As I said above looks like aphids and no they are not your friends. In the previous pic there is a definite fungus gnat.
3 Likes
The white bug I have is very skinny and long for its size. Does not look like shape of aphid at all. And the baby ones are even smaller as you can see at the very end of video a baby one crawls up toward the bigger one
On a positive note ALL: day 25 after sprouting all three seedlings are taking off and looking like small healthy plants. What do you all think ?
4 Likes
If they jump, definitely look like springtails, collembola, harmless and beneficial, to some pointâŚ
Their capacity to carry spores of mycorrhizal fungi and mycorrhiza helper bacteria on their tegument, soil springtails play a positive role in the establishment of plant-fungal symbioses and thus are beneficial to agriculture.
They also contribute to controlling plant fungal diseases through their active consumption of mycelia and spore of damping-off and pathogenic fungi. It has been suggested that they could be reared to be used for the control of pathogenic fungi in greenhouses and other indoor cultures. (Wikipedia source)
However, in some badly infected soil, they can do some damage on the root system.
So, I suspect that your pH is high and youâre watering to much. Collembola, like fungus gnat, like humid environment. Plus, springtails also like pH above 6.5, above 7, theyâll thrive like crazyâŚ
DE (diatomaceous earth) is the organic solution suggested, and if, only if DE donât help you get rid of them, you can make a homemade solution of clove and rosemary essential oils, 1:100 (around 1 ml\3 oz) each with pHâed water.
Or go with a product like GH AzaMax or Spinosad or SNS-203
https://www.amazon.com/General-Hydroponics-GH2045-AzaMax-Ounce/dp/B0032JYKGG
https://www.amazon.com/Monterey-LG6150-Garden-Spinosad-Concentrate/dp/B000BWY3OQ
https://www.amazon.com/Sierra-Natural-Science-Concentrate-Pesticide/dp/B017UC5TJW
In hope this will help you, truly yours
~Al 
4 Likes
I would listen to anything he says.
Heâs like the Yoda of weedville
4 Likes
Lol, yes, he is a Yoda.
2 Likes
SoâŚwe get past the âsick seedlingâ stage. Seedlings are doing great and flourishing. Then I notice some bugs in the soil which no one can exactly identify yet. NOW, look at my leaf I just noticed. Is this nutrient deficiency, or nute burn, or do I need a serious bug repellant regimen to start ASAP ? I have a decent wind on the plants 24 hours. No signs of anything at all flying around and nothing with wings. Just those little white springtails and the unidentified little black crawling bug with a tan/ gold butt area. Please see the pic. Holes in my damn leaf. Just this one leaf after inspecting all three plants very closely. What shall I do all? Any home remedies ??
1 Like
Itâs weird because the âholesâ or lines are almost perfectly in line several cerrations down the leaf. And the leaf next to it looks like it got a small piece munched off ! I donât want to do a whole bug kill regimen if thatâs not what this is.
1 Like
Could easily be fungis knats or Thrips thrips live in soil during juvenile stage and only grow wings later in their life cycle
2 Likes
Like @Donaldj said, maybe fungus gnat ?
And in some species of fungus gnat, only male have wings and fly, female are wingless.
So, @dclem1010, itâs really hard to identify an insect with very blur picturesâŚ
I am confident that the one that are jumping are collembola (springtails)
For the black one with golden or copper rear end, well, without a clearer picture in natural light, even me cannot identify itâŚ
Maybe a young Japanese beetle âŚ? Would explain the munch on leavesâŚ!?
Anyway, the first thing I had recommended earlier, DE is still the best first approach for your collembola problem and Spinosad is an all around organic insecticide and pesticide for foliar spray to fight against what ever is munching on your leaves.
In hope thatâs helping youâŚ
~Al
1 Like
Hello. Thanks everyone for the input. Iâm checking them hourly to see if there is anything. I DID put two videos of the bugs crawling if you scroll up. They are far too small as youâll see in video to be beetles and they arenât thrips because they have a totally different shape. I dont think they are gnats either because they look nothing like those pics. Anyhow please view the short videos of the critters crawling live above that I posted. Thx and please let me know. I guess I can do a DE or pest control treatment if I really have to. Let me know. Thx.
