Types of Insect Infestation

Insect infestations can end up severely damaging or even ruining your cannabis plants if they’re given enough time to make a home and start reproducing.

Most insect infestations are more common in outdoor grows, although it’s also possible to find insects in indoor grows. This can happen if you bring in a plant from outdoors, bring in insects on your clothes, have bad ventilation or haven’t cleaned out your grow after already having an infestation.

How to Detect an Insect Infestation

When it comes to growing cannabis, insects can easily begin to attack the upper area of the plant (leaves, buds and stems) such as white flies, thrips etc, as well as mites such as red spider mites. There are also certain insects that attack the substrate and your plants’ roots, such as gnats.

Some insects are easy to see in plain sight, whereas others require a more detailed inspection of the plant. This is incredibly important; if you can’t detect an infestation in time it may end up considerably decreasing the quality of your final yield or even ruin it entirely. Here are some of the signs you’ll need to look for:

• Movement of any kind on the plant: if you see an insect, remove it and attempt to identify it.
• Small stains on the leaves: these tend to be pale or grey. This can indicate thrips or mites.
• White or yellow lines on the leaves: this can indicate a mining bug infestation, which feeds by making tunnels in your plants’ leaves.
• Small bites or small black balls (excrements) on leaves: this can be a sign of caterpillars, also known as bud worms.
• Sticky substances on stems or leaves: this can indicate the presence of aphids, who feed off of plant sap.

How to Prevent an Insect Infestation?

One of the most important things when it comes to preventing insects is to constantly check up on your plant, and to use preventive products such as Spruzit or products which contain neem oil such as Bio Neem. You’ll also need to make sure that your grow is clean and free of any dead materials or decomposing compounds that may attract insects.

You should also keep in mind that healthy plants attract much less insects than stressed or unhealthy plants. Excess heat, too much or too little water, or high levels of nitrogen among other factors such as hygiene can easily cause the start of an infestation.

How to Get Rid of Insects in Cannabis Grows

If you haven’t been able to prevent insects from getting to your plants, it’s important to detect them as soon as possible to have a fighting chance. There are many different types of insecticides designed to prevent and get rid of insect infestations of all kinds.

We recommend using bio products rather than chemical products; they’re more eco-friendly, and leave much less residue on your plants. Plus, most organic products can be used during the flowering period, respecting the one week safety period before harvesting.

Have a look at the sections below if you’re looking for insecticides for specific insects, as well as multipurpose preventive products that will help you to keep your plants safe.

If you’re not sure what type of infestation that you have or you need help choosing the right insecticide, get in touch with our team of experienced professionals.