悟る · diagnose & fix

Cannabis Aphids

Pest · also: greenfly, plant lice, clusters of bugs on stems

Soft-bodied insects that cluster on stems and new growth, sucking sap and leaving sticky honeydew.

Not sure it's aphids?

Snap a photo and get a free read — no signup. Satoru weighs the visual against the conditions that cause look-alikes, so you treat the real problem.

What it looks like

Dense clusters of small pear-shaped insects (green, black, or pinkish) on tender new growth, stems, and the undersides of leaves. They excrete sticky 'honeydew' that shines on leaves below and can grow black sooty mold. Growth curls and stunts under a heavy load.

Symptoms

  • Clusters of soft bugs on stems and new shoots
  • Sticky, shiny honeydew on lower leaves
  • Curling, distorted new growth
  • Ants farming the aphids; sometimes sooty black mold

Causes

  • Introduced on new plants or blown in
  • Lush, over-fed nitrogen growth they love
  • Warm sheltered tent with no predators

How to fix it

  1. 1Blast off with water or wipe clusters, then treat with insecticidal soap or neem (veg only — not on buds)
  2. 2Introduce ladybugs or lacewings as predators
  3. 3Remove badly infested tips
  4. 4Repeat every few days until clusters stop returning

Prevention

  • Inspect new plants; quarantine
  • Avoid over-feeding nitrogen (soft growth invites them)
  • Encourage/introduce beneficial predators

悟る · how satoru tells it apart

Aphids vs. mites vs. an over-feeding curl look similar at a glance. Satoru checks the photo against your feed log so you treat a pest as a pest and don't flush a plant that's actually infested.

Commonly confused with: Spider Mites, Nitrogen Toxicity.

Not sure it's aphids?

Snap a photo and get a free read — no signup. Satoru weighs the visual against the conditions that cause look-alikes, so you treat the real problem.

More plant problems

Educational reference for cultivation troubleshooting. Symptoms overlap — when in doubt, match against your own conditions. Satoru fuses your photo with your logged environment for a grounded read.