What to do mini worms on rooting cuttings

[Vincent_15]

Hi everybody,

Need help i'm rooting some cuttings in long spaghnum moss and when checking on my cuttings their was a small worm on it so i smash it. And check all other cuttings and found a another one. so i need advice on what to do ? The cutting as only a small root about an inch long so i can't repot it or can i? Thanks for the help

[eboone]

A pic of the culprit would help - but pic of a smashed worm is probably no good
How big, what color was the worm?
Maybe the worm came in the moss, and if so I would just monitor for more if your cuttings look ok

[Vincent_15]

Promise Ed next time a go checks on the cuttings a shall take a picture before killing the bug. The worm was tranluscid not as big a those on the pic below. I will let the moss dry a bit then. Thanks for the advice.

Vincent

[twovkay]

Sounds like fungus gnats larvae?

[Vincent_15]

Not that big. Were really tiny and i almost mist it. It move when a took the cutting out of moss.

[Needaclone]

Vincent,
Have you seen any small gnats flying around? Did the worm look transparent?...i.e., clear, rather than white or some other color...?
Like Ed says, if you can get a picture, that would be best. But it is a safe assumption that it is the larva of the Fungus Gnat, the plague of fig growers everywhere ;-)

Assuming you were going to move this rooted cutting to a cup or pot anyway, and assuming it is fungus gnats, you could try spraying or soaking the cutting in some diluted hydrogen peroxide. That should help to kill any larva that are hiding. They can be very hard to find. If you don't see any obvious areas of the cutting that looks like its rotting, then look very closely at the scars left by old leaves or figs. Sometimes they'll start eating the cutting from those points.

Cheers,
Jim

[Vincent_15]

Thanks Jim
Indeed their are clear and very small. So i should soak the cuttings in peroxide to be sure to kill the nasty buggers. Will be sure to catch a picture if a see another culprit on my cuttings before smashing it.

[eboone]

I'm not an expert - do the fungus gnat larvae live in long fiber sphagnum moss?

[Needaclone]

Start keeping an eye out for gnats.
Most people think the best course of action is a multi-pronged defense. I seem to have kept my gnat situation in check this winter using a combination of sticky fly paper (to catch the adults as they emerge and fly from pot to pot) and using BTi in my water (e.g. Gnatrol, or mosquito dunks, or another product containing BTi) to kill the larva. There is almost as much material on the fig forums dedicated to controlling fungus gnats as there is dedicated to figs!
Jim