Fungus Gnats or Fungus Flies or call them what you like, they are actually Sciarid Flies and they are worse than Spider Mites, I got mine in 'Infected Soil'
Here's how it started for me, I had a few leaves dying off and it sort of looked like a Nute of PH issue, neither of which made sense.
Then I noticed some Gnats in the tent, I gave the plants a thorough check and didn't find anything, but as I had some Bugicide decided to give them a thorough spray.
They are Auto's, so I decided to turn off the lights overnight as I had soaked the plants and 12 hours in the dark wouldn't matter much while they dried.
I decided to give them another inspection when I got up the next day, apart from the dead or dying leaves, I still couldn't identify the problem, so I trimmed them off. One of the leaves fell onto the surface of the soil and as I picked it up, something moved, it looked like a very small midge or a flying Aphid.
I put a Flystrip up and over the next day, twenty or thirty of them got stuck to it.
I sort of wrongly guessed they were Blackfly, until I spotted what looked like a small black tipped maggot, poking it's head up from the soil?
Time for a bit of research, I soon found out they were Scairid Flies and nasty little buggers at that.
They like damp, so I stopped watering the plants, then I found out the larve feed under the surface and they can eat the fine hairs off the roots and can kill the plants before you even realise whats happening, (Hence the leaves dying!)
Neem oil seems to be the thing to use and a sprinkling of Diatomaceous Earth to rip their stomachs apart!
I don't know whether I have caught these in time, I do hope so, but as sure as eggs are eggs they won't catch me again.
I think most growers have had Spider Mites at some time or another, I know I have, but these were a new one on me, I won't get my soil from this supplier again either, I might look into a pre-treatment of the soil as well.
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