Uh oh! Chances are you have arrived at our hydroponic plant pests page because you have found some bugs in your hydroponics garden. Sorry about that, but please know this was bound to happen, sooner or later.
Where did they come from? You used sterile medium, practiced good housekeeping in your grow room, and the darn thing is in a back bedroom! So how did these little critters find their way to your plants? (Sometimes I think they “spontaneously generate” out of thin air).
How to Identify & Eliminate Plant Pests in Your Hydroponic Garden
As much as you hate knowing you have bugs in your hydro garden, they are here, so what can you do about it? You don’t want to grab a can of Raid and douse your new garden with poison, right?
We suggest a gradually escalating plan of attack, starting with the safest (and greenest) pest eradication methods first:
Search & destroy
Grab a magnifying glass, find the bugs, and pick them off by hand, killing them as you go. Now this method, obviously, is only effective in the early stages of pest-infestation, when there are just a few. But this can be very effective if you do it daily, and stay on top of the situation.
Understand hydroponic garden maintenance and pest prevention here.
Natural predators
Are you in a greenhouse, or on a screened-in porch? Beneficial bugs like ladybugs and lacewings have voracious appetites, and can completely rid your setup of the bad bugs…. like aphids or mealybug… in a day or two. You might even try this in a closed off back bedroom, BUT, for obvious reasons, you don’t want to try this in your living room.
Mild organic pesticides
I know, I know, you wanted to stay chemical-free! But when your beautiful new garden is swarming with thousands of white flies, and you are in danger of losing the whole crop… this is a true test of your “pesticide-free” resolve.
We have had to resort to some of the milder organic agents ourselves, and with great success. Try everything else first, but you may decide in the end to resort to the “final solution” for your unwanted visitors.
The Top 6 Hydroponic Plant Pests
These are the pests most likely to be giving you headaches right now…
1. Aphids
Identification: Aphids are tiny, soft-bodied insects that come in various colors, including green, black, yellow, and red. They have pear-shaped bodies and are often found in clusters on new growth, undersides of leaves, or flower buds.
Damage: Aphids suck sap from plants, causing curling, yellowing, and stunted growth. They also excrete a sticky substance called honeydew, which can lead to sooty mold growth.
Light Infestation: Spray plants with a strong stream of water to dislodge aphids. Introduce beneficial insects like ladybugs or apply insecticidal soap.
Severe Infestation: Use neem oil, horticultural oils, or chemical insecticides labeled for aphids. Repeat treatments weekly until the infestation is under control.
Learn more about how to get rid of aphids.
2. Whiteflies
Identification: Whiteflies are tiny, white-winged insects that resemble moths. They are typically found on the undersides of leaves. When disturbed, they will fly up in clouds.
Damage: Whiteflies feed by sucking sap from plants, causing wilting, yellowing, and stunted growth. They also excrete honeydew, leading to sooty mold and attracting ants.
Light Infestation: Use yellow sticky traps to catch adults. Spray plants with insecticidal soap or neem oil, focusing on the undersides of leaves.
Severe Infestation: Introduce predatory insects like Encarsia formosa (a parasitic wasp) or apply chemical insecticides. Repeat treatments weekly until control is achieved.
3. Spider Mites
Identification: Spider mites are tiny, spider-like pests that are often red, yellow, or green, about the size of a pinhead. You will see them scurrying around and may also find round translucent, white-to-amber mite eggs. With large infestations, you might find a web covering the plant tops and crawling with spider mites.
Damage: Spider mites suck sap from leaves, causing speckled yellowing and bronzing. With heavy infestations, leaves will eventually brown and die, as the mites suck the plant fluids.
Light Infestation: Try raising the temperature and humidity. Spray with water or use insecticidal soap or neem oil. Introduce predatory mites like Phytoseiulus persimilis.
Severe Infestation: Apply miticides designed to target spider mites. Make sure to rotate treatments to avoid resistance. Thoroughly clean and isolate infected plants.
4. Mealybugs
Identification: Mealybugs are small, white, cotton-like insects that gather in clusters on plant stems, leaves, and nodes. They have soft, segmented bodies and produce a waxy coating. If you grab a magnifying glass, you will be able to see the puffy, slow-moving culprits
Damage: Distorted leaves, weak plants, a large infestation can carry away a plant.
Light Infestation: Try to pick them off by hand on a daily basis, and you might just get the upper hand. But you will have to be vigilant in your pursuit of these bugs. Dab individual mealybugs with a cotton swab soaked in rubbing alcohol, or spray plants with insecticidal soap or neem oil.
Severe Infestation: Mealybug predator beetles (Lady Bugs) love to eat mealy bugs. Repeat treatments weekly and remove heavily infested plants to prevent spread.
5. Thrips
Identification: Thrips look like tiny worms with legs (about 1/16″ long). They are fairly quick-moving bugs. Shake a branch and you can see them run. You may also find black specks (bug feces).
Damage: Leaves will be finely-speckled with whitish or yellow spots, occasionally progressing to a silvery metallic-looking sheen. They may turn brittle and dotted with black thrip feces. Look closely and you will find the culprits.
Light Infestation: Use blue or yellow sticky traps to capture adults. Spray with insecticidal soap or neem oil, focusing on new growth and flowers.
Severe Infestation: Use spinosad or pyrethrin-based insecticides, repeating treatments weekly. Introduce beneficial insects like minute pirate bugs or green lacewings to help control the population.
6. Fungus Gnats
Identification: Tiny grey or black flies with long legs and antennae, flying aimlessly around your plants. You will also find them in the growing medium, and possibly even swarming around your nutrient vat. Fungus gnats like damp, decaying organic matter.
Damage: Adult fungus gnats are harmless, but they infest the growing medium and their larvae eat the plants roots. Plants loose vigor and the leaves turn pale, but the plants won’t actually die.
Light Infestation: You can try sucking up many of the annoying little buggars with a vacuum nozzle, but this is not a permanent solution. Allow the soil to dry out between waterings to disrupt their breeding cycle. Apply a biological control like Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (BTI) to kill larvae.
Severe Infestation: Use sticky traps to catch adults and apply beneficial nematodes (Steinernema feltiae) to the soil to eliminate larvae. You can also use insecticidal drenches if the infestation persists.
Identifying Hydro Garden Pests…
There is one disadvantage to the hydroponics method of gardening that we need to explain here. The hydro process allows you to pack many plants in closer together due to the smaller root systems and a super-enriched nutrient bed. Hydroponics is a true form of “intensive gardening”, capable of producing an amazing amount of crops from a small space.
BUT… this crop density also allows for the quick spread of pests or diseases. Insects, fungus and mildew can overtake your entire hydro garden in a matter of a few days. And once they take hold, they are not very easy to eradicate.
This is why PREVENTION is the best way to keep a disastrous bug-festation from ruining your hydroponic garden. Read our Pest Prevention page to learn how to stay one step ahead of these tiny but deadly spoilers.
