its just predator mites. But where there are predator mites theres probably fungus nats

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I believe they come from the store not the bag originally. And if they were in the bag originally they would die without moisture.

And I have never seen the predator mites before.

But I believe you all see the bugs. I'm not arguing that. Ammended soil attracts them.

DemonTrich said:

I have perfect, controlled environments.
Guaranteed.

The bugs ARE compliments of FFOF soil.


FF rep acknowledged they put in HM to help with their FG issues. I was told this 3+yrs ago.

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Take it easy brother. Now you're yelling.

All I am saying is the larvae would die in transit. And I have not seen any in years of use.

So it's storage or conditions that cause them to get all the way to your room.

I've been using oceans forest for years too, no bug problems for me. Usually buy it over in Madison Heights at the N. Lights store. No gnats around my plants at all.

Not at all.
I just don't like some other growrr trying to tell me how it is in MY garden. Must be the 5 stored I go to in Macomb county that has bufmgs, or you just don't see them.

DemonTrich said:

Not at all.
I just don't like some other growrr trying to tell me how it is in MY garden. Must be the 5 stored I go to in Macomb county that has bufmgs, or you just don't see them.

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I am not saying it is definitely your garden like that Demon. I am saying the conditions at the stores is more likely the problem.

I don't buy soil at busy hydro stores or anywhere it is stored outside at all.

I only use the dense crap because it is the cleanest best stored soil near me. I actually hate working with the perlite to get it to drain right.

I tried the store issue. Why I've been to 5 stores and all have fg

#1. Just north of hall rd on vandyke on the right

#2 15 mile and schoenherr.

3 15 1/2 and groesbecj

4 htg in Roseville

12 and Hoover

All have complimentary fg in my findings over the past yrs. Every bag, I go thru 10+ bags a month, and 1 bottle of promis every 1.5 months. Do you think I like putting pesticides in my th plants..hell no. Bri don't do shit, neem (lol), Spinosad is just as bad as promis. But promis works 100%. As long as I do every 4th watering of new ffof with promis .


Damn you (lol)
You jinxed me. My fn master greenhouse controller shorted out on me. The ac plug part. Now I have to run my a.c. constant until i can grab another tomorrow.

Michigan do you have some stock with ffof lol. You have 4 or 5 people telling you that there are bugs. I doubt there because of the store. I'm pretty sure bags are already sealed. Doesn't Monsanto own them now. That would be the problem. Have any off you tried Lucky dog? I was buying some soil amendments and saw a bag of it. Might be worth a shot. I have tried coast of maine a while back that's some good stuff. But have to add quite a few things to the lobster compost. I live in the country so I make my own compost now.

Either way I use to be a huge fan of ffof.