Shottafire's - Bubba OG Sealed Medical Grow in Sunshine #4

shottafire said:
I am looking for something more on the organic side. I have some gognats which I might try. Mosquito dunks look like they could be the ticket. I will address this tomorrow or the next day. Going to do my homework before I purchase something for the problem.

The girls are not really slowing down as of yet. But I do notice some leaf drop in the lower canopy.

Crazy how nice the casters are! I can even trim in there now if I push the trays to one side. The garden is in order just need to check these little bastards.

Thanks for the info and feedback vick always appreciated!
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If you're looking for a more organic approach to solving your gnat problem, look into Yucca Extract. It works wonders as a "soil conditioner" and keeps the gnats away.
 
I amend diamatacious earth into my soil. If I see a problem I do a top layer as well. Does as described above with perlite. Just a little more costly and much more effective. Chops em up when they try climbing through
 
I use DE as a pesticide around the house. I like it because it's totally none toxic and yet will kill most bugs if they come into contact. If you get food grade you can eat it thought I wouldn't recommend it.

My understanding is it only works when it's dry. It has a very long half life(forever) so long as it stays dry. How does that work in a plant? I'm not saying it doesn't just curious how.
 
I've never had an issue with it being wet. Its basically sand but sharper. It has 7-54 cutting edges per granule. When a bug comes in direct contact these edges go to work cutting and ripping the exoskeleton of the intruder. It was explained to me as "barbed wire for your soil" I could be totally inaccurate, but on the two occasions there was a situation large enough to warrant laying down a top layer on top of what was already amended the problem never showed again. So I can only venture to say it works and very very well. Play sand can suffice as well but it has a tendency to pack down hard and compact the soil as well, something I try very hard to avoid.
 
It's sharp but it's also very porous. It will suck the moisture right out of your skin. It cuts bugs up and also drys them out. I was told it's less effective if it soaks up water. That's what my exterminator told me anyway. That's a different application though fighting different kinds of bugs. Sounds like it has worked well for you. I'll give it a shot should the need arise.
 
U may be totally accurate in that assessment honestly. I've never studied the properties beyond "chessegrates bugs " lol. But it is very porous as u say so it would be safe to assume that getting it wet could cut.efficiency. I Duse smart pots and a big part of my technique is bottom feeding "hempy style" to avoid soil compaction. As a result the top soil in large stays pretty dry. Perhaps this quirk is the determining factor in my success? I would imagine tho that even wet it likely cuts shit up which even without drying should do pretty well to deter any bugs.. I know it still feels brutal when wet lol.
 
Curso said:
If you're looking for a more organic approach to solving your gnat problem, look into Yucca Extract. It works wonders as a "soil conditioner" and keeps the gnats away.
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Thanks curso I am going to look into the yucca extract a little more thoroughly. Do you know how it works to rid the soil of these pests?
TheDoctor said:
Try adding a top layer of perlite. They can't burrow into it to lay their eggs. The eggs that are in the soil now get trapped under and the adults will die out in a few days. No eggs, no gnats. Little fuckers only live a few days.

perlite and sticky fly traps have worked for me every time.
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I thank you doctor. I have some perlite but it is the chunky #3 stuff. I plan on getting some more sticky flytraps as well.


cannasensei said:
I amend diamatacious earth into my soil. If I see a problem I do a top layer as well. Does as described above with perlite. Just a little more costly and much more effective. Chops em up when they try climbing through
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I have DE as well but when I research it some say yay some say nay.

cannasensei said:
I've never had an issue with it being wet. Its basically sand but sharper. It has 7-54 cutting edges per granule. When a bug comes in direct contact these edges go to work cutting and ripping the exoskeleton of the intruder. It was explained to me as "barbed wire for your soil" I could be totally inaccurate, but on the two occasions there was a situation large enough to warrant laying down a top layer on top of what was already amended the problem never showed again. So I can only venture to say it works and very very well. Play sand can suffice as well but it has a tendency to pack down hard and compact the soil as well, something I try very hard to avoid.
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what to do what to do?

