What is it and where did it come from

[bombaguy]

Help! I have 3 Papaya plants and 3 bag seed females 2 weeks into bloom. They are budding well and also in relatively good health. I'm using a mixture of Coco fibre and roots organic soil. Was using botanicare pro grow. Now fox farm tiger bloom. Two 400 w hps at different height cause the papaya are a foot shorter than other two.

Ok problems. I have been fighting with fungus gnats since day one. have been able to control them pretty well with a few yellow sticky traps and a spray mixture of 1 part sm-90 5 part water. Use once every five days to douse the top layer of medium. so yesterday I noticed they were a little out of control so I made a mixture of the SM 90 with a little bit of tobacco juice and I drenched the top layer of soil and on two plants I noticed two worms coming up. Used tweezers to take them out and inspect. They were about an inch long and kind of brown and translucent. So question is what are they and where did they come from. also I'm thinking of getting some gnatrol and diameceaous earth?

 

[TanR]

Hi Bombaguy,

Having failed to do so previously, I'd like to start by welcoming you to 420 Magazine!

Pictures would be worth a thousand words in this case. Those critters sound to big to be fungus gnat larvae so I'm kind of stumped especially if you haven't noticed any other pests in your grow.

 

[bombaguy]

Thank you. I wish I did take a pic but I killed them before I could. I haven't seen any since. But they kinda looked like baby common earth/dirt worms. Do you think they could have been eggs in the soil I bought seeing how they use casings as a fert? The gnats I'm not worried about. Oh yeah nice to meet you to.

 

[TanR]

I'm just not sure what they might have been. Could have been from eggs, but my suspicion would be they were stowaways in the soil in some form. Possibly the same form just smaller? Sounds like they didn't like what you applied to the soil, so I might be tempted to apply some more in the near future and see if any more arise.

You don't want them down there in your root zone eating away only to see the damage later in your plants' life.

 

[JJ Bones]

They are likely the larvae from the fungus gnats. The SM-90 will help I would also get some beneficial nematodes to start attacking them.

I'm not a fan of Amazon however that is the most reliable source at the moment for you to obtain them:
10 Million Live Beneficial Nematodes Sf - Fungus Gnat/Rootknot Gall Exterminator

 

[bombaguy]

they were too big to be fungus gnat larvae. and I'm also way too paranoid about nematodes, anything that can have the possibility of invading humans and animals as well. Besides its way too expensive. I think I'll just go the other route by getting some gnatroll and some diamaceous earth. Thank you though.

 

[bombaguy]

okay after watering and feeding my plants this morning I sprayed my concoction again and one more worm came up so I took a picture of it.

 

[TanR]

Hi again Bombaguy.

I'm glad you treated the soil one more time. The first two pictures look like a common earthworm. That last picture has me puzzled though. What is the shorter "third leg" pointing away from your finger and where did it come from that it isn't in the first two photos?

 

[The303Stoner]

roots organic is full of dead things that grow fungus which is good but over watering this makes bad stuff grow and makes good habitat for fungus gnats. diameceaous earth only works dry and tobacco can contain diseases and chemicals and should not be used on cannabis. the larva eat roots and root fungus this can be deadly to small plants in small containers. I would water less and add some kind of stones to the soil mix for aeration. no pesticide need to kill theses nasties.

 

[The303Stoner]

earth worms are the best just leave them they come up as a way not to drown.

 

[bombaguy]

Thanks again everyone. Haha actually the third pic is the same worm, I just accidentally cut it in half while picking it up with tweezers. 3 1/2 weeks into flower and they are doing very well so far. Just some old rusty spots on leaves prob. From nute burn and spraying.

 

[Outragedpluto]

earth worms are the best just leave them they come up as a way not to drown.

I agree with stoner. That that is an earthworm and is one of the best things to have is your soil. That little guy can do a lot of good for your grow. I would just keep them in there. They won't hurt your plants. As for the gnats they can kill your plant from the roots up. The larvae eat at the roots and cause major deficiency above the soil. If any more worms come up remove them while you treat the gnats put them to the side and thence turn them after the water has drained. Hope this helps!!