@Donaldj
@Niala
1 Like
Scroll up and youâll see two video eventually that you can pause, rewind, zoom in, anything you want and see these little critters that are still a mystery.
1 Like
There is no doubt in my opinion that in the first video u posted u are chasing around fungus gnats. They donât all look the same and rarely âflyâ. They crawl around the soil and eat your roots. And look like they are jumping when they âflyâ.
I would suggest covering the top of your soil with vermiculite. It was the only thing out of everything suggested to me that actually has an affect.
If Iâm wrong and itâs not fungus gnats it still appears to b a soft bodied insect that the vermiculite will cut up as they try to crawl thru it. They have short lifespans so if they canât get in to deposit larvae or babies canât get out they will die away in 1 lifecycle, about a week.
Sounds like u really donât want it to b what it is but the sooner u treat for it the better. Good luck.
1 Like
I use simple rule if I spot damage to my plants and I find bugs I class them as hostiles regaurdless until proven otherwise which means DE spinosad and plant hygiene drill trimming any leaves or limbs too close to soil or visibly damaged reduced watering to let soil dry more between watering tighter RH control and increased circulation. Almost all pests hate wind and dry conditions
3 Likes
Sorry, I miss the video, thanks for the reminder @dclem1010 âŚ
I think I have identified them with pretty much certainty, they are most probably flea beetle, maybe the Altica lythri but their numerous of flea beetle species⌠And they can jump⌠Adult flea beetle are 1\16"⌠So right in the target of the size of your video caption.
-
Try this homemade spray to control flea beetles: 2 cups rubbing alcohol, 5 cups water, and 1 tablespoon liquid soap. Test out the mixture on a leaf of the plant, let it sit overnight, then spray the rest of the plant if you donât notice any adverse effects. Spray the mixture on the foliage of garden plants that are susceptible to these pests.
-
Dusting your plants with plain talcum powder repels flea beetles on plants. As well as catnip and basil on your soil.
-
Use white sticky traps to capture flea beetles as they jump.
-
Insecticides may be used early , but are generally unnecessary in the control of flea beetles on adult plants. Be extra diligent if your soil has history of bacterial diseases.
From here :
So if DE or\and talcum powder doesnât work, you can try the rubbing alcohol mix mentioned or Spinosad.
Catnip and basil could be a good idea to keep them at bay after treatment.
In hope that respond to your question and need and that it will be helpfulâŚ
Truly yoursâŚ
~Al
2 Likes
Thx everyone. Putting vermiculite all over on top of soil. And a few other suggestions youâve all helped me with too. So far no leaf damages but who knows if they are hitting my roots. Thanks again all for being there for me !!
2 Likes
Vermiculite will hold humidity, itâs like a sponge, I donât recommend you to do that. Perlite would be better.
However, A good layer of DE on top soil application and sprinkle some on your leaves (or plain talcum powder on your leaves, not on soil for the talcum) is my recommendation.
If, only if this doesnât work, go with Spinosad.
~Al
2 Likes
True. Vermiculite does hold moisture. Iâll get DE tomorrow and layer it on the soil of all three plants. Hope it doesnât affect PH and what not because mine has been perfect at 6.2-6.5. 
. Iâll get some DE tomrrow. Also, can I already trim off dead leaves and is there any other trimming I should / could do or are they too young still at 1 month old ? Iâm not sure when to start a small dose of low stress training or mainlining practices
1 Like
DE is pH neutral, you donât have to worry about that
I donât see any dead leaves, maybe cut with scissors some tips that does have necrosis. At this age, it need all the leaves to thrive and make photosynthesis well to help expand their roots.
No training for the moment, let it grow to at least 5 nodes of true 5- 7 leaves, donât count the 2 or 3 finger set leaves, so I guess not before 2 or 3 weeks before doing any training, let it growâŚ
And take care of these collembola and flea beetle first, 
1 Like