Bummed this has to happen but I hope people can learn from this journal.
I will be back later to give you my confirmed plan of action..

One quick question should I let the soil completely dry then do a drench or treatment of DE after I feed the plants?

Thanks everyone for all the help and suggestions.
 
If u top feed I'd feed then top off (if u use de ) with perlite its no issue either way I'd imagine. I believe yucca extract and cedar oil inhibit their ability to eat or digest? Not 100% on that but I do know they hate that shit haha
 
I'm not 100% on the why's so I'll try to bs an explanation...lol I just know when I forgot to put it in my tea....Gnats...Remembered the next watering...No Gnats. A little bit of that goes a long way too. Canna is right they hate it. I think that it inhibits their food source with its natural wetting ability, but please don't hold me to that.
 
GiMiK said:
I copied this over from my thread unto this one, hopefully it helps keep the forum clean from repetitive discussions.

Essential Oils - A Review
Okay, since my last thread about oils bombed, I'm starting this one to help inform everybody here about the uses of plant derived pesticides, which are far less expensive and dangerous than manufactured chemicals.

This information may have been covered already, but I haven't seen anyone consolidate the information yet. If it's been done, my bad, I didn't see it.

Anyways, onto the info.

!!!READ THIS!!!

"The purified terpenoid constituents of essential oils are moderately toxic to mammals (Table 1), but, with few exceptions, the oils themselves or products based on oils are mostly nontoxic to mammals, birds, and fish (Stroh et al., 1998), therefore, justifying their placement under “green pesticides”. Owing to their volatility, essential oils have limited persistence under field conditions; therefore, although natural enemies are susceptible via direct contact, predators and parasitoids reinvading a treated crop one or more days after treatment are unlikely to be poisoned by residue contact as often occurs with conventional insecticides.

Other essential oils such as lemon grass (Cimbopogon winteriana), Eulcalyptus globulus, rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis), vetiver (Vetiveria zizanoides), clove (Eugenia caryophyllus) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris) are known for their pest control properties. While peppermint (Mentha piperita) repels ants, flies, lice and moths; pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) wards off fleas, ants, lice, mosquitoes, ticks and moths. Spearmint (Mentha spicata) and basil (Ocimum basilicum) are also effective in warding off flies. Similarly, essential oil bearing plants like Artemesia vulgaris, Melaleuca leucadendron, Pelargonium roseum, Lavandula angustifolia, Mentha piperita, and Juniperus virginiana are also effective against various insects and fungal pathogens (Kordali et al., 2005). Studies conducted on the effects of volatile oil constituents of Mentha species are highly effective against Callosobruchus maculatus and Tribolium castanum, the common stored grain pests (Tripathi et al., 2000). Essential oils derived from eucalyptus and lemongrass have also been found effective as animal repellents, antifeedants, insecticides, miticides and antimicrobial products; thus finding use as disinfectants, sanitizers, bacteriostats, microbiocides, fungicides and some have made impact in protecting household belongings. Essential oil from Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Cymbopogon citratus, Lavandula angustifolia syn. L. officinalis, Tanacetum vulgare, Rabdosia melissoides, Acorus calamus, Eugenia caryophyllata, Ocimum spp., Gaultheria procumbens, Cuminum cymium, Bunium persicum, Trachyspermum ammi, Foeniculum vulgare, Abelmoschus moschatus, Cedrus spp. and Piper species are also known for their varied pest control properties.

Citronella (Cymbopogon nardus) essential oil has been used for over fifty years both as an insect repellent and an animal repellent. Combining few drops each of citronella, lemon (Citrus limon), rose (Rosa damascena), lavender and basil essential oils with one litre of distilled water is effective to ward off indoor insect pests. The larvicidal activity of citronella oil has been mainly attributed to its major monoterpenic constituent citronellal (Zaridah et al., 2003)."

