How To Protect Your Hydroponic System From Pests
This is a writing sample from Scripted writer Gordon Goodfellow
How To Protect Your Hydroponic System From Pests Meta description: How to protect your hydroponic system from pests is a huge concern for all growers; just because hydroponic growing means virtually no contact with the soil doesn't mean you don't need to be vigilant. One of the great advantages of using hydroponics as your basis for growing plants is that, because no soil is used, the risks of pests and disease getting to your plants is very minimal. However, you can't completely rule out the fact that some pests may be able to get in. No system is 100 percent safe. So there are some practical tips on how to protect your hydroponic system from pests. Better be warned what to look for and so keep the little bugs out, rather than get an unpleasant surprise one day. Here are a few of the insects which will be most likely to cause problems. Aphids Aphids can attack your hydroponic system, and this is especially true in cases where there is an abundance of nitrogen in the food source. Aphids can be seen around the stems of plants and can be of several colours. Whiteflies Whiteflies are easy to spot, appearing similar to very small moths, around 1 mm in length, and are difficult to catch. Spider Mites These are less than 1 mm long and, despite their small size, they can cause real havoc in any hydroponic system. Under a microscope they appear to resemble very tiny spiders, and their size means that they are able to escape detection until it's too late. Fungus Gnats It is the larvae of the fungus gnat which is the problem rather than the adult, and these little pests gnaw at the roots of plants and this can cause infestations readily. Thrips Thrips are unpleasant little pests which can make leaves a yellowish or brownish colour as they suck a lot of the nutrients out while engorging on these themselves. Thrips are about 5 mm long and resemble dark dots on leaves' upper sides. You Should Clean Your Hydroponic System You should ensure that you're wearing entirely clean, and preferably sterile, clothing. These microscopic pests have a habit of clinging to everything on us and we won't know about it at all. So you should really take time to prepare before you go looking for trouble! Also clean everything that you take with you, including any tools that you may be carrying in your hands. Make sure everything is spotless before venturing in. You certainly don't want to carry any pests in with you, especially since you won't be able to even see them. When you set up your hydroponic system it's always worth the time it takes to clean everything thoroughly. Preferably you should sterilise everything. All the equipment within the area will need to be cleaned before it is taken into your growing area or grow tent. The annoying thing about pests is that they can come from anywhere. They will seek a ride on anything that you care to take into the growing area or grow tent with you. How To Control Pests in Your Hydroponic System There are certain precautions that you can take when you first setup your hydroponic system, bearing in mind how to protect your hydroponic system from pests, and you should practice good cleanliness right from the start. You will want to deter any pests that you can, and not just the ones that you've read about; prevention is always better than cure, of course. There are certain things you'll want to watch out for. Many pests find low humidity quite attractive; fungus gnats and spider mites find low humidity especially appealing. So keep an eye on your humidity within the growing environment by ensuring that it is at least 50 percent or above. Doing this alone may well be enough to prevent infestations from breaking out (although there are other things you can do as well). You should also check in the growing medium that there is no excess moisture. Fungus gnats in particular just love rockwool, so be careful if you choose that for your growing medium, otherwise they might decide to move in. Even if you regulate the humidity properly and carefully in this way, you may find that pests can get in. So you should always be looking for signs; don't ever let complacency get the better of you. There are certain tell-tale signs that you have pests in your setup, so here's what you should look out for. You may notice a certain discolouration in the leaves, and they may turn a yellowish or a light brownish colour. If the problem is caused by pests it will likely be the pests feeding themselves on the nutrients in the leaves which will cause them to turn that colour. Aphids are known to do this, for example. You'll notice that the discolouration will have, at its centre, a very small hole, which is where the mites will have fed on. Some species of pests will cause spots to appear on leaves, often causing an identifiable pattern which is similar in each case. The spots may be brown, yellow, white or black in colour, and these can be deposits on the leaves from the pest's own dung or from eggs or larvae. In some cases the leaves themselves may be damaged. But if you find that you can scrape off these spots then it's a tell-tale sign that they've been left there by a pest or pests unknown. If you notice this then it is best to immediately check the leaves and stems of adjacent plants as well. If you see what appear to be holes which may be burns or tears, it's important to look closer. Look at the edges of these. Burns will be there because of the nearness of a light source. If this is the case then move the light source a bit further away (you could also check your grow lights' cooling precautions as well, or perhaps consider investing in an inexpensive air circulation fan as well). The holes which are actually made by pests will be tiny and sometimes slightly raised a little bit above the rest of the leaf surface. These are from the actions of the pests sucking away at the