pests Bug ID without a picture...

Roo

Roo

So I was checking on my germinating seeds tonight and noticed that my first jalapeno hook is... Just a stem. There are no leaves. So I picked up the seed case and squeezed it to see if perhaps the leaves just kind of detached (silly, yes, but Im new...). Instead of leaves, the seed casing squirted out maybe 10+ little wormy looking things. Blech! What are they, and am I doomed? I found them in a couple other pots, too - everything with bugs is tied up in a bag in the trash. I've used the same stuff for all my seed germination so far and my other seeds don't have this issue - just the ones I got from Park Seed. Help!
 
I have honestly never come across anything like that so i'm curious as well.
 
There were larvae inside the seed hull?!
 
Was it a helmet head?
 
Fungus gnat larvae crossed my mind but I had a serious infestation one time of them and never had any that were inside a seed hull like that...normally the damage I've seen from them are from them eating the root rot fungus off the infected taproot (they're a catch-22 because they eat the fungus but also carry it from one area to the next on their bodies as adults)
 
Yep, that's it. I wish I'd gotten a picture - I squeezed and all the little larvae heads popped out. Gross!

What can I go to combat these guys? Anything? Or am I out of luck?
 
Chances are they are in the soil doubt it's the seeds. It was probably moist in the shell and the cotys could have been rotting. you can microwave your soil before using. Also baking it in the oven but that will smell like hell probably. I had luck with using hydrogen peroxide I diluted 3% peroxide 1 part peroxide to 2 parts water and watered directly to soil. Kills all the good soil microbes with the baddies though. 
 
There's also crushing up mosquito dunks and dissolving in water and watering with it though i've never had luck with that. 
 
Sand or perlite layer on top of the soil is supposed to help stop the adults laying eggs in the soil. Chucking some mosquito dunks in a bucket of soil I'd let dechlorinate helped last year.
 
Roo said:
So I was checking on my germinating seeds tonight and noticed that my first jalapeno hook is... Just a stem. There are no leaves. So I picked up the seed case and squeezed it to see if perhaps the leaves just kind of detached (silly, yes, but Im new...). Instead of leaves, the seed casing squirted out maybe 10+ little wormy looking things. Blech! What are they, and am I doomed? I found them in a couple other pots, too - everything with bugs is tied up in a bag in the trash. I've used the same stuff for all my seed germination so far and my other seeds don't have this issue - just the ones I got from Park Seed. Help!
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I will take your wormy things if I can exchange them for my grashoppers  :confused:
 
     I crushed up mosquito dunks and sprinkled about 1/4 tsp. on each of my 4" pots this year to combat a bad fungus gnat infestation. It worked great. 
 
edit: Top watering is required to wash the poison into the soil.
 
I've never heard of a mosquito dunk... What is that and where can I get some? 
 
Thanks for all the help - I was so disappointed when I saw the larvae last night! Though it kind of figures - everything's been going so well so far...  If I end up doing the hydrogen peroxide/water solution, what can I add to the soil to to replenish the good stuff that it'll kill off?
 
Roo said:
I've never heard of a mosquito dunk... What is that and where can I get some? 
 
 
Click to expand...
 
 
     They're little pressed cakes of Bt toxin that are added to small water reservoirs like bird baths and rain barrels to kill mosquito larvae. You can usually find them at home improvement stores.
     If you're concerned about killing soil microbiota, just use the dunks. They only kill insects. H2O2 will kill everything.
 
edit: But watering with compost tea and dusting the roots with Mykos at plant-out should replenish the good guys.
 
I threw away all my infested pots last night. Almost everything from my last batch of germination - jalapeños, cayenne mix, and sweet bell mix. I'm so disappointed :( I saved one little jalapeño sprout and put it out in the sunroom. I figured I was just going to throw it away, so I might as well see if it can survive the weather. We'll see... Everyone in the other room looks alright so far - lost two sprouts, but I'm hopeful that that was just natural selection, so to speak, and not buggies. I'm going to see if I can find those mosquito things at Home Depot today, and pick up some perlite for the top of the soil just in case the bugs aren't in already! Sheesh. I appreciate all the suggestions - this forum is wonderfully helpful :)
 
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