Little white eggs/bugs on roots of plants

13 years ago

Hey there! SO. I have/had these little things (I call them things because I have yet to confirm their identity!) that have ruined several plants. I believe they came from a bad bag of soil.

They're these little white eggs, that hatch into these tiny little aphid-like bugs. And then there are small holes in the lower leaves of my vegetation. Now, they trampled through a chocolate mint plant, which I've already done away with. I have tried taking my lettuce plants out of the infected soil and into new ones, but that did not keep them from destroying the last of them.

I am afraid that the soil I put them in, the lettuce I mean, will become infests. Though the plants were about 6" away, at least, I am still concerned for my new corn and my Japanese eggplant nearby. Now, I've taken my soil and radiated it in the microwave, so hopefully that did some help. All the (known) infested plants have been removed, and so has a handful of the soil around it. I haven't seen many of these thing travel farther than the plant root, so I am hopeful.

There are two images of sticky fly tape, and these were put next to the lettuce when the leaves were showing signs of being eaten. This makes me think that I have fungus gnats, but there's a lack of imagery for the eggs. Also, some of the little white things in the images are actually moving bugs! Truth is, I can't really tell the difference between the 'eggs' and the moving bugs! This is what leads me to believe that they are not the fungus gnats.

The Sticky tape: {{gwi:1182522}} & {{gwi:1182524}}

Roots: {{gwi:1182526}}, {{gwi:1182528}}, {{gwi:1182530}}, {{gwi:1182532}}, {{gwi:1182534}}

Comments (10)

jean001
13 years ago
all links give error message "404 not found." Please try again.
miss_take
Original Author
13 years ago
Gah! I'm just going to post the links straight... Thank you for letting me know!

The images are still in the same order as above;

http://a.imageshack.us/img208/4533/dsc0122w.jpg
http://a.imageshack.us/img801/174/dsc0123i.jpg

http://a.imageshack.us/img14/2274/dsc0124nz.jpg
http://a.imageshack.us/img841/6766/dsc0125d.jpg
http://a.imageshack.us/img23/9581/dsc0126eh.jpg
http://a.imageshack.us/img693/5347/dsc0127l.jpg
http://a.imageshack.us/img180/421/dsc0128kv.jpg
http://a.imageshack.us/img841/3495/dsc0129md.jpg
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jean001
13 years ago
The small dark flies look like g=fungus gnats. Usually from keeping potting mix to moist.

The small white things appear to be symphylans. Same reason as above.
miss_take
Original Author
13 years ago
If that is so, how can I manage them or prevent them from spreading?
Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
13 years ago
"usually from keeping potting mix too moist".

Agreed with Jean on ID as well.

Dan
napapen
13 years ago
I suggest you try solarizing the soil, if we ever see the sun.
Put in a clear bag and seal it tightly and leave in the sun for several days. The soil will heat up and kill most things in it. The soil should be damp. Then dry it out very well.

Penny
miss_take
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you for the advice! =D
Mary58Cows
11 years ago
While digging up the weeds from my raised beds I found a lot of BB sized yellowish eggs Throughout a lot of the weed roots.

What is it and what do I do about it?
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
bb shaped yellowish eggs .. w/o a pic..

could be either slug eggs..

or osmacote type fertilizer pellets..

we need a pic ... with a scael for size.. pen tip, maybe???

or you can google both ideas.. and figure it out ... but if that fails.. we need a pic ....

and you should start your own post.. with a searchable title.. so that replies come to your email ... should you check the box below where you type ...

ken
dowlinggram
11 years ago
This works for fungus gnats in pots and it may work for the other bugs too. Mix up some insecticidal soap and water the soil with it. Dish soap will work too and would be cheaper to cover a large area. The soap kills the eggs and larvae of the fungus gnat in pots--This I know for sure. The soapy water doesn't seem to harm the plants

I don't know about the others but it is worth a try You'd really have to drench the soil to get the soap down to the bugs