Source: Natural Resources Institute - Home Page

Lavender, Lavandula angustifolia – linalyl acetate, linalool, borneol, geraniol, lavandulol, lavandulyl acetate, terpineol, cineol, limonene, ocimene, caryophyllene, aeranyl acetate, pinene

Eucalyptus, Blue Gum, Eucalyptus globulus – cineol, pinene, limonene, cymene, phellendrene, terpinene, aromadendrene, citronellal, camphene, fenchene

Clove bud, Eugenia caryophyllus – eugenol, eugenyl acetate, caryophyllene

Mint, Peppermint, Mentha piperta – menthol, menthone, menthyl acetate, menthofuran, limonene, pulegone, cineol, carvone, jasmone, carvacrol, phellandrene

Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis – pinene, camphene, limonene, cineol, borneol, camphor, linalool, terpineol, octanone, bornyl acetate, cuminic, caryophyllene

Source: cherylin.co.uk/

Eugenol is a component of clove oil. It is a fast acting contact insecticide that is effective on a wide variety of household pests such as cockroaches, ants, dust mites, flies, wasps, spiders, crickets, and fleas. It is also used on some ornamental plant pests such as armyworms, thrips, aphids and mites.
Eugenol has little or no residual activity, although the scent of cloves will linger. Products based on eugenol are considered minimum risk pesticides with very low risk of damage to the environment or user.

Source: HGIC 2770 Less Toxic Insecticides : Extension : Clemson University : South Carolina

Limonene is a naturally occurring chemical which is used in many
food products, soaps and perfumes for its lemon-like flavor and odor.
Limonene also is a registered active ingredient in 15 pesticide products used
as insecticides, insect repellents, and dog and cat repellents.

Source: https://www.epa.gov/

Pulegone - The essential oils (EOs) extracted from the mint species Mentha pulegium and Mentha spicata, together with their main constituents, pulegone, menthone, and carvone, were tested for insecticidal and genotoxic activities on Drosophila melanogaster. The EOs of both aromatic plants showed strong insecticidal activity, while only the oil of M. spicata exhibited a mutagenic one. Among the constituents studied, the most effective insecticide was found to be pulegone, while the most effective for genotoxic activity was menthone. Data show that both toxic and genotoxic activities of the EOs of the two studied mint plants are not in accordance with those of their main constituents, pulegone, menthone, and carvone. Pulegone is significantly more effective (9 times) as an insecticide, while menthone and carvone are less effective (6 and 2 times, respectively) insecticides when used in their authentic forms, and a mixture of authentic pulegone and menthone, in levels resembling their content in the oil of M. pulegium, showed that the strong toxicity of pulegone is suppressed in the presence of menthone. All the above suggest that synergistic/antagonistic phenomena may be involved that alter the toxicity of the whole EO.

Source: Insecticidal and genotoxic activities of mint essential oils. - Abstract - Europe PubMed Central

Linalool - Linalool has been shown to be good at killing mites: It's called an acaricide, which is are "pesticides that kill members of the Acari group, which includes ticks and mites" (p. 411 and 420, Bioactive Natural Products). "As a pesticide, Linalool is intended for use indoors to control pests (fleas and ticks) on pets and the spaces they inhabit by affecting the insect’s nervous system. Linalool is also used as an outdoor mosquito inhibitor..." (from the FDA handout), although there is some doubt about its efficacy for mosquitoes.
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Corto Malteze said:
Here's a list of non chemical, natural insecticides and fungicides:


A few definitions:

Decoction or Brewing: Put plants in a water pot for 24 hours before you boil them for 15-20 mins. Put a lid when its cooling off.

Infusion: Put the plants in the water and boil. Wait 24 hours after boiling.

Fermented slurry: Leave plants in a water container in the shade for 1-2 weeks. Don't cover with a lot of water. Mix daily. You can also put the plant in a permeable bag (mesh) in the bucket to avoid straining.

