Thrips Advice

[Deadlyeight]

Hey AFN Infirmary,

Problem: Bugs white spots on leaves very CalMG like, but bottoms of fans reveal black spots and yellow critters
Medium/grow method: SOIL
Feed: MediOne and (Floranova for the autos) & supplements used: none
water source: tap water
Strain/age: Various - Sour Banana sherbet (photo), and 2 mephisto autos mystery plants
light used: COBS
Climate: indoor tent grows with soil; temps 25-28C, RH35-45%
Additional info: see below for my write up,

I don't have photos of the leaves, (can poss take some 24hrs from now - see the new damage) but I had mistaken the white spots as CalMG def. I will have a look at them tomorrow and see whats has changed. I looked underneath the fans and saw black spots and then saw some movement of a yellow/tan tiny creature, all looks to be a thrip invasion.
My two tents both seem to have the infestation and nice white spots on their lower fans. There are 3 just started flowering at day 4 and, in a separate tent, two autos 4-5 days from finishing and the other is about 2 weeks from chop. I was wondering what kind of solutions you guys had used that were semi successful?

I kinda expect the young-ungs to be dead or at least in a big fight for the next 8 weeks; not sure its worth it. I had started a couple new ones for the grow battle but I am wondering if its worth taking a chance putting them into the tents and getting infested.


Thanks guys

 

[namvet25]

If you find insects get a organic bug spray like garden safe brand.

 

[Waira]

D'8-- pics ASAP please, have to confirm,.. it sure sounds like thrips, leaving tiny black turds is a solid sign,... I like a spinosad product for this (Capt'n Jacks Dead Bug, Monterey Gardens Insect spray brand), low residues, very effective,... but you'll have to treat the whole tent, as thrips are highly mobile, adults can fly!... if it's a kinda silvery stippling in small patches on upper surfaces, mostly likely thrips; mites tend to stay under leaves until the infestation is raging.....

<-- larvae and turds,...
. ---> adult, colors vary--

..... How bad is it on the ripe plants? have you scoped it out to see if they're all over stuck in the buds? tehy won't feed on the flowers themselves,just the leaves, but the resins do their actual job by defending the plant against pests,... I'm an OD grower, and these guys are regular visitors,.. seem many pitiful carcasses glued to the trich' heads! .... we should consult with @Heavily Medicated who has actually fought this war successfully, on monster budded plants, so lets see how he dealt with killing and clean-up more specifically,....

 

[Deadlyeight]

Waira & namvet,

Firstly, Thanks for the replies.

Waria, Yup that is definitely them! Used those exact pics to ID them! Great to have a handy guide on the PC to ID them black spots and like nano rice grain creatures I can see crawling around. Firtst it was the gloss I mistook as CalMG, then it revealed itself as a bit bigger than that. I was scrolling through the images and the ones you posted stuck out to me as well; I was like wait I don't thinks a CalMG =( and yup the gross ilttle'un-s are there. However, thankfully they have not really taken over; As for pics; I keep forgetting pics before I toss out the leaves with new born larva. It was kinda two fold; a minor lack of feed and the bug damage. Thankfully Today I saw them on teh top of the leaves, trying to hide in the middle stem vein. That shhit needs to get lost!

Quick update on the tents:

Auto plants; (are still coming along just fine, as best as can be expected). Mysterybean2, is so close to finishing off, today is day 58, and I expect 5 days max and she is getting axed, or can be. She seems to have super guard mode genetics trichs everywhere thrips are scared they wont' be able to get away; even the stems to her buds are covered completely. Its great to have not really seen any new scars on her in the last 2 days; so that was good. However on mysterybean3, living in the same tent, I saw today she had a few more fan leaves with active larva on it; I ripped them off and tossed the dead leaves. I am a bit concerned as I can see damaged near the buds; but the coverage between the two girls is way different. There are not too many fans left for them to much down. As they had had their turn. She is also at day 58 of a good 75-80 days cycle. there are 15/20% hairs orange and she's still trying to build buds.

The Sour Banana's Sherbet, There was a few fans with new larva and some new damage; But it was not a lot in 48hrs. WIth them being just under a week into flower; I am a bit conflicted As I have a with a new batch of clones with CBD dom photos coming. So I think my priority for these girls shifts from crop to death clean up. i'd rather avoid them getting attacked and do a proper clean up.

So what is the best way forward for my mediums? Is it worth saving what I have and trying to clean it up via: Diluted Chlorine wash? Or a turkey bag oven bake? Will These methods go ahead and destory their larva in my soil? If I keep it, a soil IPM, I was reading about Mosquito Dunks as a way to get rid of the living puppa from the soil, looks like you add them to some h20 feed and they will get eaten and kill them semi adults that made it to the soil before emerging as fully adult.
If I go with a whole new bail; but there is no guarantee that the batch will be bug free as well.

