What the...??? Springtails?

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nycfig

Registered:1380768118
Posts: 886

Posted 1389739204	Reply with quote #1

Sal's C in 2 gal. SIP looked a little static. No changes since potting to SIP on 12/23/2013. See this thread. Separated buckets and found this in the bottom bucket: What the heck are those? They are really tiny. Was fighting an active fungus gnat infestation awhile ago. Treated plants with Gnatrol at 1 Tbl. per gallon of water, utilized Yellow Sticky Traps and Carniverous Plants. Haven't seen any adult gnats in about a week and a half. The water in the video is treated with Gnatrol. Whatever those are they seem to be resistant. Anyone have any ideas? __________________ Danny NYC Z7a It's all about the figs! Facebook: NYCfigs Buying Fig Trees and Cuttings From the Internet

needaclone

Registered:1346812939
Posts: 604

Posted 1389741075	Reply with quote #2

Are they on the surface of the water? Are they getting blown around, or do they seem to be moving on their own? (I don't know what they are, I'm just not sure what I'm looking at...) Jim __________________ Clarksburg, NJ - Zone 6b Wishlist - A wise man recommended: Nero600M . Malta Black . Tacoma (Takoma) Violet . Gino's . Adriatic JH . Vista Mission . Florea . Atreano . ...also...RdB, Bethlehem Black, Negronne, Grise de St. Jean, Livano, Col de Dame Blanc/Gris/Noir, Vasilika Sika, Longue D'Aout, Italian 258, Pennsylvania 6-5000

nycfig

Registered:1380768118
Posts: 886

Posted 1389741729	Reply with quote #3

They are on the surface of the water moving around on their own. Wind blew a little and moved them later on in the video. __________________ Danny NYC Z7a It's all about the figs! Facebook: NYCfigs Buying Fig Trees and Cuttings From the Internet

RichinNJ

Registered:1374784282
Posts: 1,687

Posted 1389742497	Reply with quote #4

Previously posted in a another thread.... From and Orchid website.... BTI - Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies Israelensis There is a naturally occurring soil bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies Israelensis (BTI) that kills the larvae of fungus gnats, mosquitoes and black flies . When BTI is eaten by these larvae toxins are released into their gut which causes the larvae to stop eating. Without food the larvae die. This interrupts the life cycle of these pests and the population then dies off. BTI is not harmful to humans, birds, fish or mammals. Deemed Fit For Organic production by the USEPA in accordance with the USDA's National Organic Program. You can get BTI in "Mosquito Dunks" and use it in your watering can. They sell them at Home Depot and Lowes. "Yellow Sticky Traps" are supposed to work well also on the adults

nycfig

Registered:1380768118
Posts: 886

Posted 1389743112	Reply with quote #5

Rich, already using Gnatrol in watering regimen. Also using Yellow Sticky Traps. These things are contained in the bottom bucket of an SIP. __________________ Danny NYC Z7a It's all about the figs! Facebook: NYCfigs Buying Fig Trees and Cuttings From the Internet

RichinNJ

Registered:1374784282
Posts: 1,687

Posted 1389744138	Reply with quote #6

Ok, I googled Gnatrol and found out it has BTI in it. I thought Gnatrol was some sort of a chemical poison.

sammy

Registered:1330355079
Posts: 261

Posted 1389744674	Reply with quote #7

Danny, I see these bugs in my sump pump hole and I've seen them when opening the lid for the septic tank. they seem to like dark watery places. I don't know what they are called though. __________________ Sam zone 4 Thessalon Ontario, Canada.

Ruuting

Registered:1359310699
Posts: 613

Posted 1389747955	Reply with quote #8

Put a couple of drops of DAWN or other dishwashing fluid in that bucket. It'll destroy the surface tension that those little *%#&s are skating on, and they'll drown! __________________ Rui Southeast CT, zone 6B

DesertDance

Registered:1247674606
Posts: 4,518

Posted 1389749036	Reply with quote #9

Yep, Ruuting is right! Soap kills everything, and if it doesn't, they will never come back. Many people spray with soapy water. Bugs don't like the taste, and if you ever had your mouth washed out with soap (one time for a bad word that slipped out), you will understand why! Suzi __________________ Zone 9b, Southern California. "First year they sleep, Second year they creep, Third year they leap!" Wish List: I wish all of you happy fig collecting! My wishes have been fulfilled!

needaclone

Registered:1346812939
Posts: 604

Posted 1389749058	Reply with quote #10

Until you know what they are you can't be sure whether they're harmful or beneficial.... Danny, if you can get some better pictures, somebody on the forum is bound to ID them... Take a look on the web for buggers called "springtails." There seem to be some variates that hang out on the surface of water. They may have gotten in from the soil above. Jim __________________ Clarksburg, NJ - Zone 6b Wishlist - A wise man recommended: Nero600M . Malta Black . Tacoma (Takoma) Violet . Gino's . Adriatic JH . Vista Mission . Florea . Atreano . ...also...RdB, Bethlehem Black, Negronne, Grise de St. Jean, Livano, Col de Dame Blanc/Gris/Noir, Vasilika Sika, Longue D'Aout, Italian 258, Pennsylvania 6-5000

WillsC

Registered:1348087628
Posts: 1,698

Posted 1389750212	Reply with quote #11

Springtails?

