In the spirit of transparency and full disclosure!
two days ago on day 37, I started to notice some small flies near the top of the anvil cubes. I put out a small glue trap, and check it after a couple hours to determine it was fungus gnats.
I can only assume from the organics in the Flora Nova combined with the high humidity and constant irrigation.
Upon further inspection, I determined that they were certainly trying to feed/lay eggs in the green buildup on the top of the cube.
I scraped off the top layer of the cube, and sprayed neem oil on the top lightly.
I also changed from a constant irrigation back to a 10 minute shot every four hours to allow for dry-back, especially on the top of the cubes.
Yesterday afternoon there were a couple of flies on the fly trap, I changed it out for a new one, and as of this afternoon, there are currently no flies to be seen neither on the cube nor flying anywhere in the tent.
I’m hoping it was a short-lived thing and I do not have to deal with this going forward, as I pride myself on running a clean set up and this was definitely out of the ordinary.
Im guessing you’ll be moving away from flora nova but you could use something like gnatrol safely in the res for those little bastards. I imagine not so safe with athena.
A selective defol yes. The schwazz and defol is important part of this method but it’s just as important to not over do it. Make sure things that need light are getting light then let her ride.