Looks like it’s not fungus gnats after all, but thrips
Not touched the plants since Friday, then yesterday went to bottom feed one, and turns out the tray was covered in dried out, but clearly not all dead thrips. I did what I could by swapping the tray out immediately for a clean one, but the problem will of course be deeper than that.
I’ve doubled up on the diatomaceous earth coating, and thickly chopped potatoes and put them around the base of the stem. I’ve checked with a torch and can see absolutely no sign of them making their way up the stem. I understand they won’t harm the roots or buds, but will go for the leaves, so if we can keep them down in the soil for the last couple of weeks (maybe less) of flower, then smoke bomb the cabinet, the room it’s in etc. and start again.
Fed the clones last night and couldn’t see any signs on the surface or in the run off, but I’d be surprised if they’ve gotten away with it. We’re trying to maintain hygiene between cabinets, but I guess you can only go so far to prevent the spread of these things. I’ll get pics up later when I have time.
It may be smarter to kill these clones, smoke bomb everything, and start again from seed. Thoughts…?
See the thing is if you had gnats and you’ve ended up with what you think look like thrips you could just be getting confused with gnat larvae BUT you could have both I don’t think you’d of taken all the precautions if you didn’t have anything flying around your room?
Thrips are a bastard as well though if you’ve got that protection down now though that will also stop thrips but I don’t think thrips lay in the dirt not entirely sure on that I’ve only had them twice n always end cycle so they got left but if you can get yourself a garden spider or two an put them in there, long as they’re small enough spiders they’ll feed off the bugs. And spiders and spider mite are not the same thing either
I think I just misdiagnosed as I couldn’t get a good enough look last week. Nothing flying save for one little fly who spent the night in the cab, but I figured maybe I just had the larvae…
I’ve been to my local hydro store and they were pretty sure they’re thrips based on my description. They have a spray that I might go back for but want to save as a last ditch if things get worse.
Pretty sure they’re thrips. Little tiny thin guys with two antenna at the front. They zip around the surface of the water.
The guys at the shop told me about how they wont touch your roots but will climb up the stem and start their attack on your leaves. So hopefully can keep them at bay for long enough to harvest then reset to day zero on everything by nuking my room!
Sounds more like spring tails to me. They are beneficial and eat decaying organic matter.
Thrips larva live on the leaves, though they do spend part of their life cycle in the soil. If you had thrips you would notice a white residue on the leaves where they rasp the surface and suck the sap that spills out. Are you seeing leaf damage?
They’re so small though I can’t tell what they are, or get a close enough photo, it’s really tricky to positively I.D. them.
The potato slices are working on some kind of bug, I just don’t know what that is either. Guess it’s the same as in the feed, but at a later stage of development…? This is the best I could do for a photo:
Whatever they are, looks like we’re f*cking overrun That’s just one slice of potato out of four on each plant. I haven’t been round and checked them all, but there’s no chance any of them have got away with it
As far as leaf damage goes, I’ve got a couple leaves yellowing, but then again we have been kinda starving them lately, and they are coming up for seven weeks into flower…
I agree those do look more like springtails than they look like thrips however I thought springtails were white? Do they jump at all?
Check the underside of the leaves in the corners of the veins near where the blades of the leaf meet. If you had thrips that’s where you’re most likely to spot the larvae.
I really can’t find anything moving or growing on/under the leaves. Might be grasping at straws with that leaf in the last post.
My google image searching has thrown up pics of springtails in black and white varieties.
The tiny ones in the feed seem to kinda zip about, the ones under the potato went straight back under the potato haha. I didn’t really give them the chance to jump about.
Do you have a budscope @trinity. If you do I recommend trying to view some under it and get a positive identification on those critters. If they are springtails you have absolutely nothing to worry about.
No, I just have an 8x lupe. I did my best with it to look up close at the bugs on the potatoes, and they do kinda look more like springtails to me, but that’s just based on lots of googling.
The fact of it is that all six plants are thickening out their buds and looking good. They’re not too far off now, and we’ve got counter measures in place and know where to get strong sprays from should we need them.
The lamp’s definitely a bit too much for the colas closest to it, so I’ve rotated most of the plants and added some more zip ties to fill the adjusted canopy in and keep the bud-on-bud to a minimum.
I highly recommend grabbing a cheapo USB microscope off amazon if your budget will allow for it. They are very handy in pest identification. It really helped me identify when I had thrips and spider mites. Proper ID is key to knowing the correct course of action.
Got a USB microscope on order, should get here tomorrow. Thanks for the nudge @paintedfire420, it was on the shopping list for tricome porn, but this is a more beneficial use I think! Gross bug close-ups on the way any day now
I’m still seeing nothing on leaves. Poked my head in briefly and there’s still no damage or larvae on the leaves. Gonna change out the potatoes again, but I won’t have much time with them today.
I first noticed larvae of some sort floating up to the surface when feeding on Friday. Five days on, should I expect to see damage on the leaves by now if it is thrips? I have zero experience…
but if you can get yourself a garden spider or two an put them in there, long as they’re small enough spiders they’ll feed off the bugs. And spiders and spider mite are not the same thing either 
That’s just one slice of potato out of four on each plant. I haven’t been round and checked them all, but there’s no chance any of them have got away with it 
