What are these little bastards in my planters? I can’t post the video but they are tiny little bugs that are moving all over the dirt. Really small and kind of off white color. I know they aren’t aphids but that’s all I know
Sounds like gnats. A layer of food grade diamateous earth will prevent the larvae from hatching. Yellow sticky strips should help with the mature gnats.
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OK thank you so much for getting back to me. Where can I find that do you know? I have an organic vegetable and flower pesticide spray for the foliage and I have sevens dust to. Can I layer the sevens across the soil and wait for it to dry out before watering?
httaps://photos.app.goo.gl/g52Jhzgys4TMEPSVA
Here is a link with my plant pics on it. I don’t wanna lose my girls lol
Hope this helps
Spread a layer of aquarium gravel or very coarse sand over the top of the
infested dirt in the plant pot. Pick a color to accent your room décor.
Fruit flies lay their eggs in topsoil, where the young hatch. The gravel
or sand particles will prevent newly hatched larvae from climbing out of
the soil. They soon die and interrupt this cycle.
2
Color both sides of a 3-by-5-inch index card solid yellow with a highlighter.
Glue or staple one end of a wood craft stick to one side of the card to create
a plant stake. Smear enough petroleum jelly on each side of the yellow card to
coat it thickly and evenly. Poke the stake into your potted plant’s dirt. Fruit
flies are attracted to yellow sticky traps.
3
Pour about 1/4 inch apple cider vinegar, fruit juice or beer into a disposable
plastic cup. Add a drop of liquid dish soap, and stir to blend thoroughly.
Cover the cup loosely with plastic wrap. Secure with a rubber band. Poke some
holes in the plastic wrap with a toothpick.
4
Set the trap near the infested plant. Fruit flies are attracted to fermentation
and cannot resist these traps. The bugs enter the holes, touch down on the liquid
and drown. Even though the critters are light enough to walk on water, the soap in
the solution breaks the surface tension and prevents their escape.
5
Monitor your watering practices carefully. You may be loving your plants too much.
Give just enough water to keep them from wilting. Fruit flies are attracted to damp
dirt. Eggs and larvae present in soil cannot survive if it doesn’t remain moist at
all times.
6
Empty plant saucers immediately after watering to prevent moisture from accumulating
in the area. The dirt in the pot will also tend to dry out a little, further discouraging
fruit fly infestation.
Things You Will Need
?Aquarium gravel or very coarse sand
?3-by-5 index cards
?Yellow highlighter
?Glue or stapler
?Wood craft stick
?Petroleum jelly
?Apple cider vinegar, fruit juice or beer
?Disposable plastic cup
?Liquid dish soap
?Plastic wrap
?Rubber band
?Toothpick
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Awesome thank you so very much. And the gnats are insane here in the mountains of PA. It makes sense that those are they’re larva. Will sevens dust on the dirt or food grade diatomaceous earth work or should I stay clear of that?
Ya they should
and if i’m not mistaken…take a potato and slice it up and place on the soil and watch what happends. Once the potato is full replace with another one till gone. I believe it works on them.
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Very good brother thank you. I appreciate the advice
No problem…that’s what i’m here for my friend…lol
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Sevin is pretty toxic. I wouldn’t want to smoke it. Spinosad on the other hand is so safe the USDA lets organic growers and tobacco farmers use it up to a week before harvest. Available at all home improvement stores.
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Cool. Thanks bigfella
Well I’ve come to the conclusion that they are root aphids of almighty mega pieces of shit that it could be. I bought some organic neem oil extract and a bag of food grade diatomaceous earth and some clean playground sand. And if those don’t fix em I’ve got a bottle of permethrin concentrate. I also have some sticky yellow cards. I hope I can knock em out with this. Any thoughts on why those might not work?
I don’t think I would want to smoke permethrin. It is not absorbed well through skin exposure, but smoking it might be a bad idea.
Permethrin should work…might be a bit of over kill depending on your active load. It depends on level of infestation. If you have 2 million and kill 200 thousand, would you notice the difference? Remember aphids reproduce very quickly under ideal conditions so sometimes a knockout punch is the best bet. (I forget the exact time frame but something like a couple days one can have over a 2 billion family tree)
Focus on other forms of control like mechanical and cultural. Let the soil dry more than you normally would for a few days to limit habitat and slow those buggers from reproducing. Try and open up the canopy with training to create greater air flow. Water only around the area you are confident you have a solid root ball and insure you have good air flow. All these steps will take the pressure off the product your using creating a higher abatement rate.
Check out some doityourself pest sites - I love the PT alpine fly bait for just about anything, it’s great for preventative and allows me to keep pesticides of any type synthetic or “natural” (hope everyone picks up on the sarcasm there 
) Can spray a couple spots inside the tent and on note cards (taking plants out of course before doing so if you’d like) then once it dries your safe from exposure. imidacloprid products are my go to for white flies or aphids (temprid FX/SC) but Lowe’s/Home Depot will have a ready to use product as well for much cheaper (Blue bottle made by Bayer)
Hope all this helps, good luck!