Trouble reading today's article? Click here: Issue #170 - Sunday, July 19, 2015 Dear Fellow
Grower, In today's issue... - Fungus Gnats are as common as they are annoying. Let them know your grow room is for humans and
cannabis only! (Beneficial organisms also allowed)
- We've made a list of everything you'll need if Fungus Gnats show up in your grow. They'll definitely get the message!
- This weeks trophy pics: the story of two modest plants that grew up to achieve great things!
Top-fed DWC, ScrOG and a timeline. Mmmm-hmmmm!
Nebula Haze & Sirius Fourside (founders of GrowWeedEasy.com) "Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul."
~Luther
Burbank
Be Gone, Fungus Gnats! by Nebula Haze |
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Introduction
Fungus gnats - how do you get rid of these tiny flying pests that lay eggs in your soil? This article will teach cannabis growers (like you) exactly that: how to completely eradicate
fungus gnats and ensure they never come back!
Fungus gnats are a common problem for soil cannabis growers (especially those who overwater their plants!), but they're actually easy to get rid of once you know what to do!
Fungus gnats (also known as “sciarid flies”) are black or dark brown flies which
look like tiny mosquitoes with dark wings.
How Big Is a Fungus Gnat?
Fungus gnats are small, only about 2 mm long. To give you an idea of how big that is, 2mm is about the thickness of a quarter. Despite their small size, fungus gnats can be a big nuisance in your soil cannabis grow, mostly because their tiny maggot/larvae offspring will hurt your plants roots (which
will cause problems for your plants).
What Causes Fungus Gnats to Attack Cannabis Plants?
Fungus gnat larvae eat fungus or decaying matter, and need wet conditions to thrive. It is common for soil growers to overwater their cannabis plants, and wet soil is the perfect home for fungus and decaying organic matter. After fungus has grown (often invisible to the naked eye) or overwatered matter has begun to decay in the topsoil, fungus gnat lays their eggs in in the top layer of wet soil.
Warm + wet topsoil = fungus
gnats (and other problems or pests in soil)
These eggs hatch into larvae that look like tiny maggots which only live in the top 2-3 inches (5-8 cm) of soil. The fungus gnat larvae are the culprits which cause damage to cannabis roots. Cannabis roots are not the main source of food for fungus gnat
larvae, but roots get caught in the crossfire. Although the main diet of fungus gnats is fungus and decaying matter, the larvae happily gnaw on root hairs and young tender roots of cannabis plants.
The damage to the roots from these little suckers cause problems in the leaves and slowed growth. A bad fungus gnat infestation can even kill cannabis plants, especially young
seedlings.
While the main problem is that fungus gnat larvae attack the roots of your cannabis plants, the adult fungus gnats can also spread diseases (such as pythium - a common cause of root rot) via their feet.
Because of these problems, it is important to get rid of a fungus gnat infestation right
away.
If fungus gnats need fungus and decaying matter to survive, where is the fungus coming from? Fungus grows in wet conditions and is an essential part of the environment (where it breaks down organic matter like dead leaves). Fungus spores are around us everywehere pretty much all the time, but these spores will never start growing without moisture. Warm and wet conditions in
the soil of a cannabis grow are what cause fungus to grow and matter to decay. Sometimes you won't even be able to see the fungus or decaying matter with the naked eye. But once the conditions are right, fungus gnats thrive in the top layer of you soil whether you can see fungus or not. Check To Make Sure You Have Fungus Gnats
1.) Tiny flying black bugs around your plants & crawling on your soil
This video shows closeups of Fungus Gnats on cannabis plants Even if your plant or leaves aren't showing symptoms or distress yet, if you see fungus gnats it means that you have a problem with fungus and
moisture in your soil. Don't let the infestation get out of hand. It’s always recommended to get rid of any pests in the grow room as soon as you know they’re there!
The adult fungus gnat flies are just annoying (and gross); they don't bite you, and don't do much to hurt your plants directly besides spreading disease. But even though the mature fungus gnats aren't a huge threat to your plants, the
presence of adult gnats lets you know that your cannabis soil has been infested with their maggot offspring which causes the real problems.
2.) Tiny white or translucent larvae with black heads in the soil
Note: this picture is really big so you can see what you're looking for, but
the actual larvae / maggots are TINY. If you spot them, you'll just see tiny white spots wriggling around in the topsoil.
It’s the fungus gnat larvae in the soil that damage your plant roots and cause growing problems, especially to seedlings or young plants.
How Fungus Gnat Larvae Cause Damage to Cannabis Plants
Larvae attack tender new plant roots and root hairs, which cause these problems:
- “Damping off” - seeds or
seedlings are weak for no apparent reason; sometimes stems weaken and seedlings can even just fall over and die
- If the fungus gnat infestation gets out of hand, even adult cannabis plants start looking unhealthy, showing many symptoms such as wilting, yellowing, drooping and/or spots
- Cannabis
leaves may show signs of nutrient deficiency (or deficiencies) which seem to be unrelated to pH, nutrients, or any other identifiable nutrient problem
- Plants will start growing slowly and may even stop growing altogether
- If the infestation hits in the flowering stage, yields can be reduced
Fungus Gnats vs Fruit Flies
Quick Check! Make sure you have fungus gnats and not fruit flies.
Fruit flies are brown/yellow/orange while fungus gnats are dark brown or black. Fruit flies tend to be bigger/fatter and easier to see than tiny fungus gnats. You need to take a slightly different approach with fruit flies.
Fruit flies will keep coming back if there’s ripe or rotting fruit to eat. If you've ever left a banana or other fruit on your counter too long, you've probably noticed how fruit flies seem to be able to appear out of thin air if there’s ripe fruit
around.
