Help!! Soil Bugs!!

[Strawberry Cough]

A few plants I have placed outside on porch because nice weather = nice sunshine for plants.

I have noticed when I place outside after longtime indoors (sterile-ish) an increase in tiny soil bugs, brownish-reddish-brown, small like the head of a needle, but lots of them tonight. They never seem to cause harm to the plant, but I don't like swarms of bugs in my soil if indoors.

Sorry, no camera = no pictures.

Any one know what these are, and a natural remedy to cause them to flee or die?

Thanks for help.

 

[jmansweed]

Bugs of the nature your decribing are probably munching away at your roots causing slow and steady damage. Pyrethrum leach of the soil. Bayer makes a 3in1 product - NOT ORGANIC - and it has a residual effect. The active ingrediant is Imadicloprid - it will kill of any bugs - including any soil life. After defeated the pests - add an enzyme formula to help sterilize the root zone to avoid any disease brought on by the bugs. I actually had to clone my root aphids away. They are persistant, hard to beat pests.

 

[Strawberry Cough]

Overreaction. You propose I shoot off my foot.

If necessary I can remove the soil and replace with fresh potting soil and not remove outside unless I plan to grow outside in Spring.

 

[jmansweed]

Didn't mean to jump the gun Cough. I had a horrible experience w/ root aphids indoors. They reaked havoc on my crop for months - I run a perpetual harvest and they spread quickly. I had mild success with nematodes. I used tangle foot on every pot and encircled drain holes with double sided tape. I actually watched a root aphid climb the outer edge of the pot and let the wind wisk it away to the canopy once. They can be nasty insects that got out of control quickly on me.

Covering the surface of the pots w/ sand or DE worked little for me as they can reproduce at the root zone. It took a root drench to really kill them. I couldn't treat all my plants w/ chems either so I had to completly flower out and used new clones and soil. The tape and tanglefoot worked well at slowing the spread - so I'd start there.

 

[zem]

swarms of pests is a serious infestation, i'd look into pesticides, covering soil or watever prevention measure might be too late not, you probably need to eradicate them now then take prevention measures, good luck

 

[Strawberry Cough]

Not exactly swarming. Maybe my language was too exaggerated for description.

Not swarms, but more than usual.

I am wondering if such soil bugs are good for breaking down elements in the soil.

For now they remain unbothered.

 

[jmansweed]

Without knowing what the insect is I couldn't tell you if it's beneficial or not. Typically insects asist very little in breaking any minerals or nutreints down into plant absorpable items. Insects are higher on the food web and frequently break larger material down - like your fresh roots and plant tissue - or other insects. I have trouble believing they can benfit you in any way unless the bugs are destroying other bugs - predatory mites eating spider mites for example. If they are in your soil - they probably are not "unbothered". They are most likely doing damage unseen - munching your roots and such. With all that said - a pic would confirm the above info. I'm fairly confident with insect indentification and unfortuneatly for me - I've dealt with all sorts. Hope it all works out.......

 

[Dr. Manny Bowles]

A few plants I have placed outside on porch because nice weather = nice sunshine for plants.

I have noticed when I place outside after longtime indoors (sterile-ish) an increase in tiny soil bugs, brownish-reddish-brown, small like the head of a needle, but lots of them tonight. They never seem to cause harm to the plant, but I don't like swarms of bugs in my soil if indoors.

Sorry, no camera = no pictures.

Any one know what these are, and a natural remedy to cause them to flee or die?

Thanks for help.

Not exactly swarming. Maybe my language was too exaggerated for description.

Not swarms, but more than usual.

I am wondering if such soil bugs are good for breaking down elements in the soil.

For now they remain unbothered.

So.....you want to keep them around now? I'm confused. The title of your thread and your original post make it sound like you are in a dire situation and would like help eradicating these pests.
You received some knowledgeable feedback from some people that have had similar situations, and you basically have thrown all of the info they gave you back in their face and now are wondering if these bugs are beneficial without any information (that you've shared with us) to support that. This is not the first thread you've started/argued/changed your story in...
Props to Jmans for helping you out this far, your original reply to him would have kept me from adding anything more just out of frustration.
Sorry, end of rant

 

[GeezerBudd]

Pyrethrum is some nasty crap in my book-It will kill a wide variety of pests-including roaches. But it will kill them.
There is probably some website out there that has pics of bugs like this. You should try to identify what species it is.
You could try some insecticidal soap. Personally that would be my first choice.
You have to spray it on-let set for a while-then rinse with a mist.
But then again I have no idea what this critter is.
My guess-Aphids???

Gb

 

[maineharvest]

Maybe a neem oil spray would work good.

 

[captain1]

You could also flood the soil for awhile alot of the time it will make the bugs surface and you could remove the top layer of soil. Has worked for me before. Alot of water though just like when it rains real hard and worms surface.