What are these?!

[R.K. Castillo]

I asked a couple posts ago about this same problem.  These little suckers killed all the plants in one of my beds and they are making their way through another bed.  Here's a picture.  What the heck are they?  And more importantly...how do I end their lives?

[Averan]

Looks like spider mites. Cut off as much of the infected plants as possible. Actually, I would just take them all out and start over. A dilute solution of peroxide might keep them off once you have physically removed most of them by cutting or spraying off foliage with a house.

[R.K. Castillo]

Thanks man

[Francois Lemmer]

Hi Averan

when you say diluted do you mean with water? and if can you please give the ratio
Averan said:

Looks like spider mites. Cut off as much of the infected plants as possible. Actually, I would just take them all out and start over. A dilute solution of peroxide might keep them off once you have physically removed most of them by cutting or spraying off foliage with a house.

[Chris MIller]

for spider mites I dip the tapered tip of a toothpick in dishsoap and fill a 1 pt spray bottle across it. spray liberally...

I cannot see what kinda bugs you have though

[George]

if outside, wash them off - repeat within two days until completely gone

damaged leaves will not recover

early detection helps a lot

[FriendlyAquaponics]

Aloha Mr. Castillo

It does look like spider mites, but I wouldn't make a definite diagnosis without a closeup photo; a lot of stuff looks alike, and it would be a bad guess; this could be a relative of downy mildew. But here is a resource you can use, if you can identify the active "bug":

I've attached a 17-page document on USDA organically certified aquaponics pest control techniques that my wife Susanne researched and wrote. We've been using all these successfully for at least 2-1/2 years on our USDA organically certified aquaponics systems; there is no conjecture or guessing about whether these treatments are safe for use with fish and plants.

I'd be really careful with soap sprays or applications of any kind; we had a student who killed 800 pounds of tilapia in a greenhouse. He applied an organically-approved soap spray carefully, and tried not to get any on the rafts, but apparently did; for after about 4 or 5 applications over a 3-month period, all the fish died at the same time. There was plenty of DO in the tank at the time, so he was able to rule that out, and attribute their deaths definitely to the soap spray. However, there are a lot of remedies in the attached "How To Win The War On Bugs" that are totally safe for the fish, and will "get" both the downy mildew and spider mites.

I've also attached a copy of our "Planting Trials", that may be useful.

Aloha, Tim Mann, Friendly Aquaponics in Hawaii

Aloha Mr. Castillo

It does look like spider mites, but I wouldn't make a definite diagnosis without a closeup photo; a lot of stuff looks alike, and it would be a bad guess; this could be a relative of downy mildew. But here is a resource you can use, if you can identify the active "bug":

I've attached a 17-page document on USDA organically certified aquaponics pest control techniques that my wife Susanne researched and wrote. We've been using all these successfully for at least 2-1/2 years on our USDA organically certified aquaponics systems; there is no conjecture or guessing about whether these treatments are safe for use with fish and plants.

I'd be really careful with soap sprays or applications of any kind; we had a student who killed 800 pounds of tilapia in a greenhouse. He applied an organically-approved soap spray carefully, and tried not to get any on the rafts, but apparently did; for after about 4 or 5 applications over a 3-month period, all the fish died at the same time. There was plenty of DO in the tank at the time, so he was able to rule that out, and attribute their deaths definitely to the soap spray. However, there are a lot of remedies in the attached "How To Win The War On Bugs" that are totally safe for the fish, and will "get" both the downy mildew and spider mites.

I've also attached a copy of our "Planting Trials", that may be useful.

Aloha, Tim Mann, Friendly Aquaponics in Hawaii

[R.K. Castillo]

I took a sample to the University here and they said these are Greenhouse Thrips. How would you get rid of those?

[Steve R]

http://www.theaquaponicstore.com/Green-Lacewings-p/aglhf058.htm Green lace wings are a great option.

[R.K. Castillo]

I live in an apartment. Can we release these types of bugs in an apartment?

[Alex Veidel]

Greenhouse thrips? I highly recommend spinosad. Took care of my thrip problem swiftly and efficiently. It's a agreat organic spray that doesn't have negative effects on your water quality.

It's good for an immediate problem anyway.

[Alex Veidel]

Ooh, check these guys out: 

https://greenmethods.com/cucumeris/

Thrip predatory mite....Predatory mites are really small, so you won't even notice they are there. And they don't fly.

[Alex Veidel]

Also note, Neoseiulus mites are typically good for preventative control, and can last a long time without prey because they feed on flower pollen. So I'd recommend spinosad to get your numbers down and then mites to balance everything out.