Slurry: Place plants in a water container in the sun for 4-5 days.

Soaking: Leave plants in water 2 or 3 days to avoid fermentation.



Handle with care (protect eyes, skin, wash hands after ...). Don't spray insecticides on your plants if they are fine. Inspect your plants closely (under leaves...) for miniature spiders, aphids, caterpillars, small white flies etc... Little white, grey moths (they make white webs) are ok -here-, and often settle on my plants. They're my little buddies. Preventive insecticide is not used for mj, a usually insect resistant strain. Fungicides can be used preventively if your region gets rainy, cold in the Fall. Spray in the morning so it's not wet at night (mold).

Some foes:

Aphids:
View attachment IMG_1503_576x768.jpg
Spider mites:
View attachment 100_10152.JPG

1. Nettles

Fermented Nettles slurry (fertilizer tea and fungicide, repellant) (fresh -very smelly to brew- or powdered) repels aphids, acarids, prevents mildew, brown rot. Nettles are very ecological and less harmful to other life than stronger natural insecticides like Pyrethrin.

Take 1 kg of nettle plants (without roots), place in 10 liters water for 10-15 days in the shade (18° celsius for the reaction to work best). Mix every day (without lid). It's ready when it doesn't make any more bubbles. Strain. Use the liquid. Nettles feed the plant with N + trace elements and protect it from diseases too ( more preventive than curative). Use esp. in veg. period every 3 weeks because of the high N. Store in shade (basement) up to 1 year in a closed container (so fermentation doesn't start up). Dilution 5% for foliar feeding. 20% as tea.

Nettles slurry (insecticide and fungicide spray): Place 1kg nettles in 10 liters water for 12-24 hours. Dilute 5% foliar, 20% for tea. Spray on your plants if insects on them. Use every 15 days.

Nettles:
View attachment Hydro-3.JPG

2. Garlic

Garlic insecticides are more efficient in decoctions than in infusions. They won't make the bud taste like garlic! Use mainly as a curative (on the plant and insects if they appear). Spray on plants infested with spider mites, whiteflies, aphids, acarids, thrips, kills caterpillars too.

Garlic insecticide decoction (add black pepper if you want):

80-100g garlic for 10 liters of water. Blend the garlic with some water, place all in the 10 liter recipent, cover and let sit for 24 hours. Boil for 15-20 mins. Filter through cheese cloth or a strainer. Add a few drops of liquid soap to make the mixture adhere to plant leaves and insects. . No need to dilute.

Smaller proportions:

Place a clove of garlic in a blender and add 500 ml (2 cups) of water. Blend until smooth. Pour the liquid into a container with 2 liters of water, cover and let sit for 24 hours. Boil. Filter through cheese cloth or a strainer. Add one or two drops of soap.

Other garlic recipes:

Garlic concentrate :
- grind 2 garlic bulbs
- Cover with 4 TBS oil.
- Soak for 24-48 hours in 4 liters water + 2 tsp liquid soap.

Dilute 1 liter for 20 liters. Spray in the morning. Rince.

Garlic/Black soap/Pepper insecticide:

- grind 2 garlic cloves
- grind 1 oignon
- 1 TBS ground Cayenne pepper
- Place in 1l water. Boil for 1-2 hours.
- Add 1 TBS black soap.
- Ferment for 1 week
- Strain
- Use in spray.

Garlic/Onion infusion:

Grind 50 g of garlic and 250g onions with skins. Put in 10 liters of already boiling water for a few minutes. Leave alone for 12 hours. Foliar spray without diluting.

