How to deal with pests?

This article directly follows the post about plant diseases. The individual pests and diseases in relation to plants are linked above all by the fact that your plants are first and foremost protected from them by quality prevention. 

Every grower should have at least a basic awareness of the well-known pests that commonly attack plants, because, as they say, fortune favours the prepared. 

Indoor growers, who cultivate plants in a controlled environment provided by grow tents, do not have to struggle with pests as much. However, it is necessary right from the start to dispel the common myth that, in indoor growing, pests will avoid your plants completely even without proper prevention. For example, fungus gnats are paradoxically found more often on plants grown indoors. Preventive protection of plants against pests is therefore certainly an area that should not be underestimated, whether you grow herbs, fruit or vegetables mainly at home or outdoors. 

A common feature of the pests in this article is their tendency to stay on the undersides of leaves. It then depends quite a lot on whether the plant is harmed by adult individuals, which can be seen on the vegetative parts of the plant and are mostly flyers (for example aphids), or rather by larvae (for example fungus gnats) in the soil, which needs to be checked both for their presence and for the optimal moisture of the substrate. 

• Our TIP: Start by getting Canna CURE! 
• Right at the outset, we warmly recommend the foliar spray against pests Canna CURE, which indoor and outdoor growers alike quickly came to like after its launch thanks to its effective yet ecological composition. It is exceptionally versatile, and you can use its strength when growing in any growing medium. 
• In addition to comprehensive plant protection, Canna Cure also significantly supports photosynthesis. 
• It works by creating a protective film on the leaves.
• With regular use of CannaCure, you will achieve remarkable plant vitality, and the plants will be resistant to possible attacks from various pests.
• What makes this liquid preparation with insecticidal and fungicidal properties stand out from similar products is its ability to literally control the occurrence of pests on the surface of plants. It is precisely this feature that makes this unique preparation a truly exceptional product, the only one of its kind. 

So what are the most common types of pests, and how can you deal with them effectively?

APHIDS 

Who would not know these little (3-10 mm) pests, right? 

• They feed on sap from stems, leaves or flowers and literally suck the life-giving energy out of plants, which can even lead to their complete death. 
• Aphids attack many plant species, and above all they are attracted to young plants in the early stages of development. If young leaves are affected, they will never reach full size, even after the pests have been eliminated. 
• Every grower has probably encountered aphids at least in the garden. However, aphids are a typical example of a pest that can devastate your crop even indoors. 
• There are several species of aphids, but the options for eliminating them are the same.
• So as not to stray too far from growing practice into biology, we will add just one interesting and rather unpleasant fact: a single adult aphid produces, over its life cycle, an average of 50 to 250 females with the same reproductive ability. That means only one thing. As soon as you spot just a few aphids on your plants, immediately move on to eliminating them, otherwise their population in your pots or beds will soon increase at rocket speed!
• A fairly reliable indicator of aphids on a plant is an ant crawling over the plant or, for example, a seven-spot ladybird.
• Recognising the presence of aphids is also made more difficult by the fact that aphids tend to stay on the undersides of leaves. They can also be various colours, including green, which is of course difficult to spot on green plants. Aphids are therefore the hardest to notice at all. After that, identification is relatively easy. 

Prevention: 

• Canna CURE – pest spray or, for example, the 100% organic pesticide BioNova NovaFoliar
• Effective air filtration for indoor growing 

Elimination: 

• You can remove a few individuals manually, by hand or with a cotton swab. A simple shower is also an option, meaning removal of the pests with water pressure in the case of plants grown in a pot. 
• You can best eliminate a larger aphid population with an effective biological or chemical product. For example, try the proven Mospilan or the INPORO spray from the Czech company AgroBio. 
• If you decide on chemical treatment, observe the product’s pre-harvest interval, which indicates the time that must pass from application to consumption. 

 SPIDER MITES 

• This eight-legged sucking pest with a solid body belongs to mites, which drain sap from plants together with life-giving energy. 
• Infested plants show significantly slowed growth and a reduced ability to form flowers and fruit. 
• In our region, you will most often encounter the two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae) and the European red mite (Panonychus ulmi). The two-spotted spider mite multiplies somewhat faster than the European red mite, but believe that both species are capable of multiplying their numbers on your plants incredibly quickly, before you can say “crop destroyed”. That is why, first and foremost, we again stress proven prevention, which, like any elimination, is practically the same as in the case of the aphids mentioned above.
• Spider mites are often revealed on leaves by conspicuous pale spots, which can be seen from above, even though the spider mites themselves are found attacking the underside of the leaves.
• Spider mites are quite difficult to observe because they rarely grow to a size of 0.7 mm. In growing practice, we essentially only observe tiny moving dots. If you use a magnifying glass, the spider mites reveal eight legs, as this number is quite unusual among plant pests.
• Spider mites are also related to spiders, and so they may also be revealed by characteristic white webs on plants, which are very fine but fairly strong.
• If it comes to elimination, we again choose biological products first, and a chemical insecticide should only come into play after they fail. 

 FUNGUS GNATS 

• Fungus gnats (Sciaridae) hatch from eggs in the growing medium. Often we “buy” them together with the substrate, especially if it is a cheap universal version from the supermarket. 
• The eggs hatch into larvae that threaten plants by feeding on their roots. And because a healthy root system, which absorbs water and nutrients well, is the basis of a vital plant, this results in slowed development or even death. 
• Fungus gnats can also appear in other waterlogged growing media. They like moisture. 
• Growing media such as perlite or expanded clay, on the other hand, do not suit fungus gnats.
• You will usually notice fungus gnats as confused flying flies (2-4 mm) on the surface of the substrate, which have hatched from larvae. The problem in the case of fungus gnats is therefore mainly the larvae; you no longer need to deal with the adult flies resembling mosquitoes. 
• Any substrate can be sterilised before you plant into it. For example, you can put it in an oven heated to a high temperature, although this is not very practical at home because of the smell. A better option is to pour boiling water through the substrate. Once it has cooled to normal temperature, you can plant. 
• There is a close connection between watering and the occurrence of fungus gnats. Overwatering plants and wet substrate again unnecessarily increases the likelihood