Is this dust or something to keep an eye on?

singlecoiled · Oct 30, 2022

Hi all, I've completed three grows, all of which have been a bit rough mid to late flower. I'm going back to look at pictures to see if I've had hidden pests.

I know this picture isnt great, I'll need to work on getting a Micro/Macro lense or sometype of microscope to look more closely.

Are these looking suspect? I thought it was dust, but I'm not sure.

hotrodharley · Oct 30, 2022

It’s nothing I’d be concerned about.

singlecoiled · Oct 30, 2022

OK, thanks, maybe I'm being a bit paranoid. I've seen flies that are not fungus gnats, ( fungus gnats can be caught/smashed easily, the other flies I've seen are pretty good at getting away.) I've also seen ants mid flower on all of my grows which worries me. Ants are a good indicator that there is some tasty honeydew somewhere?

dbz · Oct 30, 2022

singlecoiled said:
OK, thanks, maybe I'm being a bit paranoid. I've seen flies that are not fungus gnats, ( fungus gnats can be caught/smashed easily, the other flies I've seen are pretty good at getting away.) I've also seen ants mid flower on all of my grows which worries me. Ants are a good indicator that there is some tasty honeydew somewhere?

Ants can be a big indicator of aphids. Aphid shit is like crack for them. Sometimes they even milk them and they will carry them to a plant in order to satiate their crackhead sweet needs.

hotrodharley · Oct 30, 2022

dbz said:
Ants can be a big indicator of aphids. Aphid shit is like crack for them. Sometimes they even milk them and they will carry them to a plant in order to satiate their crackhead sweet needs.

Ants actually keep aphid farms for just that reason. Mix borax with powdered sugar in equal amounts. Leave where ants are. They take it back to the nest where they all eat it and then explode.

singlecoiled · Oct 30, 2022

hotrodharley said:
Ants actually keep aphid farms for just that reason. Mix borax with powdered sugar in equal amounts. Leave where ants are. They take it back to the nest where they all eat it and then explode.

I've already done the borax ant thing, but as I said earlier, they keep coming back, which leads me to believe I have aphids, whiteflies or something else hard to detect.

If I have aphids or white flies, I cant see them anywhere... That's why I'm looking hard now.

If anyone has tips on how to look for these tiny pests please let me know. I've checked my roots after harvest, and can't see aphid's anywhere. Same goes for leaves and stems. Dam things are so small !

singlecoiled · Oct 30, 2022

dbz said:
Ants can be a big indicator of aphids. Aphid shit is like crack for them. Sometimes they even milk them and they will carry them to a plant in order to satiate their crackhead sweet needs.

Yep, thats why I'm looking hard now to see if the ants are after honeydew. So in a way, the ants are helping to show me that I have something bad going on .... Do they ever show up without their farmed friends present?

dbz · Oct 30, 2022

singlecoiled said:
I've already done the borax ant thing, but as I said earlier, they keep coming back, which leads me to believe I have aphids, whiteflies or something else hard to detect.

If I have aphids or white flies, I cant see them anywhere... That's why I'm looking hard now.

If anyone has tips on how to look for these tiny pests please let me know. I've checked my roots after harvest, and can see aphid's anywhere. Same goes for leaves and stems. Dam things are so small !

You also can put a ring of diatomaceous earth around the perimeter of your pots and grow area. You can treat the plants preemptively or get a cheap scope and take closet looks. Some pests are incredibly tiny. Beneficial nematodes are good in soil too.

hotrodharley · Oct 30, 2022

singlecoiled said:
I've already done the borax ant thing, but as I said earlier, they keep coming back, which leads me to believe I have aphids, whiteflies or something else hard to detect.

If I have aphids or white flies, I cant see them anywhere... That's why I'm looking hard now.

If anyone has tips on how to look for these tiny pests please let me know. I've checked my roots after harvest, and can see aphid's anywhere. Same goes for leaves and stems. Dam things are so small !

Aphids should be easy to spot using magnification if needed. As bad as my old eyes are I can see them with the naked eye.

xtsho · Oct 30, 2022

singlecoiled said:
I've already done the borax ant thing, but as I said earlier, they keep coming back, which leads me to believe I have aphids, whiteflies or something else hard to detect.

If I have aphids or white flies, I cant see them anywhere... That's why I'm looking hard now.

If anyone has tips on how to look for these tiny pests please let me know. I've checked my roots after harvest, and can't see aphid's anywhere. Same goes for leaves and stems. Dam things are so small !

As has already been stated, if you had aphids they're easy to spot. Take a couple minutes and look under the undersides of leaves. If you have them you'll know. Same thing with white flies.

You don't have to have aphids to have ants. What kind of ants are they?

singlecoiled · Oct 30, 2022

xtsho said:
As has already been stated, if you had aphids they're easy to spot. Take a couple minutes and look under the undersides of leaves. If you have them you'll know. Same thing with white flies.

You don't have to have aphids to have ants. What kind of ants are they?

I should have taken pictures of the ants, my fault. At most I've seen 1 or 2 at a time on the ground of my grow cabinet. I have not seen any ants on my plants, which worries me. If I have root aphids, they are hard to see unless I take the plant out of its pot (correct me if I'm wrong here). So, I'm hoping the ants arent in my soil farming root aphids that I cant see... Note: I have looked hard at my roots after harvest and did not see anything, but I may have missed them.

