SOIL Soil mites

[Tedtheclown]

I just mixed some soil and started some clones in root cubes and got everything set, ive noticed small white bugs and some brown colored ones aswell. Are these the bad ones? Im contemplating whether to treat it or not. Do most soils come with bugs already in them?

 

[Tedtheclown]

 

[TOKABIGONE]

Sounds like Fungus Gnats to me! Do not plant in this soil without treating it to eliminate them. They will destroy your young plants. Use the plant doctor tutorial by Nebula, She writes about diff ways to deal with them.

TOKABIGONE

 

[CaptainWiese91]

My experience- nothing wrong with planting in that soil. Just don’t overwater the seedling and put up some fly stickers.
the gnats need to be many before they will kill the seedling or the plant in general.
I use a tomato soil and every time I had gnats in the soil. And they never killed my plants. Just don’t over water.

 

[Tedtheclown]

They aren’t gnats, they are lil white and brown bugs, they where in the soil already when I opened it. They are very tiny, im pretty sure they are some type of soil mites. Not sure if they will be of harm

 

[CaptainWiese91]

They never did any harm for my plants..

 

[SoOrbudgal]

Look like thrips:nah:

 

[CaptainWiese91]

I had that thought too actually. Nothing iso alcohol can’t do

 

[Cali]

Do the tiny white ones jump around? If they do they are just springtails and you will be fine. Actually a sign of good soil and too much moisture. Usually you can only see them when the soil is wet or recently watered. The brown ones are soil mites and they won’t harm your leafs just decompose organic matter in the soil. In other words they sound like the good guys to me.

 

[GreenAlchemist]

I’ve had thrips and springtails, those look more like soil mites or root aphids to me..
(photos for reference)

pic one - thrips

pic two - springtails

pic three - soil mites / mites

pic four - root aphids

I can’t say for sure, but hope this helps narrow the buggers out and identify them. before you start treatment (if needed) be sure to know if it’s damaging or beneficial to your plant.

 

[crucialbunny]

More than likely they are oribatid mites. When companies make potting soils they often use forest compost and these little critters live in it. They're not harmful and in fact help break down soil making it easier for plants to absorb nutrients. When I see them in my pots i know that my soil is healthy and thriving. That being said, I grow in containers outdoors so I don't worry about them in my home. If you are growing inside you might want to lay some sticky cards on the soil surface just to keep them in check. Like I said, they're not harmful to you, your plants, or pets.

 

[SoOrbudgal]

Yep those do look like mites

 

[dilvish]

if you must rid them of your grow, do what many others do, spread some Diatomaceous earth (DE) -food grade type- over the top layer of the soil in your pots and around the bottom of your pots. the DE is an organic and effective way to deal with most pests in the soil. Th the microscopic level this type of "earth" serves as a bunch of razor blades and cuts into the pests causing them to become dehydrated and die. Works great on spider mites and fleas and probably these little critters you posted as well.

You can even mix it with some warm water (1 tablespoon per litre) and spray it on the plants, just make sure you rinse it off after a day or it will dry out leaves/buds.

 

[Tedtheclown]

They dont jump, look like tiny lil beetles almost, and yeah I believe the brown ones are for decomposing. Just got worried