AndyAmine. Posted March 8, 2007 Hi all, Ive been having a problem wiht a small pest on my cacti cuttings and other places. They are a small insect about 1mm in length, white to off white and tend to spend thier time running around the base of my cacti cuttings. I also have a feeling thehy bring mould along with them. I assumed at first that they were nematoads but they have never caused any kind of gall formations. Sometimes I see them scurrying about when I pick up pots (particularly terracotta) that have been resting along the ledge of the wall which is made out of a sand/concrete mix full of small holes. they run in and out of the holes. Im not sure if they come from the ledging or if they come form the pots..... Anyone have any ideas? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Auxin Posted March 8, 2007 Correct me if I'm wrong but arent nematodes like microscopic worms? ie. no legs. That said, yeah what are those? I have similar bugs in my hothouse- ~ 1mm long, run like hell when seen, hide under pots and in mulch, tho mine are silvery grey. I see them constantly. I've never observed mine to be causing damage to plants, roots, or even seedlings. They look kinda sorta Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XipeTotec Posted March 8, 2007 yeah, my cousin had those, you really should see a doctor about that Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted March 8, 2007 baby slaters? http://www.ento.csiro.au/ecowatch/Malacostaca.htm#slater Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tonic Posted March 8, 2007 Sounds also like some sort of slater to me. On nematodes, yes they are more like a worm-like entity, but more slimy. For the little bug things you could try crushing some fresh garlic and put them in an atomiser with some water, pests seem to hate the stuff. Gets a bit rank after a while, but have heard that when it gets rank it works even better. Spray it around the ground near your pots and into the ledge. I put some in hothouse yesterday as I had these annoying little fly-like things [not sure what they are] hanging around my TBM, got rid of them and made my hothouse smell like an Italian restuarant, which I thought was great Give it a go Andy, see how it goes. Let me know if it works. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
transDiMenTional Posted March 8, 2007 what eva they are andy it is def likely that they are the cause of the mold. Many sap sucking insects leave a sugary secretion that provides perfect habitat for mold. (and ants) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rev Posted March 8, 2007 Beware the Nematoad Nematodes... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nematode Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
occidentalis Posted March 8, 2007 ROFL Rev Interestingly I just found nematodes in one of my pots that are part of a Phytophthora resistance screening experiment I'm doing... the soil was steam sterilised and somehow these little buggers got in since then. Some of the plants in this one pot (out of 50 pots) started dying before I'd infected them so I pulled one out and plated it on to selective agar and the thing is crawling with nematodes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gardener Posted March 8, 2007 If they are scurrying it's unlikely they are nematodes. They'd be slithering. And nematodes don't run in and out of holes in the wall, they live in the ground. Also the most common nematode worms are the root-knot ones, and they are such tiny lil critters they can't be seen except with a microscope, that's what I heard anyway. I'd try sprinking diatomaceous earth around your plants if I were u. It supposed to be awesome against insects. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SaBReT00tH Posted March 9, 2007 Maybe this is the problem Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndyAmine. Posted March 9, 2007 Thanks Torsten, yeah I think that could be them although I dont remeber any armour/shell. Hehe, I guess I deserved that one I should have done more research before posting... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
indigo264nm Posted March 9, 2007 Nematodes eat roots... they are lil. Lil'er than I am pissshed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
