Roots Organics Loaded With Flies

tweedreid

Active Member
Opened a fresh bag of Roots Organics Original and the bag was full of small flies. I immediately removed the bag from my grow space for fear of getting to plants.

I opened a Bag of Fox Farm Ocean that I purchased at the same time from the same store and there were ZERO flies or bugs. This leads me to believe either the distributor or either Roots Organics warehouse had been the source of the flies.

So, Has anyone else ever experienced anything like this before?



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I just bought 15 cuft of 707 and I didn't have any fly issues. On the positive side, you can use that roots soil to grow some good veggies :D
 
Hey Durban, That is Exactly What I Did! I Used it for all of My Cilantro, Oregano, Parsley and Herbs etc. As Well as Bell, Jalapeno, Serrano, Chili and Habenero Peppers. Also Beefsteak, Big Boy, And Cherry Tomatoes and a Few other veggies like spinach, lettuce, peas, beans etc.

The Veggies are Thriving as Well as The Cannabis that was Planted in Ocean Forest.
 
I usually get them when I use fox farm ocean forest or happy frog. typically they are fungus gnats.

A few waterings with mosquito dunks ground up or another BTi product and they disappear quickly.

Yellow sticky cards help too.
 
keep in mind if you want your organic soil to thrive you want it living! gnats are actually a good sign until they are numerous, it means that you have fungus in your soil the larvae are feeding on! quite possibly Glomus, which is an essential beneficial fungi that wraps itself in a thick white type of webbing in your soil. if you want a Healthy soil for healthy plants you should consider feeding the fungus that inhabit the soil with beneficial Humate teas. You want mykos and azos, and its an excellent idea to get a good colony of Hypoaspis going to protect your soil from insects in general before there are any indications of an infestation. Natural sugars from molasses are important to the plant and bacterium too! Good luck on Living Organic Soil!

Thanks, I think you meant to post on this Thread.
 
also once a fungas gnat dies in your soil medium, their decaying tarsus can contract a pathogen sickness to cannabis called Pythium and is very difficult to "cure" as its not a regular disease or deficiency. it manifests itself in a root system causing the destruction of fine-roots. and can be contracted to other plants through their stoma/stomata, like a person coughing in your face and getting you sick too!

Addition to previous post.
 
Just Opened a New Bag of FF Strawberry Fields and it was loaded with spider mites! Have rinsed and flushed a few times and hoping it will be useable as I need to get my Solo Cup seedlings into a 3 gallon pot really soon.
 
Just Opened a New Bag of FF Strawberry Fields and it was loaded with spider mites! Have rinsed and flushed a few times and hoping it will be useable as I need to get my Solo Cup seedlings into a 3 gallon pot really soon.

are you sure they are spider mites?

Generally in healthy soil you will find hypoapsis mites... they usually look just like spider mites but they are predatory mites and very good signs to have in your soil. They move very quickly and usually come out of the soil right after you water, and generally you will see thousands of them right after you water, and then as the soil drys out they disappear.

Hypoapsis mites are good.
 
Could have been. Looked like small ants but not. I put the soil in a large pot and flushed a couple times so now all is well.

Thanks so much
 
Opened a fresh bag of Roots Organics Original and the bag was full of small flies. I immediately removed the bag from my grow space for fear of getting to plants.
I opened a Bag of Fox Farm Ocean that I purchased at the same time from the same store and there were ZERO flies or bugs. This leads me to believe either the distributor or either Roots Organics warehouse had been the source of the flies.
So, Has anyone else ever experienced anything like this before?
Sent from my iPhone using 420 Magazine Mobile App

Hey Tweedreid! :high-five: Purchased: 3.5 cu feet of Roots Organics Formula 707 organic soil 5.1.2017 and it was loaded with fungus gnat larvae and adult gnats. I understand it is organic BUT- I assume they may need better manufacturing controls. The more and more I search for info- the more common this seems to be an issue with Aurora Innovation's soil. I treated mine with Gnatrol and it cleared the problem mostly. The larvae will eat root structure so this is concerning to me. Next grow I'm trying something new or switching to coco. :Namaste:
 
I've read that a lot of the soil gets shipped to the stores on the same trucks, contaminating the whole load. Personally I've been lucky so far and not had any issues
 
Positive update for the group - I have went with another batch of 3.5 cu feet of Roots Organics Formula 707 organic soil and this time no concerns so far. That is a valid point - they may get contaminated in the shipping process. They also could get exposed to them while sitting on the pallet in the store next to an infected competitor's batch. All in All - it's a risk we take when purchasing a premixed soil. Moving forward; I will only use natural remedies and will shy away from any chemical based combatant if there is a concern. Cheers!
 
Use fans in the grow space... most all insects hate wind. If that doesn't work try a spray bottle with 50/50 mix of H2o2 and water spray the soil in the container. H2o2 (hydrogen peroxide) is organic....or if they persist, Monterrey garden spray (also organic), should be doing a weekly IPM routine which takes care of your insects and the pesty flies. They don't each much .... the larvae are bad for seeds.


Already made soil in a bag... better to buy your own quality ingredients and mix your own soil. Been there with the roots stuff... it's not very high quality, as are most of the bagged soils.
 
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