Trouble reading today's article? Click here: Issue #322 - Sunday, June 17, 2018
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!
- Check out a awesome looking trophy pic that appears to be heavily dusted in trichomes. Someone's going to have a happy harvest day reeeeal soon!
Nebula Haze & Sirius Fourside (founders of GrowWeedEasy.com) "It's a beautiful tale, and today is a beautiful day without any
bugs." ~Hugo Pratt
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 plant's 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 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 everywhere 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 your 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
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!
This video shows you what fungus gnats look like, and also go over how to get rid
of them (or just read the rest of the article!)
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, 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.
There's even more Fungus Gnat grossness!
Or click below to skip to a specific section!
We weren't joking, Fungus Gnats.
Be
gone!
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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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I just wanted to drop a giant THANK YOU! Your site has been an invaluable source to learning the growing process. I can’t personally partake of the bounty, due to my job, but my wife who has developed a myriad of medical issues over the years can, and does benefit greatly from the medicine...and growing my own not only helps us to afford it, but I’ve grown to love the gardening part of it, it’s now my refuge and
happy place. I’m blown away by the fact you’ve provided a wealth of information, essentially free for the world to use! Thanks again!!!!
Kelly |
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Thanks GrowWeedEasy for all the info you give, helped me reach grade A every time. Everything you need to know is there in user-friendly modes. I want to share with you in return this 'BigBag' strain that got me 7oz of dried high
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Thanks again and keep up the awesomeness
Jase
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Nebula Haze:
I'll be honest with you, when I first started growing, I struggled. Now, it is my mission to
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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 can be 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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