A mite to remember

[CrimsonEcho]

don’t kill these guys if you have them, don’t drench your soil or soilless mix with pesticides, don’t use diatomaceous earth to cover the top soil either because these guys will do the job for free. hypoaspis miles, a beneficial guy all the way. scavengers, so they will eat any pest that spends at least one phase of its lifecycle in soil (thrips and fungus gnats are the obvious pests targeted by these beauties). you may even see them roaming on the lower leaves of small plants or on seedlings too, perfectly fine. they will never ever damage your plants and kill those only which will cause damage. love these mites.

 

[HappyHazmat88]

Soil aphids.....I wish I knew they were beneficial before I treated the soil..... Well I know now...thank you growmie if I see them again I'll allow them to live.

 

[CrimsonEcho]

Soil aphids.....I wish I knew they were beneficial before I treated the soil..... Well I know now...thank you growmie if I see them again I'll allow them to live.

well not quite soil aphids but soil mites hahaha

if you’re running organic with a lot of amendments, fresh and dried organic material, living mulch etc. they will be very happy chilling there eating algae and decaying organic matter and if there are any, eggs and larvae of pests.

definitely a great first line of defense for the most common pests and coupled with good hygiene and strict quarantine its a good ipm that works very well in my case.

havent seen a gnat for a long long time now.

 

[CrimsonEcho]

here they are checking on the newly transplanted clones

i wouldnt wanna be an egg on those cuts lol

 

[Azimuth]

How do you tell the difference, size?, color?

I wouldn't want anything mite looking because of my prior experience with the two spotted variety.

 

[CrimsonEcho]

How do you tell the difference, size?, color?

I wouldn't want anything mite looking because of my prior experience with the two spotted variety.

firstly they’re larger than spider mites and they have red/brown heads and they primarily roam the soil and surfaces rather than plants.

 

[CrimsonEcho]

how about this silverfish? another higher life form i welcome in the grow area.

 

[Azimuth]

And what do the silverfish do?

 

[CrimsonEcho]

And what do the silverfish do?

 

[Azimuth]

Ok, but still seems wrong somehow.

I guess I'd rather not know what that "living soil" actually consists of.

 

[CrimsonEcho]

Ok, but still seems wrong somehow.

I guess I'd rather not know what that "living soil" actually consists of.

springtails are extremely cute by the way you should take a look at them under a macro lens hahah

or better yet a microscope

 

[CrimsonEcho]

how about this silverfish? another higher life form i welcome in the grow area.

this creature it seems takes its name from its movement pattern. silverfish, really moves like a fish i wish i had a video but it just moves its ass a lot just like a fish flapping its tail and almost seems like its swimming

 

[Azimuth]

springtails are extremely cute by the way you should take a look at them under a macro lens hahah

or better yet a microscope

Hard pass.

 

[CrimsonEcho]

Hard pass.

your loss rofl

 

[Azimuth]

this creature it seems takes its name from its movement pattern. silverfish, really moves like a fish i wish i had a video but it just moves its ass a lot just like a fish flapping its tail and almost seems like its swimming

Yeah, I've seen those in real life. They can get pretty big. 3"+.

Creepy.

 

[CrimsonEcho]

Yeah, I've seen those in real life. They can get pretty big. 3"+.

Creepy.

no way! do they? the one i saw was barely an inch. maybe outdoors but indoors i hardly think they’ll grow that big. i wouldnt mind if they did either but who knows

 

[Azimuth]

Was in my basement. I think they like damp conditions.

 

[CrimsonEcho]

Was in my basement. I think they like damp conditions.

yeah they like damp and dark conditions i found this bad boy hiding under a tray. it was lights on so it took shelter under the tray it seems. cute fella, moves real funny makes nutrients available to plants as a hobby hahaha good guy!

 

[Azimuth]

Ha! Maybe, but just can't bring myself to embrace that concept.

 

[CrimsonEcho]

Ha! Maybe, but just can't bring myself to embrace that concept.

i tell you man marvelous creatures very beautiful, beneficial and cute as a button hahah my wife is scared of bugs and stuff too so i get that kinda but i don’t, i grew up gardening so i’m all used to that shit.

earwigs kinda gives me the chills a tiny bit but thats all haha