Not necessarily. I tape up my led indicators on a plug strip. Im aware of the study and did in anyway. 5 sec of work to eliminate a risk is not a waste. Using duct with a bend in it for the passive airflow to eliminate light is also not a waste. Just being smart. There is a difference.
We also forget to mention one of the unhappy consequences that can happen: seeds or emaphrodite. Few growers have said they got seeds from a tiny amount of light
Bugbee mentions LED indicator lights as an example of sources that are too dim to matter (and perhaps thatâs what @Poseidon1 was referring to). Light spill through an inlet could be different, and Bugbee describes an easy way to tell.
To my way of thinking, ignoring science and doing useless things in hope of better results is superstitious. But Bugbeeâs findings indicate it does no harm in this case, so if some people feel better fixing non-problems, Iâve no objection â so long as they donât claim itâs necessary.
Iâve seen anecdotal reports that excessive light at night during flowering can cause hermaphroditism, which will produce seeds if those plants arenât yanked promptly. I havenât found evidence of this, though, and ILGMâs two guides on the subject donât mention it:
Hermaphroditism in Marijuana â What causes plants to go hermaphroditic?
How to Identify, Prevent, and Deal With Hermaphrodites in Your Cannabis Grow
So, the effect may be genuine, but like so many things involving cannabis, we donât know for sure or what the threshold is. (Or maybe my internet search was inadequate.)
I am finding tons of stuff with this search:
.
âdo cannabis plants really need total darkness when lights are off? in nature they have the moonlighâ
Also remember to use A.I.
I get lots of hits with that search phrase too, but only one that addresses the question (near the end of the article), and it cites Bugbeeâs research:
Growing cannabis: Debunking the light leak myth .
The others address how long the dark period should be during veg and/or flowering and whether itâs helpful to start flowering with an X-hour dark period, where X is either 24, 48, or 72.
If Iâve missed one thatâs relevant, please provide the link.