3. Neem oil

Neem oil is both preventive and curative. Ecological. Many trace elements and nutrients for your plant. Against acarids, aphids and mildew. Does not kill bees and lady bugs etc... (Lady bugs eat aphids naturally). An efficient neem oil contains minimum 1600 ppm azadirachtine (check on bottle).
Neem blocks insects' appetite, they vomit (so don't eat your leaves), and neutralizes the reproduction system of female insects (so numbers don't increase). Most bugs aren't killed with neem oil. Only mosquito larvae, fruit flies etc... die. Contact with local insects doesn't kill them but repels them (they go throw up somewhere else!). However, the oil can burn your plants' leaves with the sun. So spray in the morning (before sun), rince after 15 minutes.

4. Easy Recipes

Soap insecticide:

- Put 1 tsp of liquid soap in
- 1l of boiling water for 5 minutes.
- Spray.

Black pepper insecticide:

- grind 30 g. of black pepper
- Place black pepper in 1l of boiling water.
- Let simmer for 30 minutes.
- Spray.


General Homemade insecticide and fungicide:

- 1 liter water
- 10-20 ml soap
- 10-30 ml baby oil
- 10-20 ml baking soda (against fungi)

Use in the morning. Rince before sun comes (excess oil can burn).

5. Uncommon recipes

Horsetail decoction: a natural fungicide. One of the only natural ones against Botrytis which can attack mj if too humid,wet.

Place 1 kg horsetail in 10 liters of water for 24 hours. Boil 15-20 minutes. Let cool off with lid. Leave 12 hours. Strain. Dilute 1 to 5. The combination of nettles + horsetail is an excellent insecticide and fungicide.

Horsetail:
View attachment 11203.jpg

Rhubarb decoction: Kills aphids. 5OO g rhubarb leaves (in strips) in 5l water for 24 hours. Boil for 30 mins. Strain. Foliar feed undiluted.

Rhubarb:
View attachment GROUPIE.jpg

Wormwood decoction: Against aphids too. Place 250 g dried (2,5 kg if fresh) wormwood in 10 liters of water for 24 hours. Boil. Strain.

Wormwood:
View attachment MARGINS.jpg

Matches: Place a few matches upside down in your soil. The sulfur in the matches repels aphids.

Garlic, Oignons: Place them whole on your soil.



6. Fungicides

Against mildew and bud rot spray baking soda solution (1TBS in 4 cups of water, add a few drops of liquid soap so it sticks), 10 % milk solution, horsetail decoction, neem oil, nettles, chamomile flower infusion.

Powdery mildew:
View attachment NICE_VIEW.jpg
Bud rot:
View attachment SHAVE_DA_LEGS.jpg

7. Stronger, natural "last resort" insecticides:

Pyrethrin. It paralyzes the nervous system of insects. It is a curative treatment because it doesn't last long (rain, sun breaks it down).
Make sure the pyrethrin used is a natural extract. Do not use synthetic pyrethrin (cypermethrin, alphametrine...) and a powder called piperonyl-butoxid. Unknown side effects possible.
Use against acarids, aphids, white flies (aleyrodes)...
Warning: this is also deadly to lady bugs, bees, batrachians, fish and other insects touching it. So use it carefully. Doesn't kill mammals (!). Combine Pyrethrin and Rotenon for
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I couldn't find anything entailing how or why yucca extract has such an effect on gnats. But I found a great thread on another forum about natural insecticides so I quoted a few over. Wasn't sure about the rules and linking to another forum so I figured. This was easiest
 
Extremely interested in finding out more information about Yucka Extract and where to get it.
When someone mentioned it a few weeks ago when I had my delema, actually I think it was you canna!
I searched all over my area, Gardening stores, hydro shops, even Pharmacies. Nobody knew what the hell I was talking about.
The only place I haven't tried yet were Health food Stores..
 
I think ur right.

I believe I got mine at whole foods or Harvest fresh. If they sale homeopathics they yucca shouldn't be an issue lol
 
Awesome, I figured it would be more of a health food/store kinda thing.
Thanks canna.
I'm going to look around a bit today.
 
NP. Lmao at ur Rep.comment. that's yuccin funny right here
 
doesn't it feel good to Yuck it up now and again?
;)
 
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