bug problem :(

[cavaluzzi]

Hi everyone, I was in the middle of changing the water on my AG Harvest Touch when I realized I had roaches inside the water reservoir! there was a big one and a couple small ones. Not sure how many but it doesn't seem like a lot. 

I don't want to toss out all my herbs but I think I might have to :(

anyone experience anything similar?

[Shawn]

Yikes, not good.   I am sorry you are having this problem.  How did they get inside?  Did you cover all the pod holes?  I have only heard of aphids but thankfully never had them.


Do they lay eggs?  How long have they been in there?  Until you know what you want to do I would do a though Dump, Rinse and Refill.  I would even rinse the roots off really well and maybe even give them a trim if long enough.  If you think or if they do lay eggs, I would personally end them and sterilize the unit and start over.

[Kate]

No, thank G-d. We don't have roaches here, except supposedly in the steam pipes under the downtown area, although in 27 years I've never seen one. It gets too cold here for them to survive. We don't have fleas or snakes, either. Spiders and mosquitoes love it here. Thankfully, I don't get many bugs in my house. I've lived in parts of the country where roaches are happy, and I was not.

Unfortunately, roaches LOVE moist, (nasty word), dark environments. I can't comment on whether you should terminate the project, but if you have roaches, they will be back in your AG. It's just too friendly of an environment for them. Roaches literally horrify me to the point of screaming, so if it were anything I'd be eating, I personally would terminate, get in a highly rated pest service to murder them, and have them regularly come back to keep them out. After they spray, only then would I restart my project. That's just me. Others may have a better idea of what to do.

I'm itchy all over now.

[Kate]

Oct 17, 2018 3:54:52 GMT -5 Shawn said:

Do they lay eggs? 

Tens of thousands. Typical German roaches carry 50 eggs per sack. When they're killed/sprayed, they release their egg sack to save the offspring. Those offspring that do survive begin to become immune to the spray, so it's constantly changed to keep up. They live for a week after their heads are chopped off, and they only die because they starve to death. They have survived ice ages, greenhouse ages, you name it. Ugh. Nasty.

BTW, if you can fit a piece of paper in a crack, they can get through that crack. I lived in Florida for 10 years back in the 80's, and I'm here to tell you, my house was sprayed by the best service Sarasota had to offer, every other month. I educated myself about roaches.  

[nick]

I’m so sorry to hear this as bugs that infest are the thing I hate most in life.

Having said that, roaches are now beatable if you are diligent over the next 3-6 months. I HIGHLY recommend using Advion to get rid of them. It is a game changer. However, it has to be used absolutely correctly for it to work. If used properly it *will* take care of a roach infestation within just a few months.

This is what you want to read before you order/use Advion: pestsoff.com/how-to-get-rid-of-cockroaches/advion-gel-bait-review/

Follow it closely. You’ll have to order Advion online. You can’t get it in stores. I’m sure Amazon has it if you’re an Amazon shopper.

[Rialle]

Oct 17, 2018 5:27:06 GMT -5 Kate said:

Roaches literally horrify me to the point of screaming...

I'm itchy all over now.

This is me. I feel you, Kate
I have dealt with the foul beasts, but never in an AG (thankfully and knocking on wood keeping my fingers crossed). I'd also dump the project if it were me, not wanting to take chances (I might even burn the plants to make sure no eggs can hatch ever before they take the trash. Because... eesh. But that's (probably) just me.)

[cavaluzzi]

Oct 17, 2018 3:54:52 GMT -5 Shawn said:

Yikes, not good.   I am sorry you are having this problem.  How did they get inside?  Did you cover all the pod holes?  I have only heard of aphids but thankfully never had them.


Do they lay eggs?  How long have they been in there?  Until you know what you want to do I would do a though Dump, Rinse and Refill.  I would even rinse the roots off really well and maybe even give them a trim if long enough.  If you think or if they do lay eggs, I would personally end them and sterilize the unit and start over.

all the pods holes are closed but some of the pods were inching out a bit so they probably snuck in there.

I'm sure they lay plenty of eggs, I actually don't think they've been there for long. last time I changed the water (a month ago) there was no sign of them (I think). 

I'm thinking you're right about ending them though. This particular harvest is over 200 days old and I've has so many great cuttings from it. 

Now the question is, what should I plant next?

[cavaluzzi]

Oct 17, 2018 5:27:06 GMT -5 Kate said:

No, thank G-d. We don't have roaches here, except supposedly in the steam pipes under the downtown area, although in 27 years I've never seen one. It gets too cold here for them to survive. We don't have fleas or snakes, either. Spiders and mosquitoes love it here. Thankfully, I don't get many bugs in my house. I've lived in parts of the country where roaches are happy, and I was not.

Unfortunately, roaches LOVE moist, (nasty word), dark environments. I can't comment on whether you should terminate the project, but if you have roaches, they will be back in your AG. It's just too friendly of an environment for them. Roaches literally horrify me to the point of screaming, so if it were anything I'd be eating, I personally would terminate, get in a highly rated pest service to murder them, and have them regularly come back to keep them out. After they spray, only then would I restart my project. That's just me. Others may have a better idea of what to do.

I'm itchy all over now.

Yup, roaches are horrible, especially living in FL. Fortunately the house I'm renting doesn't really have a bad roach problem. We have somewhat of an infestation in the kitchen though and that's precisely where I keep my aerogardens. I'm thinking it's easier to just terminate this project. I've had a good run on it though, 200+ days. 

[Kate]

Oct 17, 2018 17:28:28 GMT -5 cavaluzzi said:

Yup, roaches are horrible, especially living in FL. Fortunately the house I'm renting doesn't really have a bad roach problem. We have somewhat of an infestation in the kitchen though and that's precisely where I keep my aerogardens. I'm thinking it's easier to just terminate this project. I've had a good run on it though, 200+ days. 

That's kind of sad, but I wouldn't want to eat from it.

I can tell you though, it may be most obvious in the kitchen, but they're everywhere. Horrid, disease schlepping creatures.

[MaryL]

I’m glad you got a long run out of the plants at least.