First time in years this has ever happened. I’m read threads and have multiple solutions but what are other solutions you growers have used that doesn’t involve neem oil, hydrogen peroxide or a couple other methods I forgot. I remember using the apple cider trick years ago. I didn’t have acv so I just put water, dish soap, and some sugar in a small container and placed it in the veg room. Not sure if this is a perfect idea, but will it attract gnats or do absolutely nothing?
There a pain, I get them, what can you do? Gnats need the top of your compost to be wet, if its dry, they will start to die off Water just before the light come on, compost will start drying out quicker Increase the room temp, often this reduces the humidity and this will dry the compost out faster, Don't use fabric or air pots, gnats love them "Mosquito bits" kill the larvae(2tbsp in 5ltrs of water, let it stand for a few hours) you can top dress with sharp sand, this dry's out fast and the sand slices up the Larvae. Remove any run off in the plant trays Water the plants from the bottom every other water, the soil will stay dry for double the time, this will kelp to keep the numbers low. Place sticky yellow fly paper around the base of the plants, they will catch lots of the adult fly's and this will really help too. Let the compost dry out before watering, you want to water them just before the plant starts to wilt, you should see the fan leaves drop a little. Trim back any growth less than 2" above the compost when you can in veg. Gnats don't like airflow so add some between the compost and the canopy if you can, this makes life very difficult for them. gnat larvae live in the top 2" of the compost so you can scrap it off and replace it, this is a quick fix to reduce the numbers.
"Controlling Fungus Gnats: Monitor your growing area for presence of adult fungus gnats using yellow sticky traps. Adding Melissa oil to the traps has shown improved results in attracting fungus gnats. Control soil moisture by using soil mixtures with proper drainage. Avoid overwatering to minimize breeding habitat. Preventive and corrective applications of Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis products kills larvae before they can pupate. Aquabac and Mosquito Bits can be used similarly to control and/or suppress fungus gnat populations. Apply Nemattack, Sf to the growing media. The beneficial nematodes will parasitize existing fungus gnat larvae, slow their feeding and kill them. S. scimitus (H. miles) helps break up the life cycle and eventually controls fungus gnat infestations by feeding on larvae and pupae. This small mite also feeds on thrips pupae and springtails."
Two key things. Dont overwater and mulch the surface. If you cut out cardboard to cover the top of the pot(leave a hole for the plant stem) they will leave in short order. Ez pz Cheers Os
Not quite that simple but yes. I've had em a few times from a dirty room, leaving the soil outside open to air while waiting to use it (cover it DOI), overwatering, etc AND had a hole in the wall that they thrived in their until I filled it in. So it's a combo of things all not too hard to correct. Of all the that can go wrong, not a biggie if you figure out why/how U got them, then going forward with a few tweaks, U shouldn't have an issue. You don't have to buy anything from amazon to stop overwatering, ie identify the problem before shopping.
Thank you. Will do. I haven’t had them for years. I’m not sure how they even got there. I don’t know if it’s the garden we have outside along with vegetables or the rose plant I was messing with a couple weeks ago. Either way the goal is to get rid of them. I’ve captured a good amount in a bowl of water, soap and sugar. I might just put a few more bowls so whenever or whatever angle they jump they’ll land right into one.
Cheap peat moss is a good source of fungus gnats, they R present here outside but low on the food chain I guess outdoors, indoors is another matter, There's a good chance they R in the soil? A lid/mulch/carboard should prevent them from laying eggs. I use vinegar traps. Unless those yellow sticky traps R fresh they don't hold/crap
I make my own traps. All you need is some yellow plastic (I used peanut can tops), a little pertroleum jelly and an equal amount of vegetable oil to thin the jelly. Mix the jelly and oil, then apply a very thin coat to the yellow plastic. It doesn't take much to glue the gnats to the plastic. Their tiny legs and wings get stuck and they can't break free. I hung the plastic tops with twist ties from bamboo skewers near the plants. Now about your over-watering - here's an idea you might try. The larvae need a damp surface to thrive, and you are giving them what they need by watering so frequently! But water is one of the main controlling factors in plant growth. More water means more growth (up to a point, of course)! So grab a 2 liter bottle and cut off the bottom of it, to make something like a tall funnel. Bury the mouth of the bottle deep enough in the dirt so it stands up without any problem. Water your plant using the funnel, keeping the surface of your soil bone dry! No moist surface, no more gnat larvae! Granny
Anecdata: I once received some of those hypoaspis (Stratiolaelaps scimitus) mites infesting a bag of worm castings I bought from Home Depot. At first I was feaking hard about all these fast moving brown mites in my soil. I did some research and thought I'd identified them as a beneficial, so gave them a few days and within a short time (week?) my fungus gnat problem virtually disappeared. Happy accident!
I vote for the yellow sticky traps to monitor and trap adults and the BT variety that kills mosquito larva in the water. I dunno how much gain you'd get by adding water at a deeper level? Any decomposing organic matter a gnat finds can become a breeding ground, so pick up loose compost and whatnot, keep bags/bins closed and cover with fabric. Until the gnats are controlled, I'd cover clones and immature plants with some lightweight floating row cover fabric, just make sure everything goes in clean. PS Neem seed meal in the mix, perhaps a drench, slows them down, but if you have conditions favorable for gnats it's usually not enough.
I've had the opposite experience, FROM AMAZON they were old & not sticky enuf to hold a gnat. IMO you need to treat the soil for best results & vinegar traps work better than stickum.???
I forgot about vinegar traps, definitely. Paper cone taped to a jar with vinegar and maybe an apple chunk in the bottom. They fly down the cone but up to the light on the sides. I got my original yellow traps from Safer Garden Supply, like 15 years ago, they were pricey, but so sticky enough to be troublesome, mouse glue pad style.
Ever since I’ve started adding about a cup of diatomaceous earth to my soil mixture, when I’m mixing everything I haven’t had any bad bug issues. Thank god. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
However, the other night when I went over a pipe burst, it was only squirting about like a 4 mm diameter hole out but if I would’ve got there any later, it could’ve gotten worse. lol. And not only that it was a warm water pipe so it was misting as well. My tent was like 70%. lol. I went back the next day and it was down to 38 so we’re good. I just hiked the fan to 100 hundred. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk