Frozen soil

[Potted]

I went to my local hydro store to pic up a new bag of ffof for a new grow I’m starting. Thay keep the soil inside on pallets not frozen.
Ive been hearing a lot about store bought soil having bugs in it,
Around here it’s below freezing so I put the bag outside for 24 hours that should kill any thing alive in the soil.
just trying to help hope it does. Chow for now

[Madman960]

Potted, I tried that with 2 bags of soil. Frozen solid. Brought them in to thaw and get to room temp. Bugs came back to life. Just gnats. Still aggravating. Took me a couple days to figure out where they came from.

Happy growing.

Madman

[Potted]

Ah shit,back to the drawing board.lol

[Mr.furley]

Potted I think your looking for soil sterilization using visqueen in the Sun. Or a oven.

[Mr.furley]

I know it's the wrong time of year to take a dig on this

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_solarization

You can also use hydrogen peroxide and a layer of sand or perlite as described above that's how I got rid gnats last grow.

[Madman960]

Potted, What about pouring boiling water in the soil and keeping the runoff to water with? In theory, you could put molasses in your water to bring back beneficial bacteria and such. Also, add a 2 inch to layer of sand or gravel. This will prevent gnats and other bugs from being able to get to the soil and lay eggs. effectively killing them off. You can do that without running boiling water through the soil. Should be bug free in a few days. As I am new to indoor gardening, these are just theoretical.

Happy growing.

Madman

[Potted]

I know I can microwave the soil and kill anything thing that moves, was saving that as a last resort. Thanks

[Cali]

What I did was I used diatomaceous earth. First I grabbed some and bam covered the top layer of soil in the bag with DE (diatomaceous earth) then closed the bag for a few minutes then I grabbed more and started mixing it in the soil a few inches deep after that I took the top 10 inches of the soil out and made sure I covered the top layer of the soil in the bag again with DE and closed it up. Problem solved that DE dried them suckers out.

[D.A.A.S.69]

Yeah thats what I use to is diatomaceous earth, its easy.

[bluecanoe]

you have to be careful with diatomaceous earth. The dust is very fine and will get into electronics and other things you don't want a super fine dust in. If you get it on you, it's harmless except that it will dry you out like a popcorn fart. So keep it away from electronics, wear a mask and good luck!

[Cali]

Cool thanks for the tip.. I did this one time and I did it outside. Like you said I don’t want that fine dust in my house I’ve seen what it does to insects and though it says safe for humans I try not to get it on me or breath it at all.. I still use it I sprinkle it outside my house and for the next few days it looks like a massacre of insects all around..

[bluecanoe]

Cali, the only drawback to it to me, is that it doesn't discriminate between beneficial bugs and pests. I don't believe I'll ever use it again. And as soon as it gets wet it's useless.

[Potted]

I’m looking to kill them before I start the grow! Not after thay come out,who needs that shit! LOL

[Mr.furley]

That a boy Potted! Hahahah.