What the %#£# is this @&$$

[davisgirl]

I'm glad your plants are safe.

Thanks Time. I hope they are. I’m more worried about the NLs. I ordered a new tent today. The NLs will never see the inside of it.

They heard it was harvest time and came to get your shit DG lol

I guess so. I’m feeling pretty low. This whole time I was worried about mold. Good grief.

 

[Time]

Them drain flies will bother you more than they bother your girls.

 

[RivetGrrl]

I guess this is a drain fly. I have a slow moving drain on that bathroom, I think they are from there. So I need to fix the drain. I need to put a few bait bowls in the tent and catch some adults. But I think they may have laid eggs in the netpots themselves. Does anyone know of anything I can do to treat the netpots? Apparently they don’t respond to bleach.

Info points to drains, I can't find anything about them in reservoirs etc. Look for little white maggoty things but if they are coming from your drain they may not be in your res unless its really nassssssty. They like hair, and gunk and slimy organic matter. If that's in your res *GAG* lol
But seriously if your reservoir is healthy the flies are probably in your bathroom drain so a snake or Drano or the like and you should be good.

 

[davisgirl]

Info points to drains, I can't find anything about them in reservoirs etc. Look for little white maggoty things but if they are coming from your drain they may not be in your res unless its really nassssssty. They like hair, and gunk and slimy organic matter. If that's in your res *GAG* lol
But seriously if your reservoir is healthy the flies are probably in your bathroom drain so a snake or Drano or the like and you should be good.

The reservoir is healthy. I think they came from the drain and I’m going to treat that. But I suspect they may have settled in (and are laying eggs in) the netpot and/or the portion of roots that are exposed to the air. Kind of wigged out. Sort of takes the wind out of the sails of this grow, as far as I can tell there is no way to get them out of the roots/netpots until the plants are dead.

SO very many lessons learned on this grow!

 

[RivetGrrl]

The reservoir is healthy. I think they came from the drain and I’m going to treat that. But I suspect they may have settled in (and are laying eggs in) the netpot and/or the portion of roots that are exposed to the air. Kind of wigged out. Sort of takes the wind out of the sails of this grow, as far as I can tell there is no way to get them out of the roots/netpots until the plants are dead.

SO very many lessons learned on this grow!

Don't worry they are harmless to your plants, in fact I'd bet they are not laying eggs in your roots. They feed on decaying organic matter. I'd actually be more worried about them becoming a general nuisance to your home. Have a good look in your reservoir and pots, looks like the larvae are aquatic or semi-aquatic like mosquito larvae, they breath through their butts (OK, it's a spiracle not a butthole, my entomology professor would be proud ) so they need to be submerged mostly or in heavy sludge.
Look for the larvae crawling along the edges of things,
https://pestid.msu.edu/insects-and-arthropods/moth-flies-or-drain-flies/
Before tonight I didn't even know these things existed... Getting an edumacation on new things!
I know that feeling though, I battled spider mites for months.. I'll puke if I ever see another one.

 

[davisgirl]

Don't worry they are harmless to your plants, in fact I'd bet they are not laying eggs in your roots. They feed on decaying organic matter. I'd actually be more worried about them becoming a general nuisance to your home. Have a good look in your reservoir and pots, looks like the larvae are aquatic or semi-aquatic like mosquito larvae, they breath through their butts (OK, it's a spiracle not a butthole, my entomology professor would be proud ) so they need to be submerged mostly or in heavy sludge.
Look for the larvae crawling along the edges of things,
https://pestid.msu.edu/insects-and-arthropods/moth-flies-or-drain-flies/
Before tonight I didn't even know these things existed... Getting an edumacation on new things!
I know that feeling though, I battled spider mites for months.. I'll puke if I ever see another one.

You think so Rivetgirl? I will look for them in the reservoir. Maybe I can put the machete down now.

Great link — thank you!

 

[Waira]

:smoking: yar, not the worst thing you could find mucking about your res'! thanks @RivetGrrl and @Padawan1972 , I wasn't sure what that vermin is,... So, if they are that "waterproof", look into getting a wetting agent, like Coco-Wet; this will take the surface tension out of the water (or any solution for foliar feeds, pest control; helps evenly rehydrate dried out mediums) which allows it to coat and stick, or in the bug's case, cut through that repellency... it'll smother and drown them more readily! ..... Some are more "soapy" (like the Coco-Wet) than others (saponin based), so mind what gets into the res', soapy ones can foam up,... A dash of alcohol to the solution will increase the butt-kicking power too, like say 10-15% volume,.. I keep a little spray bottle handy made up with this to blast vermins when I see them

 

[davisgirl]

:smoking: yar, not the worst thing you could find mucking about your res'! thanks @RivetGrrl and @Padawan1972 , I wasn't sure what that vermin is,... So, if they are that "waterproof", look into getting a wetting agent, like Coco-Wet; this will take the surface tension out of the water (or any solution for foliar feeds, pest control; helps evenly rehydrate dried out mediums) which allows it to coat and stick, or in the bug's case, cut through that repellency... it'll smother and drown them more readily! ..... Some are more "soapy" (like the Coco-Wet) than others (saponin based), so mind what gets into the res', soapy ones can foam up,... A dash of alcohol to the solution will increase the butt-kicking power too, like say 10-15% volume,.. I keep a little spray bottle handy made up with this to blast vermins when I see them

Ok good Waira, I ordered the Coco Wet. Just to make sure I understand, I should add a little alcohol to the Coco Wet and spray the fuckers?

 

[RivetGrrl]

You think so Rivetgirl? I will look for them in the reservoir. Maybe I can put the machete down now.

Great link — thank you!

As Waira said as well, not to worry. But I doubt you want them in your house anyway.
MSU is a great resource, as is PennState and most any other college/university website, usually ends in .edu (educational) or .org (non-profit) sites for reliable information. /nerd off lol

 

[Waira]

..make up a solution in the spray bottle... usually with CW, a little under 1 tsp/L is plenty... use RO/DI/low ppm water if you can 9less residue), mix it up and spray it on a fan leaf, glass or plastic ( a hydrophobic surface) to see if it's coating nicely, not beading up, that'll be the tell,.. (won't hurt the fan one bit),.... if it's good, add the alcohol (assuming it's70%, use less if it's 91+%) and let'm have it! Larvae may be hand-to-hand combat .. toothpick to poke and scrape the fekkers out of hiding, but the spray with alcohol in it will have them MOST unhappy! I just want to make sure you don't muck up your res' solution going nuts on them...