Fruit flies can start buzzing around poorly composted soil which contains kitchen scraps, but otherwise fruit flies are uncommon in the grow room unless there’s ripe/rotting fruit or other tasty bits for them to eat.
So once you get rid of their food, the fruit flies will
disappear.
Pics of Damage to Cannabis Plants From Fungus Gnats
A fungus gnat infestation on your cannabis plants can cause all sorts of strange problems - often they look like
overwatering, pH problems or nutrient deficiencies. The more fungus gnats you have, the more likely you'll see damaged leaves and reduced growth rates.
Since fungus gnats are almost always caused by overwatering and too-wet topsoil conditions, some of these symptoms may actually be caused by too-wet soil. In any case, when you see fungus gnats, it means there's a problem in your setup that needs to
be addressed.
Here's some pictures of cannabis plants affected by a gnat infestation. Notice how the leaves don't look healthy (there's yellowing, spots, curling, etc). It's almost impossible to tell that you have fungus gnats just by looking at the leaves of the plant because it can cause all sorts of different symptoms. Here's a flowering cannabis plant affected by fungus gnats What To Do If You Have Fungus Gnats in Your Soil
Most importantly, don’t
overwater your plants! Never water cannabis plants grown in soil until the top inch of soil feels dry (up to your first knuckle). Fungus gnats need wet topsoil conditions to grow and thrive. The most common reason growers get fungus gnats is overwatering their plants.
Without Wet Topsoil,
Fungus Gnats Naturally Disappear!
While the steps below will help you get rid of your fungus gnats quickly and effectively, the gnats will almost always go away on their own if you simply stop overwatering your cannabis plants. When there's no fungus, there's no fungus gnats, and both need wet conditions to grow. But if you already have them, here's hwo to kick them out of your grow
area...
Get Rid Of Fungus Gnats Quickly: What You Need
1.) Place yellow sticky cards in the grow area - fungus gnats love the color yellow and will fly towards it. These yellow sticky cards
(found at most gardening stores) are covered with a glue that will trap adult fungus gnats, bringing down their numbers.
But the most important reason to use yellow sticky cards is to help you keep track of how bad the current fungus gnat infestation is. As the infestation is reduced, there will be less adults caught in the yellow sticky traps. That's how you know that your approach is
working.
2.) Get a fan blowing air over the top of the growing medium. This helps dry out the top layer of your soil, and also helps prevent the fungus gnats from being able to fly
around and lay more eggs.
2b.) (Optional, but recommended) Sprinkle food-grade diatomaceous earth over exposed parts of soil. This will help kill the fungus gnat larvae and will also help prevent infestations in the future. While not completely necessary, adding diatomaceous earthis a great step to take to help get rid of the fungus gnats and their larvae as fast as
possible
Diatomaceous earth is an organic insect killer made of fossilized shells. It is sharp on the microscopic level and works by puncturing the exoskeleton of insects (draining them of their body fluids), but poses no harm to humans or pets and can even be eaten.
3.) Don’t water your plants for a few days. You want to begin drying out the soil to kill as many larvae as you can before you apply a treatment (which will involve watering). Fungus gnat larvae need a warm, wet environment near the surface of your soil to grow. Even after you’ve gone
through all these steps and believe fungus gnats are gone, make sure to avoid overwatering plants, as this is the most common reason growers get fungus gnats in the first place. Don't do the next step until the top few inches of soil has dried out
4.) Kill the Larvae in The Soil
- If bacillus thuringiensis products are not available, you may want to kill the larvae with a brute force attack - Water the plant with a mixture of one of the following, making sure to cover the entire surface of the soil (since that’s where the fungus gnat maggots live)
- SM-90 - Use 1 part SM-90 to 5 parts
water and water your plants with this mix - brute force attack to kill larvae directly
- Can’t find bacillus thuringiensis or SM-90? Use 1 part 3% pure hydrogen peroxide to 4 parts water - another type of brute force attack to kill larvae directly.
5.) Avoid overwatering your cannabis plants from now on. Never water your cannabis plants in soil until the
top inch or two of soil has dried out. From now on, you don't want to ever let the top part of soil stay wet to create a breeding ground for fungus and fungus gnats. How often do I water my cannabis plants?
6.) Keep your sticky yellow cards up until Fungus Gnats are completely gone. These yellow sticky cards
will continue killing adult gnats. They're also helpful because they will alert you to whether fungus gnat numbers are rising or falling. Even after killing all the larvae, it may take a few days to a few weeks before the adult fungus gnats are completely gone and you stop seeing new gnats caught on your sticky cards.
We weren't joking, Fungus Gnats. Be gone! |
The absolute, #1 best way to make sure you don't get Fungus Gnats is to not over water your plants!
But we all
do it at some point...
So the second best method is to go all out on those suckers!
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Trophy Pictures of the Week |
"My two clones in dwc :) Hope you like!"
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Who Runs This
Newsletter? |
Nebula Haze:
Medical cannabis is important to me personally, and I'm dedicated to showing others how easy it is to grow their own supply of
cannabis at home.
It is my mission to educate and build growing resources to help both new and advanced growers get bigger, better yields with less time and money. |
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Learn which seed sources are personally recommended by Nebula Haze |
Sirius Fourside:
Sirius Fourside is a hobbyist grower who has gained the bulk of his experience growing in water as a medium(deep water culture,
bubbleponics).
"Growing cannabis is a relaxing hobby in and of itself, but it also saves you money and keeps you from having to deal with shady characters. Cannabis is much
easier to grow than people give it credit for, and growing in water doesn't increase the difficulty much, if any. But whether you want to grow in water, coco, or a different medium, we'll show you how easy it can be!"
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