Thanks guys!

 

[Waira]

Spinosad is a neurotoxin, derived from some obscure bacterium,.... it's considered food safe/organic,... it's not an instant killer,but sickens them right away and they go off-feed, then die later,.. spraying the plant thoroughly is the only way to get good contact and coverage,... a high magnification look at the buds will tell you how much debris/live/dead fuckers there are, and if you'll need to wash the buds at harvest doing the 3-bucket dunk method (HM can tell you more)... doesn't sound like they bud itself is affected much, and the trim can be processed in a way that filters out the debris,... The fact that you have juvies says they are breeding, but it's not clear if they are pupating in the soil yet..? Eggs are laid on/in the plant, larvae hatch and feed, molt , them go into soil to pupate (not exactly in thrips' case but that's the gist),... no feeding during this stage; then emerge as adults,.... I don't think dunks are effective on them, since they aren't ingesting anything (dunks are a biological weapon, Bacillus thuringiensis),... for the soil, dusting the surface with diatomaceous earth will cut them down there,... for sure this is a war, not a battle, you will have to retreat plants likely as you cut the population /generations down,.. plants in veg are easy to treat, blooming is a pain, but needs be done,... where they came from to begin with, who knows! As they can fly, it could have been just bad luck, unless something new came in and was infested,... Start with removing all the plants, treat them, lay down that DE, and meantime wipe down the tent inside,.. no need for nukes here, just mild soapy water and a sponge will do,.. get rid of any loose crap in there, hidey places,... then back they go, and you just have to hawk them often for survivors, and retreat as needed,...

 

[Deadlyeight]

Thanks Waria; glad to have such a senior officer guiding me with this fight!

I did watch a few videos on them; and yup they do like to plant the eggs in the girls leaves ; but I guess the stems or anywhere in the plant where there is a good hiding place. Also crap, I thought when they hit the soil they were still at feeding mode, at least that guy on rollitup made it seem so saying dunks should help; Well that sucks for some mis-information, thank god i came here to get that cleared up Correct about teh young larva's at least one is alive down there in adult mode. I don't think first run was done very well at getting rid of them; heh not noticing for weeks doesn't help either. Nor we know how long of a head start they have had. Last night, I did a massive haircut; the little flowering SBS girls are so baren now; hoping this will give a big tell when the thrips resurface, The bitches. Yeah the good thing is its two autos abotu to finish with buds and gluey proctective outter layer on them, they seem to be fattening out and doing okay, all things considered. The larger one had more larva last night I found in some of the fans mostly hanging out in the lower middle section. I saw 15-17 active larva between the 5 plants throughout cutting. The earth is on the way next week along with some sticky traps for the elders.

Now to find some spinosad poison for them I suppose, doesn't seem to be sold at the major retailers here in Canada like homedepot and the like. Looks like entrust 80W is the way to go. Now to find the source! What about predator insects, such as a battalion of lady bugs? I mean all I can to is add some allies I think when the new ladies arrive. I will need to have some troops on my side; doesn't seem too expesnvie to get a battalion. There are also predator nematodes to attack the larva in teh soil as well. More expensive route; but if it comes to it we must win at all costs!

 

[Deadlyeight]

Finally got some pics taken tonight of the girls;

SO here is what we are saving (flowering ladies)

and what we wanna protect and let grow into something huge!

Here is the proof of them damn thrips; leaving nice droplets around! all the leaves!

 

[Waira]

pyrethrum is fine too,... I know, Canada has challenges with such selections! *(oh wait, Entrust is a spinosad product!) .... main thing is, the buds aren't fouled with bugs,... that's the concern for leaving residues, and the bud rinsing thing,... plants in veg' are a far easier to deal with,... Oh, forgot to mention, use a wetting agent with your sprays,..this takes the surface tension out of the solution so it coats and sticks better, plus cuts through the bugs natural water repellency faster as well,... Damage isn't too bad at all- Biological control is OK, but can be slow, spotty for effectiveness too,..

 

[Deadlyeight]

pyrethrum is fine too,... I know, Canada has challenges with such selections! *(oh wait, Entrust is a spinosad product!) .... main thing is, the buds aren't fouled with bugs,... that's the concern for leaving residues, and the bud rinsing thing,... plants in veg' are a far easier to deal with,... Oh, forgot to mention, use a wetting agent with your sprays,..this takes the surface tension out of the solution so it coats and sticks better, plus cuts through the bugs natural water repellency faster as well,... Damage isn't too bad at all- Biological control is OK, but can be slow, spotty for effectiveness too,..

wetting agent like some dish soap?

 

[Waira]

...sorry for the delay mate,... no, dish soap is way too harsh with ionic surfactants/detergents,... castille soap can do in a pinch,... otherwise, I like Coco-Wet... inexpensive, plant derived, very effective,...