Grasa

Registered:1347083219
Posts: 1,819

Posted 1389751090	Reply with quote #12

from this site:http://extension.missouri.edu/p/g7363 Management Homeowners who see these tiny, grayish insects in and around houseplant containers are often concerned that they are likely to harm their plants; however, this is not the case. Springtail activity is an indication of healthy, moist, organically rich soil. If springtails remain confined to the soil of houseplants, it is not necessary to initiate control measures unless there are so many that they cause a nuisance. hope that is the case! __________________ Grasa Seattle, WA

needaclone

Registered:1346812939
Posts: 604

Posted 1389751503	Reply with quote #13

Springtail is the common name for a class of arthropods known as collembola. Here's a snippet from Wikipedia: "However, by their capacity to carry spores of mycorrhizal fungi and mycorrhiza-helper bacteria on their tegument, soil springtails play a positive role in the establishment of plant-fungal symbioses and thus are beneficial to agriculture.They also contribute to controlling plant fungal diseases through their active consumption of mycelia and spores of damping-off and pathogenic fungi. It has been suggested that they could be reared to be used for the control of pathogenic fungi in greenhouses and other indoor cultures." Jim __________________ Clarksburg, NJ - Zone 6b Wishlist - A wise man recommended: Nero600M . Malta Black . Tacoma (Takoma) Violet . Gino's . Adriatic JH . Vista Mission . Florea . Atreano . ...also...RdB, Bethlehem Black, Negronne, Grise de St. Jean, Livano, Col de Dame Blanc/Gris/Noir, Vasilika Sika, Longue D'Aout, Italian 258, Pennsylvania 6-5000

saxonfig

Registered:1258080612
Posts: 1,370

Posted 1389753191	Reply with quote #14

Hmmm.........Curious little buggers aren't they. I'm usually pretty good at IDing natural little critters like this. But I'm just not familiar with this one. At first I thought mosquito larvae but both the color as well as their movement doesn't jive with that answer. Please keep this thread going until someone is able to ID these little critters. Pretty cool little guys IMO. That is unless they're eating your fig roots. Then they're bad little swimmers, bad! If no one is able to ID them we can always start offering each our own conspiracy theories about government cover up of tiny alien creatures that want to control our minds. They're real man!! I've seen them on youtube!!! You get the idea :-) . __________________ Fig Well And Prosper! Bill - SW KY. Zone 6b. 36.5N I'm fruitnut on ebay.

saxonfig

Registered:1258080612
Posts: 1,370

Posted 1389753510	Reply with quote #15

Well Grasa and Jim. My post is no longer nearly as humorous now that you've found that info. What can I say. Good finds. Good info. Cool critter stuff. I still kind of favor the alien mind control conspiracy though :-} . __________________ Fig Well And Prosper! Bill - SW KY. Zone 6b. 36.5N I'm fruitnut on ebay.

Ruuting

Registered:1359310699
Posts: 613

Posted 1389761412	Reply with quote #16

Maybe they're gubment drones! __________________ Rui Southeast CT, zone 6B

bullet08

Registered:1284496248
Posts: 6,920

Posted 1389762632	Reply with quote #17

i say soap 'em and let god sort 'em out. __________________ Pete Durham, NC Zone 7b "don't talk to me about naval tradition. It's nothing but rum, sodomy and the lash." - sir winston churchill "the problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." - the baroness thatcher *** all my figs have FMV/FMD, in case you're wondering. * * and... i don't sell things. what little i have will be posted here in winter for first come first serve base to be shared. no, i'm not a socialist...***

nycfig

Registered:1380768118
Posts: 886

Posted 1389790635	Reply with quote #18

Thank you everyone for the wonderful replies. The bucket was dumped and cleaned out with bleach. Unfortunately I didn't keep any of the litter buggers to ID. I'll check the other SIP's to see if anything is in those. I didn't know about the soap trick. Going to add that weapon to my arsenal for next time. Thank you for that. Jim, I think you are correct and they are Springtails. Seem to be beneficial. I should've kept one for ID. Damn! Anyway, here's a few videos from YouTube: __________________ Danny NYC Z7a It's all about the figs! Facebook: NYCfigs Buying Fig Trees and Cuttings From the Internet

nycfig

Registered:1380768118
Posts: 886

Posted 1389793100	Reply with quote #19

Further investigation reveals that letting the plant dry out will get rid of them. Googled "springtails self watering container". __________________ Danny NYC Z7a It's all about the figs! Facebook: NYCfigs Buying Fig Trees and Cuttings From the Internet

needaclone

Registered:1346812939
Posts: 604

Posted 1389796732	Reply with quote #20

Saxonfig -- just because they've been ID'd (tentatively) as springtail arthropods doesn't mean that they aren't Alien artrhopods with mind control capabillities! They could be gathering their masses for an assault on the earth!! Maybe they've identified Ficus Carica as the most intelligent species on the planet... Or maybe the Springtail is the galactic nemesis of the fig wasp... ...sorry, too much caffeine... Jim __________________ Clarksburg, NJ - Zone 6b Wishlist - A wise man recommended: Nero600M . Malta Black . Tacoma (Takoma) Violet . Gino's . Adriatic JH . Vista Mission . Florea . Atreano . ...also...RdB, Bethlehem Black, Negronne, Grise de St. Jean, Livano, Col de Dame Blanc/Gris/Noir, Vasilika Sika, Longue D'Aout, Italian 258, Pennsylvania 6-5000

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