OctoBuggery! Please Help Identifying These Tiny Pests!

[GrouchyOldMan]

I have a plant that is ailing in a way I’ve never seen before. I realized that the tiny white flecks floating on the surface of my octopup reservoir wasn’t actually perlite dust when I saw them moving! My hydro-expert @bu2b says he hasn’t ever seen this before, and he’s seen just bout every hydroponics problem, so I’m bringing this to the OG Braintrust for discussion.

This lovely Gorilla Grove plant, newly in flower…

…Is being menaced by these creepy octo bugs attacking her roots:

I noticed them first scattered across the water surface in the micro octopot reservoir.

Then they multiplied and began forming into clusters. This behavior seems intentional, if you scatter a cluster, they’ll begin randomly twitching about until they find a friend and one by one, reassemble.

They are very hard to photograph, but these show some structure. I think they are bright white, about 1 millimeter in length. They have a shape like SpringTails, but are they?

The Octopot reservoir in which they first appeared developed root rot before I got a handle on them and ditched the polluted water.

So far I have dosed them with Hydrogen peroxide, and Hydrochlorous Acid.Those both seem to kill them. I also purchased a submersible UV sanitizer light but it hasn’t arrived yet. I’m unsure what the best approach would be to also keep them from coming back.

Any help would be greatly appreciated,
-Grouchy

[MonasticDank]

Springtail larvae?

[Everytimefoo]

Use a pond mosquito killer. Also put a pump or airstone in your resivoir as their eggs arent able to survive in moving water. Kind if how youll only find mosquito eggs in stangnant non moving water. Best bet is to make it so the water is constantly moving and they will never return.

[Everytimefoo]

This is more than likely accurate.

[GMan]

Could you use Neem in the water?

[BudWhisperer]

I’m no bug expert, but they look just like this type of springtail to me.

Temperate White Springtails

(Collembola sp.)

Springtail size Size: 1-4mm

These microarthropods are great at keeping your terrarium clean and a critical part of the bioactive fauna. They are often described as “Tank Janitors” and eat mold and waste.

Springtails, Temperate White (Collembola sp.) - TC INSECTS

[RainToday]

Springtails, as suggested above, I have thousands of the same kind in each of my living soil grow bags. Harmless to your plants. When I water they come out and ride on the little flood of water like white froth on the ocean. People use them in vivariums as cleanup crew.

A period of complete dryness should kill them if their presence bothers you, such as taking a couple days between runs and getting your whole setup completely dry. That includes the soil though, and I read it’s got to be bone dry to kill them.

I think mine came in on compost from my worm bin, and I reuse living soil in a perpetual grow, so they’re here to stay. That’s okay though, I think they’re cute.

[ifish]

Spinosad wipes them out if they freak you out , they harmless but I hate bugs
: )

[Habitt]

I’ve had the same problem last grow with white little bugs in the reservoir. I didn’t have any problems with the plants that I’m aware of.

[ifish]

Plus when they die and sink to bottom of Rez thru natural wastage over course of the grow , your feed gets funkier quicker etc

[GrouchyOldMan]

Thanks everyone, great info and suggestions!

In addition to the above, one of the aquarium videos mentioned that you can also kill them with heat, say from a hair dryer. I borrowed my wife’s blow dryer and it worked quickly and cleanly. No visible survivors.

Good to know they aren’t supposed to be harmful, and maybe the root problems were just coincidental, but I’m glad they are gone!

-Grouchy

[buzzmobile]

Springtails in nurseries

When conditions or the habitat is right, springtails can occur in enormous numbers (50,000 per cubic foot). Springtails can be found outdoors in any moist situation, usually feeding on algae, fungi and decaying vegetation. There are a few species that can feed on plants but we haven’t found damage from springtails in nurseries. In most cases, springtails are beneficial by speeding up the process of decay and returning nutrients back into the soil. However, if you are finding large numbers you may want to monitor young seedlings.

Although it may be tempting to spray a large springtail problem with an insecticide, the products available are generally not very effective against them even with multiple applications. Controlling moisture levels can be an effective strategy as they are extremely sensitive to moisture. If their normal environment becomes dry, they will move to actively seek moisture.