There are a variety of pests and diseases that can affect cannabis plants. It’s important to know how to effectively control them so that you can have a high-quality harvest.
The key to effective pest control is early detection. Monitor your grow room regularly for new insects or signs of pest infestation.
Fungus Gnats
Fungus gnats can be a major pest in cannabis grow rooms and are particularly damaging to young plants. Their larvae gnaw the roots of cannabis, which can cause plants to die from root rot.
The first step is to scout your crop for signs of an infestation and then control the population if it does develop. You can use traps and yellow sticky cards, or pheromone traps to catch the adults.
Scouting is important to determine which insects are present, how big they are and their level of damage. It also allows you to see what controls or prevention methods are most effective.
Once scouting is complete, a grower should consider all possible solutions to the problem before implementing any intervention. This can include chemical or biological control, but it is always advisable to start with cultural practices first.
Neem oil is a great organic and safe way to kill fungus gnats in your grow. It has fast-acting effects on gnats and interferes with their feeding and breeding habits.
Another popular option is food-grade diatomaceous earth, which penetrates the gnats’ exoskeleton to dehydrate them until they die. This natural pesticide is a good choice for both indoor and outdoor grows.
The key to successful fungus gnat control is to contain the infestation before it gets out of hand. This includes storing your soil in an airtight container and avoiding overwatering.
To prevent gnats from laying their eggs in the top layer of soil, you can cover your medium with a plastic sheet or a piece of fabric. This helps deter the adult gnats from laying their eggs and also reduces the survival rate of gnat larvae.
It is a good idea to store your potting soil above the ground in an airtight container, which will keep it from being infested by gnats until you’re ready to use it. This also helps prevent the gnats from getting to the bottom of your soil and laying their eggs there.
You can also use a bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis var. Israelensis, or Bti, to help control fungus gnats in your cannabis grow. This bacteria is a natural soil microorganism that works by excreting toxic chemicals once it has been ingested by the pests. The fungus gnats will die after ingesting the bacterial solution and then will not lay their eggs in your medium.
Thrips
You’ve invested a lot of time and money into your grow room and seeds. You have the best lights, the most sophisticated equipment and a high-end crop plan. But if pests and diseases get a hold of your cannabis, all that hard work can go to waste.
Fortunately, there are many ways to effectively control pests and diseases in your cannabis grow. These include mechanical, biological, cultural and chemical controls.
The first thing that you should do is to identify the pests that are currently causing problems. This can be done by performing an inspection of your crop before it is cultivated. You should inspect the undersides of all leaves and stems for signs of insects, especially aphids.
Once you have identified the pests, you should apply a pesticide or soap-based spray to your crops. Soap-based sprays such as Insecticidal Soap or Permethrin Concentrate are effective against thrips and don’t have the side effects that some of the other chemical treatments do.
Another good way to prevent thrips is to use sticky traps around your crop. This will help you to monitor your crops and catch any thrips that you might have missed.
You should also keep a close eye on your harvest, especially the buds. These are often the most vulnerable to thrip damage.
Thrips are a common pest that infest plants throughout the world, but they can be particularly problematic in cannabis cultivation. They are small, fast-moving insects that feed on the insides of plant leaves and stems. They eat the sap and the nutrients within the leaves, causing defoliation, which will cause your plants to wither and die.
Once a thrip infestation has taken place, you should try and eliminate them as quickly as possible to avoid damage to your plants. You should also make sure that your grow tent is clean and free from nooks and crannies where these pests can hide and reproduce.
When you’re ready to treat your crops, it is important that you apply a pesticide to each and every leaf on the affected plants. It is crucial that you apply a product that contains both fungicide and insecticide. Using a combination of the two will provide the best results and will ensure that your plants are protected from thrips.
Spider Mites
There are several different pests that can infest your cannabis grow, and one of the most common is spider mites. These are small insects that look like little spots to the naked eye, and they can cause a lot of damage to your crop.
The best way to protect your crops from spider mites is to keep the humidity level and temperature in your growing space as low as possible. This will make it much harder for the pests to reproduce and can help to prevent them from coming back in the future.
Another effective way to control spider mites is to spray your plants with insecticidal soaps. This is a great way to spot treat infested areas, and it will kill the mites without harming your crops.
You can also use neem oil on your crops. This is a natural, organic solution that can be used to get rid of all types of bugs including spider mites. However, it can also leave a bad taste on your buds so make sure you don’t spray them too heavily!
Other methods include rubbing alcohol or isopropyl alcohol, which can be diluted with water and sprayed onto your plants. This isn’t the most organic method but it is a safe alternative to pesticides, and can often be more effective than chemical insecticides.
Neem oil is a common remedy for controlling spider mites, but it must be used carefully. It may not be as effective on your plants as a pesticide but it can still be useful to remove the mites from your cannabis grow.
In addition to using pesticides on your crops, it is also important to maintain good air circulation in your grow room. This will help to reduce the population of pests like spider mites and fungus gnats, which thrive in warm and dry conditions.
The first step in dealing with an infestation of spider mites is to remove all infected leaves from your plants. This will help to get rid of the pests and will prevent them from coming back in the future.
Whiteflies
Whiteflies are another pest that can cause a lot of damage to cannabis plants, but the good news is that they are not usually a problem in most outdoor grow spaces. However, when an infestation does occur, you can take measures to effectively control them.
First, you should take preventive steps to ensure that these pests don’t infest your grow area in the first place. You can do this by sterilizing your grow space before growing, regularly inspecting your plants for any bugs or signs of insects, and using insect-resistant varieties when possible.
When you notice a Whitefly infestation, you’ll want to act immediately to get rid of them before they have a chance to multiply. To do this, you can spray the affected plant with organic pesticides or use an anti-fungal soap.
You can also apply a mix of essential oils like neem oil or garlic, lemon, rosemary, and eucalyptus. These can help to kill the Whitefly larvae as well as repel them from your plants.
Neem Oil is the most common essential oil used in cannabis cultivation, but there are others that you may be able to try as well. Neem oil is a natural pesticide that is often used by organic growers, and is safe to use on most plants.
Insecticidal soaps are another way to eliminate Whiteflies, but make sure that you spray the leaves only; this will keep them from spreading. You can even mix a small amount of soap with water to create an all-natural repellent for these pests.
Another way to reduce Whitefly populations is by using predatory mites, especially if you’ve already got a Whitefly infestation. Macrolophus caliginosus is a great predator for controlling Whitefly, and will eat both the larvae and adults of these insects.
Aside from predators, you can also use traps to help keep Whiteflies under control. These are yellow strips of plastic with a glue-like substance on the back. These are placed strategically around the plant, and when the adults are exposed to them, they will stick to them and be unable to fly off.
