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Silver things in my highland tank soil

I have noticed a lot of very tiny fast moving non flying silver fly looking things in my highland tank pots. Any idea what they are and more importantly-how do I get rid of them without hurting the plants?

Thanks for any ideas!
 
Did you use to live in illinois, and did you use ot know a certain "Matthew gousset"?
 
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No. Never lived anywhere but here. Don't know any Matts.
 
Hi Swords

I think I have the same thing...very tiny little white bugs running around in the soil in a couple of pots. I asked and nobody seemed to know what they are.

Suzanne
 
They sound like springtails, Collembola, to me. Most, but not all species have a spring-like mechanism in their tails (as their common name suggests), and they jump when disturbed. They are very common, primative,wingless, soil-dwelling bugs which usually cause no harm at all to CP's, especially big strong ones like Neps. They could be something else though, poke a few and see if they jump.

Cheers
Vic
 
They scurry they don't jump or hop. I've had what I thought were springtails in one terrarium and they were much smaller than these. These are about 1/4 the size of fruitflies and shiny silver but they don't fly or jump.

No matter what they are what can I do to make them extinct? I thought I read somewhere that you can put a cat or dogs bug collar in a terrarium and it will cause the bugs to evacuate, is that true?

I have some insecticidal spray from Shultz supposedly safe and made from Chruysanthemum flowers but it really wiped out my cape sundew (sticky whitefly). so I'm way too afraid to use it and possibly kill my hamta.
 
Are the plants in pots or in the classical style terrarium?
 
I am tying to rember if "Silverfish" have wings, they usally are found in atics in books. You may try to use a yellow sticky trap. It is a yellow boar that is used to catch fleas in a house or white flys outside. The bugs are attracted to the yellow and the glue keeps them there, kinda like a fake sundew.
 
Swords, I think you and I have the same thing.

And their size is nowhere close to a silverfish. They are TINY... about the size of this hyphen ---> -

Probably not that long either. And they run/scurry along the soil if you disturb the pot. I just worry they are root eaters or something. Oh...and they dont hop...just run.

Suzanne
 
  • #10
Not all springtails have a springy tail! most do, but there are still plenty that run and don't jump. Without a better description than tiny and shiny, I still think that they are probably springtails.
Trust me, I'm an entomologist!

Vic
 
  • #11
i agree with vic. i think they are a 'springless' springtail. i have been interrested in bugs for years and have encountered springtails that dont jump on several occasions. they are even in a mini bog pot i have. i wouldnt worry about them. youll probly see them more often at nightnrunning around in the soil.

-josh
 
  • #12
hey vic

what do you think about the possibility of what they have as being thrips??

-josh
 
  • #13
Thrips don't scurry as far as I know, I have some on a few of my plants. They're woolly and pretty sedate, they just kind of sit there, immobile for long periods while they suck the life juices out of your poor plants.

Troy.
 
  • #14
Nep G, my highland tank is just pots of plants I had to tear down my sphagnum bog cos it started smelling real bad as the weather got hotter this summer.

Vic, I guess I can't see these things any better to give a fuller description other than "tiny and shiny"!
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Suzanne your "hyphen" size comparison is right so maybe we do have the same critters.

So long as they aren't harmful to my expensive plants I guess I won't freak out too much. but maybe I will get one of those yellow sticky pads anyway. Shouldn't carnivorous plants be eating these bugs?
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  • #15
The only other tiny critter that I can think of that might fit the description (just) are thrips and these can damage plants. However they are not soil dwelling, so don't worry.
If I lived in the USA instead of England I would ask you to post me some, preferably dead in alcohol. But there are really strict rules about doing things like this, so it's not worth the expense and bother.
A trip to you local high school/ college/ university should provide someone with enough expertise to ID these bugs, you only need to know which order they are in, not which species.
If they are not causing any obvious damage symptoms, I'd just let them be, they are just a natural componant of your soil, feeding I suspect, on microbes and fungi, and doing more good than harm. In their natural habitat, Nepenthes coexist with thousands of different soil dwelling creatures quite happily.

Vic
 
  • #16
Hi suzanne... If I recall correctly (i have young person's alzheimers), I suggested that the white things where fruit fly gnats last time you posted about this. If you have a closed terrarium, you should see little fruit flies occasionally pop up if that is what they indeed are. They look like tiny white specks that crawl around in the soil. I try to smush them with my finger, but they are too small.
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. They can disturb the roots of your plants if there are tons, but I haven't noticed too much ill effect on the plant that I have that has some. I just seperated it from the other plants so it wouldn't spread, and the plant seems quite happy catching the adult fruit flies..

Hope that helps!

pat
 
  • #17
sorta off the topic, but TrapSRus, why did you ask that question?
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  • #18
Without actually seeing them I can't say for sure but the description matches the little buggers that I have in a couple of my pots too and I have managed to get a few under a magnifying glass and one under a scope here at work. Mine are a "springless" springtail. I have not noticed any detrimental effects to my plants from them so I have pretty much left them alone. If you are looking for a way to control them you might want to try a non-chamical CP way and get yourself an Utric species that will survive well in Nep soil (I'd recommend U. longifolia or U. alpina.) This has been my method of dealing with soil dwelling "things" and it has worked real well with controlling my fungus gnat problem
 
  • #19
An easy way to get rid of animals living in the soil of Nepenthes is to submerge the pot in water overnight. If the plant has no pitchers, it is even better to submerge the whole plant. This will kill all living animals, but eggs may survive. So repeating it after a few days is always a good idea.

Joachim
 
  • #20
Say that might work!
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They do have pitchers on them - why would it matter if the pitchers get submerged? <-- Just asking before I do do anything.
 
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