I've got a few of these little gnats flying around my plants/lights. They have been there since the start of Veg and have never caused any problems. My plants are doing great and healthy. I'm going into the second week of flowering and am worried them little things are going to get stuck in the sticky bud. I really don't want to smoke bugs lol. Should I worry about anything, or is there an inexpensive cure to this. This is my first medical grow for GERD, so this harvest is pretty important since I also just lost my job.. Any info or some direction towards another thread would be greatly appreciated. Thanks GC!
the adult fungus gnat that you see flying around doesnt do any damage. But they lay their eggs in the soil and after they hatch the larvae eats your roots before coming to the surface and turning into the adult form.
put some sand on top of your soil. it keeps wm from digging in and laying eggs-too dry for em.about an inch or two of sand will eliminate them.
or use neem oil. But that would take longer for them to die. If time is of the essence, then do the sand trap!
Sticky fly paper will thin them out, or do what i do and collect all the spiders in your house and throw them in there-organic or what?
Ive had the same issue for a while on my mother plant. Neem does not seem to do very much other than suppress them for a few days. I think that neem works well as a deterrant for pests but once they are in, its hard to treat the plant effectively without messing with the plants. I made the mistake of doing a neem spray too many times in one week and I pretty much ended up with brittle leaves that all fell off and almost killed my plant. Im not saying that it doesnt work. I have used neem, strips and another o organic spray that I got from Lowe's. The gnats ust keep coming back. There is also some stuff called Azomite(sp?) that is supposed to be good but its $80.00 a bottle at my local store and I am not sure if its organic. Can someone explain (step by step) how to do the sand method?
Yeah, they work great for catching the winged adults but what about the larvea? My strips are covered with adults so they work great, no doubt...but there needs to be something to kill off the babies beneath the soil surface.
Wow, and I thought this was going to be a relatively simple solution! I will get some sticky traps, but my soil is already about 1/2" from the top of the pot.. so I don't think I can do sand, sadly. Like I said I need a pretty inexpensive fix.. so hopefully someone has been in my situation!
its already been answered and liked..... hot shot no pest strip... its not a sticky paper... its a plastic box with bug spray in it, more or less..... seven bucks at home depot and lowes
When I bought soil it was always Miracle Grow's Organic Soil . Everytime I used it I always got those fuckin nats! Then I stumbled on & bought Fox Farms soil from a local garden store, potted my plants in it from day 1 & no pests at all. And I bought a pretty big bag. But if I did have a nat problem, I would go to the pet store and buy bags of white sand & cover the top of the dirt with the sand. I read somewhere this will help them from laying more eggs in the soil. I also bought Neem oil for that all natural effect, no poisons. You can mix it in a spray bottle with water, shake it up and mist away. I would also look into Venus Fly Trap, and various other types of insect eaters to hang out with your plants, if you have the room.
agreed the hanging fly traps will work. look like half a dime roll with a string on the top. then they pull straight down . also agree on the sand thing ive seen good results online from that method.
lets just hope you dont have larvea.... no pest strips = no pests... get them prior to set up next time?
I think I will try all 3. The traps, the neem oil and some sand. Would it be worth it with the sand if I'm only able to put it 1/2-1"? With the neem oil, is that applied directly to the plant, the soil or both? This is my first time growing in this residence, and really had no idea that they existed before. I figured they were harmless! I use roots organics by aurora for soil, and that's supposed to be equivalent to FFOF. Now.. with these larvae, how dangerous are they? Will they actually kill off a plant? When will I know if there is any damage to the roots? Like I said, they've been there since day one, and the plants vegged for 8 weeks. The growth in the first week of flower was a little slower than I expected.. could larvae be the culprit? One last question. If sand is applied to the surface, does it also suffocate any larvae that could already be in the soil?
something interesting i just learned is that tobacco plants produce nicotine as a natural insecticide in fact insecticides are still made with nicotine but are banned in america with that being said dissolve a few cigar or cigarette tobacco in water and spray lightly the nicotine causes the bugs to trip out and die until they file a law suit against big tobacco lol this also works against spider mites
Here is a link that I read up on. It pretty much says alot that has already been said here by others with a few factoids about the life cycle of the critters. Fungus Gnats as Houseplant and Indoor Pests Most of your answers are there also.
Can anyone else back this up? I don't want to break a random cig or cigar if it's going to cause harm. Does it matter if its a regular or menthol? lol And thanks for the help everyone. Hopefully I can get this worked out asap!
This is from another forum I found. Adds a little more info to the tobacco idea. "I cured my nat problem and mite problem with a tobacco spray. I grow in soil and have about 1/4 inch of sand on top of my soil. The sand compacts and hardens, the insects cant move in and out like soil or hydrotone, coco fibers etc. take 2-3 cigaretts put them in a mason jar. pour enough alcohol to just cover and wet the tobacco. let sit for a day or 2 and fill the mason jar with water. Let this sit for another day then strain into a seperate jar. Add the contents of this to a gallon milk jug, fill the milk jug with water. Shake well, pour into a spray bottle and mist the plants. Once all insects are dead, mix a spray bottle with a tablespoon of milk and spray the plants (only during the veg cycle never spray budz with milk). Worked for me, not organic because alcohol and nicotine are both toxic but killed both nats and spyder mites."
Also I was just thinking. Exactly what kind of sand do I need, and does it cause any problems or difficulty when watering? Should I add the sand immediately after I water, or wait until soil drys out, add sand then water?