leaf as they feed themselves from its nutrients. If you have any of the above symptoms then you'll want to get it remedied quickly. Time is so important here. Pests, once they become established in a hydroponic system, can run through it at a devastating rate. The infestation goes from one plant to the next in a very short space of time. You will have to decide what to do in order to save the situation as soon as you can. You can get rid of some pests by simply removing them or by means of chemical eradication. Of course, chemicals should only be considered as a last resort as these may cause damage to your hydroponic system. How to Remove pests Once They are Detected When dealing with the problem of how to protect your hydroponic system from pests, you don't want to damage your plants as well, or anything else which they will come into contact with. So a 'softly softly' approach is always best. You can find a range of 'natural' solutions you can use to get rid of the pests. Ensure they are safe for your plants by reading on the label of the container; it should state openly that this is safe to be used with plants. One such solution is Pyrethrin. This is quite safe to use within your hydroponic system, as even organic farmers trust it. Quite the reverse of being derived from chemical pesticides, Pyrethrin is made from the extract of certain flowers. So in this sense it can be said to be a 'natural' solution. Most people will be familiar with fly-paper. This is a sticky substance which is applied to an adhesive surface which can be attached near to where insect are flying or crawling. The stickiness is then used to trap the insects so that they cannot escape. These sticky traps come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Of course, once the pests are caught in these traps you can have a good look at them in order to identify what they actually are, if this has proved impossible before. In fact, it's probably not a bad idea to have a sticky trap or two around anyway, whether you suspect pests in your system or not. Time will usually eliminate them in this way, as they are made immobile and will not be able to breed once caught. Give your plants a good spray every so often. This can be a preventative measure as well. If there are pests present then a good spraying will slow down their breeding cycle if nothing else and will rid you of the majority of the pests. ** ** Treatment for Getting Rid of Aphids To get rid of the aphid pests in your hydroponics system you firstly have to remove whole plants which are infested. Then you'll need to remove any stems and leaves which are severely infected. This will give your non-infected plants a chance to grow free from pests. Having said that, certain insects are known to be good natural predators of aphids such as lacewings (also sometimes known as 'stink flies' because of the horrible smell they can give off as a defensive measure) and ladybirds, and these are not known to cause problems for plants. Soap pesticides (without harmful chemicals) are also deadly to pests but not to plants. As a preventative measure, do not overfeed the plants; the nutrition this builds up will only attract more of the little aphid pests that you don't want around. ** ** Treatment For Getting Rid of Whiteflies To get rid of an infestation of whiteflies in your hydroponic system you can spray the plants with water at first, then bring in some predator insects which will do the work for you. Lacewings and ladybirds are good for this. Safe organic soap pesticides (read the label to ensure they're safe for your plants) can also be used. If you wanted to you could use Neem oil (but you should check the regulations in the U.K., where its active ingredient, Azadirachtin, is illegal, theoretically at least, though preparations containing Azadirachtin can be readily bought from retailers). ** ** Treatment For Getting Rid of Spider Mites To get rid of spider mites from your hydroponic system you should first prune the areas with a high incidence of infestation and get rid of these stems and leaves. Then use a plant-safe (read the label) organic insecticide to deal with any remaining pests. You may want to use Neem oil every few days, which will destroy both the spider mites and their eggs. Treatment for getting Rid of Fungus Gnats You can avoid the presence of fungus gnats in your hydroponic system by not watering the plants too much. But if the infestation is already there you can allow your growing medium to become as dry as possible within two inches from the top before you add any more liquid. You can lay some sticky traps close to the growing medium to take care of the fungus gnats' eggs. Then fight the species off by putting some nematodes in to deal with the fungus gnat larvae. If the infestation is severe you could spray Neem oil. Treatment For Getting Rid of Thrips If you want to get rid of an infestation of thrips in your hydroponic system you can again use other predator species such as anthocoridae (minute pirate bugs), ladybirds and lacewings. You could also use pyrethrin on your plants, and then spray with a plant-safe insecticide soap every few days if this becomes necessary. In conclusion, we hope you've seen the importance of preventing pests from getting into your hydroponic system in the first place. Without the need for soil it is far easier to keep these bugs out than is the case with conventional soil-based horticulture, but there is still the need to be vigilant. This is always the best means of how to protect your hydroponic system from pests. But if you're unlucky enough to have an outbreak of infestation, don't automatically reach for the pesticides. It can be seen from all the above that bugs may be defeated by the introduction of other bugs which are the pests' natural predators. It's a species-on-species battle which you can win without causing any harm to your plants whatsoever.
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