If I remember correctly, you said you will spray diatomaceous earth onto your plants for pest management? How much de do you mix in per gallon of water?
I always have a yearly white fly problem from bringing house plants in, and this year it’s too much and I have to nip it in the bud.
Can’t find your post about it and your set to private lol, so I can’t dm you asking about it, plus I figured it’s a good tip for everyone to use.
We used to sprinkle it around dry. All around the plants and on the leaves (during veg)
My head grower described it as mini razor blades everywhere that will tear up mites and other non desirables
.5 cup per gallon of water is what I did, I read (can’t remember where) that some people do up to a cup per gallon.
Mix some soluble silica too, something like recyclesil. https://recyclesil.com/
Spray it in the morning that way it has the day to dry out.
Fuck yeah, thanks bro!
are the flies laying eggs in the soil?
if so layer the soil w d.e. itll slice the bodies up of the larvae like glass field
I don’t think they do, tbh, I’d have to look. I’m gonna do a foilar spray and sprinkle some de on top of the soil too just in case.
Usually I just stick a few yellow traps up and that takes care of it, but this year there’s enough where I have to be more proactive.
DE is mostly a revenge aspect. You only have to lose ~5% of an indoor crop to bugs to start paying attention to IPM. DE becomes the grower acting out SAW movies on bugs.
This stuff would be spider mite / aphid destruction: https://www.vestaron.com/spear-t-liquid-concentrate/ (you really need appropriate safety gear for new stuff like this. Also costs like $600 for 6000 sq ft canopy coverage.
There is a biological product called met52 that works great on white flies, at least on tomatoes. I have never used it on cannabis. It is non toxic to people and gives the bugs a fungal disease.
DE is way less effective wet. The idea is the bugs walk on it and soft body bugs get cut up or die from it absorbing their moisture as they walk across it.
It’s super affective as a top dressing. But I hated topping up after every water.
IPM is your friend. Beneficial nematodes & Mosquito Bites ( the ones with only Bacillus thurigiensis var. israelensis. )
Have Worked For Gnats and White Flies for me
Edit* I don’t recall the name of the company but both can be found in bulk along with met52. So they can be used on small personal grows or by the acre
DE would be sprayed on then leaves would be allowed to dry @DocMolecule. Also, I didn’t know the dunks worked for whiteflies.
@Autumn_Ridge_Hemp, is met52 discontinued?
@SpookyDistillation, my grow is waaay too small for anything like that lol.
Really though, they’re just enough to annoy me, I have the de on hand so I’ll apply that for now. If needed, I’ll do the dunks as well.
Thanks for all the input as always fellas. I’ll start the application of the de spray tomorrow at light on and keep everyone posted.
They make dusters for that too. I just didn’t like the residual on my plants. The few break outs I had were solved by drenching everything in peppermint water and treating the soil.
Then just staying up on your soil treatment was key.
Has BotaniGard ES been black listed for anything? That was another beneficial bacteria based product that can kill white flies.
I just haven’t used it in a few years and don’t know if it’s still considered acceptable
Well damnit you’re right, manufacturer of met52ec ceased production in 2020. I have no idea why. This is where I bought it:
I’ve used dr. Bronners peppermint soap before, I actually didn’t think of that.
The es looks like it’s still available.
I don’t keep any flower, all my material gets turned into extracts, so I don’t really care too much about residuals.
Talk about preemptive media application!
Just wait till I tell the rosin boi’s you’re CRC’ing your plants! 
JK jk
#DrBronners4President
I grew up using dr bronners haha.
Washing your tiddly bits with it is the best, talk about a wake up!
I used to use DE and water spray and let it dry, works like a dream.
I ran a hydro store for a bunch of years and soil growers always struggled with fungus gnats. DE never worked because it would always get wet. Custies would try things like bottom watering, but you don’t get a thorough wet/dry cycle.
Mosquito dunks and dryer sheets was a trick that a buddy who used TubCool’s super soil shared. Pyroligneous acid (liquid smoke/wood vinegar) is what worked for me. As a foliar, it also kills whiteflies and most other nasties in the garden.
What rate do you apply the liquid smoke with as a foilar?
Maintenance foliar and drench with liquid smoke is 1:1000-3000. Active infection is 1:500.
I would get a brand like Seek bamboo vinegar. Grocery store brands often have flavor additives and preservatives.