What it is
Very thin, elongated insects (1 mm) that rasp the leaf surface and suck up what oozes out. Their larvae drop to the soil to turn into adults, which is why they keep coming back.
How to tell
Silvery or shiny patches on the leaves, like scratches, with tiny black dots (their droppings). With a loupe you see the bugs running around, yellowish or black. Heavily attacked leaves dry out.
What favors them
Dry air and heat. They come in with new plants, flowers or soil.
How to fight it
Neem oil (or spinosad), repeating every few days to break the cycle. Blue sticky traps (they are attracted to that color). Predatory mites in the soil that eat the larvae. Neem applied earlier, as prevention, makes the plant less attractive to bugs.
How to prevent them
Don't let the air drop below 45 % humidity (the humidifier at 55 % humidity helps) or get too hot, and check often with the lens: if you catch them early, they barely do any damage.
▲ Pros
- Caught early it heals almost without damage
▼ Cons
- Untreated it can kill the plant, and in a batch it spreads to the next batches
🎮 Practice it in UnderGrow
They're cured with neem oil (treat), which also, for a week (7 real h), prevents thrips, spider mite, whitefly and powdery mildew: while it lasts, they take hold much less. It doesn't protect from botrytis. Dry air (under 45 %) and heat favor them. At first they can only be seen with the lens.
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