They seem to only be on the soil for now, all mostly seem less than 1mm/1/16th" long. Non flying, only on the soil, showed up after watering. Large cluster near the edges of the pots, primarily on the soil, not on the plant itself.
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Wow, that’s a lot of bugs!
They could be beneficial critters, eating all the mould and fungus in the soil. I had some in my last grow that used to run to the edges after watering and once they had eaten everything, they disappeared. Didn’t hurt my plants at all. How are your plants looking?
You could try a flush with Neem oil and see if that helps. It didn’t work for me but you may have better results. You’ll probably have to do it 2-3 times over a couple of weeks.
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Plants seem to stay healthy, I’ve struggled with the pH level in the soil being a touch too high and have maybe had some nitrogen deficiency, something I’ve been working on but as I’ve been working on the issue these little guys have showed up. Room temp stays around 75-80° (f) with humidity around 50%. Still in veg, this is a first grow, and the first I have seen these guys
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It’s a shitty feeling having bugs in your crop, but I wouldn’t worry too much just yet. Since you said the plants are looking healthy, it’s not likely a predator. With that many bugs, you’d soon notice if they were attacking your plants.
I would still keep a VERY close eye on them and flush with Neem Oil anyway. Neem won’t hurt your plants or any beneficial bugs in your soil since it only goes after predators. I use it every few weeks just as a precaution.
On a side note; how’s your air circulation? You want to make sure that the soil dries out properly before watering again.
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Air circulation is good (I hope), I have two fans running constantly, along with the heat. Could this be part of it? This is the first I’ve noticed them here recently.
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2 fans should be fine but the soil does look wet (hard to tell via photos). A light breeze over the canopy works well. Did you water recently?
A picture of your plants under natural light (or camera flash) would definitely help with diagnosis.
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I must be blind. All i see is perlite and soil. Edit . Oh wow i thought the photo was just grainy. Do you have a jewlers loupe? get a closer photo?
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They seem to have kind went back down into the soil now that it’s starting to dry after the watering yesterday, now I’m noticing small worms and crawling bugs in the soil as well, all extremely small
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Those tiny bugs (mites) look identical to the ones I had in my soil. They left (or died) after all the mould and fungus was eaten. They are unsightly but I don’t think they’ll hurt your plants.
That tiny worm could potentially be an issue. Because of it’s size, I suspect that it’s actually a Fungus Gnat Larvae, which you definitely don’t want. They feed off your plants roots and will eventually kill it if not taken care of. Have a look through your top soil and look for more “worms” and yellowish-white eggs. I’ve attached a picture of the larvae so you know what they look like.
Do you have any tiny black flies hanging around your grow space?
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Shit.
I do see similar worms in the top of the soil, all very small, nothing bigger than 1/16" or 1/32". I have been watering about every 3 days or so, usually almost enough for less than 1/4 cup run off in a ~5 gallon pot
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I would get some Neem Oil and flush that through the soil. You’ll have to do it a few times over a couple of weeks. They are a pain to get rid of but it can be done.
I’d also get some more air through the soil to help with drying. Maybe move one of your fans to blow a breeze across your pots.
If Neem Oil fails, you can try a peroxide solution but it will kill all the beneficial organisms in your soil as well as the larvae. It’s basically a last resort solution.
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@Beginner.grower Get you some Mosquito Bits and sprinkle on top of soil than water as usual it will release BTI and kill all the Fungus gnat larvae. Do this quickly because they will get worse by the thousands in no time!
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That sounds like a quicker solution. I’d go with that.
I wonder if there is anything like that in Australia. I’ll have to look around.
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