Any time a live insect or pest comes in contact with your cannabis plant, there is a chance for infection/infestation. The moment you choose to grow cannabis plants in your backyard or indoors for personal or commercial purposes, you should also be willing to accept any other potential risks that may arise out of this, such a crop wipeout due to Cannabis Pests that visit the plant.
Like the old saying goes, prevention is indeed the best way to keep your plant safe. That being said, you have to take proper precautionary measures if you do not want to experience an unwanted outbreak
This article will walk you through the 3 most common Cannabis Pests that affect the cannabis plant and how you can get rid of them. Read on to know more!
Table of Contents
What are the Most Common Cannabis Pests?
Though there is a huge list of the kinds of pests/insects that can affect the yield of your cannabis plants, some of them in particular seem to cause most of the problems. Fortunately, even if the pest that affected your cannabis crop is not on the list below, you can still take the same measures to get rid of it.
1. Whiteflies
Whiteflies are up to 2 mm in length, similar to the spider mites, usually found hidden under the leaves of the cannabis plant from where they obtain their nourishment. They resemble the miniscule white moths a lot. You can easily spot the adults flying around the plant when you shake it.
These tiny pests quickly spread the disease from one plant to another and destroy the leaves along with other parts of the crop. This weakens the overall health of the crop. This is the reason whiteflies are considered a real nuisance to cannabis enthusiasts and need to be eliminated as soon as you are alerted to their presence.
How to get rid of Whiteflies?
- The most effective way to get rid of whiteflies is to prune your cannabis plants/crop and wash them.
- You can do away with the whiteflies by removing any dead or damaged leaves before giving your crops a nice wash. Keep in mind that the wash has to be done if they have not flowered already.
- Besides hosing the plants, you can also spray your plants twice a week with a natural blend of garlic oil or a mixture of 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and about 1 gallon of water.
- Grow the plants in a good, ventilated environment that is not too warm. Warm and humid conditions are loved by bugs and they thrive in such conditions.
2. Fungus Gnats
These black bugs are around 3-5 mm in size and can sometimes be seen crawling on the soil near the base of the plants. Although the gnats do not eat away the plant or any other parts, they cause root damage that weakens the plant functioning.
It also leads to poor soil drainage that can leave the crop highly susceptible to the risk of damage, disease and infestation.
How to get rid of Fungus Gnats?
- Remember that moist soil is essential for fungus gnats to survive. Therefore, the most effective way to keep the gnats away is by keeping the topmost layer of your soil as dry as you can.
- You can place a piece of cloth over the soil and this will not allow the adult gnats to lay their eggs since they need moist soil to do that.
- Keep your plants in a sealed environment. Close all windows, doors and tent zips all the time unless you want to enter the space.
3. Aphids
Aphids are very destructive in nature. They are around 1-10mm long and are generally green in color. Sometimes, they can also be seen in red, black and white colors. Aphids are known to be found on the leaves and the stems of cannabis plants.
These pests feed on the marijuana plants and lead to the wilting and curling of leaves. They sometimes also turn yellow or even die.
How to get rid of Aphids?
- You can start by pruning the damaged or highly infected leaves and quickly dispose of them.
- Give your plants a nice wash.
- Just like the whiteflies, the garlic oil blend also helps with fighting the aphids. Lastly, spray the plants with the garlic oil blend or a solution of vinegar and water that the aphids absolutely hate.
Taking care of your marijuana plants is very important for their growth. Anyone who is interested in cultivation of cannabis needs to be aware of these techniques. Most people are too busy or too negligent to grow marihuana plants themselves. In any case, you can buy flowers of supreme quality that have been well tended from online marijuana dispensaries like XpressGrass.
