Earwigs eating my plant!

[CanadianJim]

Hey off topic but for seedlings do you cut the tip of the leafs ? I heard it retains water/food and helps establisb roots this true ?

@Weaselcracker @CanadianJim

Yeah, I've never heard anything like that. Cutting the tips of the leaves of clones is something a lot of growers do, but it never seemed to make a difference for me.
I would never clip the leaves of seedlings, they need those for energy to grow.

And then my girlfriend finds me slathered in vaseline surrounded by dishes of soya sauce and olive oil wondering ‘how am I going to get rid of all these mantids....’

Sounds like a Tuesday.

 

[Hodgey420]

And then my girlfriend finds me slathered in vaseline surrounded by dishes of soya sauce and olive oil wondering ‘how am I going to get rid of all these mantids....’

Haha, well i checked at 3am and no earwigs i saw one running around by my plants i think the vaseline worked you could see some vaseline on the earwig little shit tried to climb on my plants think finally found a way to keep them off now ! Checked again now at 530am still no earwigs will see how they look tomorrow see if it keeps working

 

[Hodgey420]

Yeah, I've never heard anything like that. Cutting the tips of the leaves of clones is something a lot of growers do, but it never seemed to make a difference for me.
I would never clip the leaves of seedlings, they need those for energy to grow.



Sounds like a Tuesday.

Ya i didnt like that idea trimming the leafs it doesnt really make sense why trimming the tips of the leafs off would do much really

 

[SmokingWings]

How do you kill or keep these fuckers away caught another one on one the leafs with bunch new chew holes where the earwig was dont think neem oil kills them

If it is outside then chickens will get rid of all of them in a matter of a day or two.

Heres the link i found online under where it says earwig damage everything it said is whats been happending to my leafs and where the earwig is on the leaf theres black specs everywhere just like the article says and it also has the article about the veg oil and soy sauce
@Weaselcracker

Maybe it is me but I do not see a link to an article or a message board thread or anything. Could you post the link again?

Really curious about this because the articles I have read say that earwigs go after decomposing organic material first, like the leaves that have fallen off the plant. Plus several gardening articles say that they really like to eat other small insects like mites and aphids and a few others.

 

[Hodgey420]

If it is outside then chickens will get rid of all of them in a matter of a day or two.


Maybe it is me but I do not see a link to an article or a message board thread or anything. Could you post the link again?

Really curious about this because the articles I have read say that earwigs go after decomposing organic material first, like the leaves that have fallen off the plant. Plus several gardening articles say that they really like to eat other small insects like mites and aphids and a few others.

Heres a link

How to Get Rid of Earwigs (or "Pincher Bugs")

Tips for identifying, controlling, and getting rid of earwigs, pincher bugs, or dermaptera in the garden. An Earwig Guide from The Old Farmer's Almanac.

www.google.com

 

[Weaselcracker]

the articles I have read say that earwigs go after decomposing organic material first, like the leaves that have fallen off the plant. Plus several gardening articles say that they really like to eat other small insects like mites and aphids and a few others.

They can ravage a garden once they get going. Holes in foliage everywhere- some plants stripped right down to the stems in places.

 

[Hodgey420]

They can ravage a garden once they get going. Holes in foliage everywhere- some plants stripped right down to the stems in places.

Yep this is what theyve done to mone and this is just couple leafs

@SmokingWings

 

[SmokingWings]

Have not had a problem with holes in the leaves for the indoor growing. And, only the occasional hole in a leaf on the plants that have been outside which could be caused by just about any pest.

 

[Hodgey420]

Have not had a problem with holes in the leaves for the indoor growing. And, only the occasional hole in a leaf on the plants that have been outside which could be caused by just about any pest.

Mine stadted with just a hole here or there then it became more then was catching the earwigs on my plant there a pain in the ass these earwigs!

 

[Hodgey420]

Finally no more earwigs thw vasaline worked great over the wheels on my pot risers i watched one try to climb up would go up to the wheel to climb up soon as toucbed it got vasaline on its front legs and freaked out then i stompes the fucker haha

 

[Weaselcracker]

Have not had a problem with holes in the leaves for the indoor growing. And, only the occasional hole in a leaf on the plants that have been outside which could be caused by just about any pest.

