Gnat Wars

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Vegas Kid

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Gnat Wars

I harvested the winter round and started more for the spring. Just before I flipped I noticed what I thought was a nutrient burn, turns out it was the first shot in a major PIA. Although I have used Lucas before and not seen any problems, I switched to General Hydro drain to waste and noticed an oily slick in the runoff and missed the significance.
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After a collapse of a white widow in week 4 of flower (showing every deficiency you could imagine) I undertook a closer examination and found plenty of gnats. As a general rule I don’t use chemical insecticides on my plants (the Borg being a notable exception) so I am employing an additional fan, sticky traps and 4 to 1 water/H2O2 every 4th day. I an currently in day 41 of flower. The count on the sticky traps is dropping closer to zero..

Day 44 zero gnats today. I can hear you thinking and your right. Aside from the obvious damage there is evidence of leaf necrosis spread through out the plants. The only exception is a white widow spear I stuck in a 4 X 5 opening in the lattice. It looks like nitrogen toxicity, but no damage. The clone mate was the plant I lost. I will run the H202 every third day for the next two cycles, but considerable damage has been done.
 
Do gnats cause damage to the plants?
I've had gnats and didn't notice any .
 
Do gnats cause damage to the plants?
I've had gnats and didn't notice any .


Hold a leaf up to the light or put a light on the top of the leaf and look at the underside, if you see spots that look like light freckles, that is the development of leaf necrosis. If you have the start of what looks like nute burn, and your ppm’s are low to normal, it might be bugs. Gnats feeding on fine root hairs and the oily residue they emit can screw up everything from PH to nutrient absorption
It isn't over feeding because I am running DTW (low level) with 25 to 30% overflow. Daily watering in the Hempy precludes buildup.
The biggest loss will be in the yield; the buds are small and underdeveloped for their age.
 
Thanks for sharing how you modeled your fight and victory over gnats like a canna-commando. I learned some strategy.
 

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