The ants are medium in size, around 1/2 inch and brown in color. They are not the tiny black ants I see in my house from time to time. In fact, this is the only time I've seen these ants in my home. The ants seem to be coming for something around 1-2 months into my grow. Also, when I'm not growing and my cabinet is clean, there are no ants. They only seem to come later in the grow.

This hobby is brutal for a newbie like me. The more I learn, the more I learn that I need to learn, if that makes sense.

Thanks for the help all.... I'm hoping to get a grow that stays healthy through flower but so far no luck. I'm hoping its not pests causing my problem.

xtsho · Oct 30, 2022

singlecoiled said:
I should have taken pictures of the ants, my fault. At most I've seen 1 or 2 at a time on the ground of my grow cabinet. I have not seen any ants on my plants, which worries me. If I have root aphids, they are hard to see unless I take the plant out of its pot (correct me if I'm wrong here). So, I'm hoping the ants arent in my soil farming root aphids that I cant see... Note: I have looked hard at my roots after harvest and did not see anything, but I may have missed them.

The ants are medium in size, around 1/2 inch and brown in color. They are not the tiny black ants I see in my house from time to time. In fact, this is the only time I've seen these ants in my home. The ants seem to be coming for something around 1-2 months into my grow. Also, when I'm not growing and my cabinet is clean, there are no ants. They only seem to come later in the grow.

This hobby is brutal for a newbie like me. The more I learn, the more I learn that I need to learn, if that makes sense.

Thanks for the help all.... I'm hoping to get a grow that stays healthy through flower but so far no luck. I'm hoping its not pests causing my problem.

Ants will make a home in the soil of potted plants. They don't need aphids to feed and they can usually find plenty of food sources in most homes.

dbz · Oct 30, 2022

singlecoiled said:
I should have taken pictures of the ants, my fault. At most I've seen 1 or 2 at a time on the ground of my grow cabinet. I have not seen any ants on my plants, which worries me. If I have root aphids, they are hard to see unless I take the plant out of its pot (correct me if I'm wrong here). So, I'm hoping the ants arent in my soil farming root aphids that I cant see... Note: I have looked hard at my roots after harvest and did not see anything, but I may have missed them.

The ants are medium in size, around 1/2 inch and brown in color. They are not the tiny black ants I see in my house from time to time. In fact, this is the only time I've seen these ants in my home. The ants seem to be coming for something around 1-2 months into my grow. Also, when I'm not growing and my cabinet is clean, there are no ants. They only seem to come later in the grow.

This hobby is brutal for a newbie like me. The more I learn, the more I learn that I need to learn, if that makes sense.

Thanks for the help all.... I'm hoping to get a grow that stays healthy through flower but so far no luck. I'm hoping its not pests causing my problem.

Likely they are fine but a bit of diatomaceous earth around a cabinet can inhibit all crawlers if you want and it doesn't stop working and is non toxic

singlecoiled · Oct 30, 2022

Last thing all. I boiled and baked my Fox Farm soil and bleached and boiled all of my grow equipment this grow just in case pests are living in the soil. (I poured boiling water into Happy Frog soil, baked it until it reached 180 degrees, dried it out with a fan, and then planted with Great White added.

I've fixed my fungus gnats problems, but have seen flies that behave a bit differently. You can clap your hands and kills Fungus Gnats easily, but I have seen other flies that are a bit smarter and seem to dodge me when I try to kill them. Possible root aphid flyers?

singlecoiled · Oct 30, 2022

dbz said:
Likely they are fine but a bit of diatomaceous earth around a cabinet can inhibit all crawlers if you want and it doesn't stop working and is non toxic

Thanks, good tip. Ive heard good things about Diatomacouse earth, maybe I'll try it out. But, a few ants shouldnt be a problem unless they are farming aphids/white flies right? Ants dont carry in aphids do they? (sorry, may be a silly question)

So, I'm not worried about the ants, but I am worried that they may be a clue that I have something much worse to worry about. As I say, I dont see any ants until late Veg,

singlecoiled · Oct 30, 2022

xtsho said:
Ants will make a home in the soil of potted plants. They don't need aphids to feed and they can usually find plenty of food sources in most homes.

Good news thanks, maybe I'm being a little too careful. I hope your right here !

dbz · Oct 30, 2022

singlecoiled said:
Thanks, good tip. Ive heard good things about Diatomacouse earth, maybe I'll try it out. But, a few ants shouldnt be a problem unless they are farming aphids/white flies right? Ants dont carry in aphids do they? (sorry, may be a silly question)

So, I'm not worried about the ants, but I am worried that they may be a clue that I have something much worse to worry about. As I say, I dont see any ants until late Veg,

They will carry aphids sometimes. I had greenhouse tomatoes ruined by carpenter ants farming aphids but most ants aren't doing this. Some do.
Easy to kill plants and drive yourself nuts with too much attention as well

singlecoiled · Oct 30, 2022

dbz said:
They will carry aphids sometimes. I had greenhouse tomatoes ruined by carpenter ants farming aphids but most ants aren't doing this. Some do.
Easy to kill plants and drive yourself nuts with too much attention as well

thanks

Is this dust or something to keep an eye on?

singlecoiled

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