little white worm's in soil!!!

[intiminator3]

ya i just noticed these little white worm looking thing's and there was nothing living in there but now there is!!! what are they!!! any clue!!!:pray:i do plan on throwing the soil out but need to know what the hell they are!!!!

[YukonBikerGuy]

Pictures? Dont just throw out the soil, sterilize everything, pots, tools, tables, walls, floor. Critters in a grow suck.

[johnnyballbag]

Are they really really small? Like YBG said, pics will tell the real story. Seen any gnats flying around? If i had to guess....i'd guess fungus gnat larvae.

[YukonBikerGuy]

Fungus gnats are possible, but I'm thinking Thrips are more likely.

Searching Google Images for acurate pictures of your critters is the best start. Get a magnifying glass or microscope and have a good close up look at them so you can identify the lil buggers accurately. Once you know what you are dealing with, you will know better what to do about it.

Personally, the first time I got critters in my grow, I bought a microscope kit at Radio Shack (which has a handy pocket scope included for inspecting trich development) so I could really find out what I was dealing with. I battled those critters for a few months before I got them completely eradicated. At 1 point I put 20 3ft 1/2 budded plants out on the deck at -30C cuz I was freeking so much about the critters. Turned out to be soil mites I got in a bag of promix from Walmart, I always check new medium for infestations first now. A bad experience, but it has made me super vigalant for pests.

Did battle with fungus gnats a while as well a few times. Had a roomie for a short time and thier houseplants spread fungus gnats thruought the house, incl the grow, arg. Also got fungus gnats before from cuts and plants I have gotten from friends.

My basic rules apply for all aspects of my grow; KEEP IT CLEAN! I sterilize everything in the room between grows, pots, tools, equipment. Wash the walls and tables with a bleach solution. Carefully inspect grow medium before it comes into the growroom. Inspect, treat with a dip, and quarantine (if possible) any new cuttings or plants given to me. I also make sure that any cuttings or plants I pass on are free of pests.

Critters in the grow suck, prevention is your best tool, and early detection is the next.

[Razz]

those are fungus gnat larvae. dry out the soil and use yellow sticky traps for the adults!

[johnnyballbag]

If you can find "mosquito dunks" they work great for getting rid of fungus gnats. You can either break half of one up and mix it into your res, or break some up and mix it into your soil, or just mix it into your water when you water your plants. I've gotten them at home depot, lowe's and wormsway.

[Razz]

i would go the organic route first!

[johnnyballbag]

Well i guess ya got me, i can't say they're "organic" as i've never found mosquito dunks in nature, haha. It's just bti (bacillus thuringienis israelensis) which has been used for years in animal watering troughs, ponds, flower pots, bird bathes, all kinds of shit. It's a bacteria that specifically targets mosquitoes and black fly larvae(and fungus gnats). It's harmless to anything else, except maybe Jeff Goldblum when he played in "The Fly."

[intiminator3]

ya thanks alot for the info !!! great

[intiminator3]

i found worm's in the bottom of the soil so they could of been baby worms