In small numbers they aren’t noticeable and maybe they find other prey. There once was a time I didn’t realize they ate plants. Once a substantial horde hatches out they start munching everything in sight. They haven’t been getting my weed so much yet- just lots of holes in lower foliage. Their favorites are the basil, sunflowers, and horseradish. These rat-tail looking things used to be large full leaves. How do I know it’s earwigs? If I go in after dark I can see them crawling around the leaf edges devouring it.

Earwig food

• Weaselcracker
• Jun 29, 2020

 

[Hodgey420]

In small numbers they aren’t noticeable and maybe they find other prey. There once was a time I didn’t realize they ate plants. Once a substantial horde hatches out they start munching everything in sight. They haven’t been getting my weed so much yet- just lots of holes in lower foliage. Their favorites are the basil, sunflowers, and horseradish. These rat-tail looking things used to be large full leaves. How do I know it’s earwigs? If I go in after dark I can see them crawling around the leaf edges devouring it.

Earwig food

• Weaselcracker
• Jun 29, 2020

I know i didnt think they ate plants either till i kept finding holes in my leaves and looked everywhere for bugs but nothing then finally caught an earwig on on my leafs and i grabbed it off with tweezers then saw all the holes under it and black specs that look like dirt i think its earwig shit lol

 

[Hodgey420]

Whats it mean when the leaves stem starts getting brown spots along the stems? I trimed those 2 leafs off heres pics its kinda hard to see through pics but these leafs has PM on them before but it went away with neem oil

@Weaselcracker
@SmokingWings

 

[Weaselcracker]

Hmmm. Can’t really help you there so far. Some of these mysterious plant problems can be pretty complicated to diagnose. Is the plant having other problems? If so maybe post some photos of the leaves and overall plant and more info. If not then best not to worry much.

 

[Hodgey420]

Hmmm. Can’t really help you there so far. Some of these mysterious plant problems can be pretty complicated to diagnose. Is the plant having other problems? If so maybe post some photos of the leaves and overall plant and more info. If not then best not to worry much.

It did have a cal deficiency which is under control now i trimmed these 2 leafs that had the spots on the stems will just see if spreads or not also off topic do you think ill have to transplant my plants out of the 5 gal pots to something bigger ? Im growing outdoor will they get rootbound before they start to flower ive been feeding since may 16th

 

[Weaselcracker]

How big are they?

My reasoning for not trimming leaves with deficiencies is that the plant is using them. When it’s low on some nutrients it draws them from the leaves and unless the original problem is fixed it will just hit up other leaves. But yeah, tempting to remove them when they don’t look so good.


Plants grow a lot after they switch to flowering. A sort of very vague rule is about a gallon per foot of height but I usually go bigger with a 7-10 gallon out for a 5 foot tall plant for example.

 

[Hodgey420]

How big are they?

My reasoning for not trimming leaves with deficiencies is that the plant is using them. When it’s low on some nutrients it draws them from the leaves and unless the original problem is fixed it will just hit up other leaves. But yeah, tempting to remove them when they don’t look so good.


Plants grow a lot after they switch to flowering. A sort of very vague rule is about a gallon per foot of height but I usually go bigger with a 7-10 gallon out for a 5 foot tall plant for example.

The scout master is 2'9ft and sour diesel is 2'6ft on the scout master i cant stick my fingers in to check if they need to be watered can see some the roots if you move the dirt

 

[Weaselcracker]

Probably fine but if they stretch too much in early flowering you can transplant them no problem

 

[Hodgey420]

Probably fine but if they stretch too much in early flowering you can transplant them no problem

So if they start getting to tall in flowering i should transplant them ? Dont they normally get taller when there in flower though? And should i switch my feed to transitioning into flower or leave them and theyll transition into flower on there own ?

 

[Weaselcracker]

Yes they stretch a bunch in the first few weeks of flower. If they get too tall then just transplant them no problem. Or if you think that’s gonna happen then just go ahead and do it now.
I usually feed them regular veg nutrients for the first week or two of flowering and then switch over to bloom nutes.