Got Fungus Gnats?

Discussion in 'Growing Marijuana Indoors' started by Giggity Goo, Jul 6, 2009.

  1. #21 ResinLip, Jul 9, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 9, 2009
    to me, fungus gnats look like little tiny mosquitos flying around beneath the canopy and around the planters.

    fungus gnats are apparently not on the menu for lady bugs. i make sure to keep at least a small lady bug population in my room anyway but the fungus gnats came in most likely because i got just a little sloppy in cleaning up the flood tray and the drain.
     
  2. i'm thinking they probably were fungus gnats because i overwatered this plant a week ago and my room is pretty dusty/dirty...

    i did some scraiping around the dirt and i haven't seen em again though. yesterday i flushed my plant with vinegar and dish soap. someone told me this is supposed to kill them. i'm wondering if it worked. anyone else try this or heard of it working?
     
  3. I wouldnt worry about it then. Fungus gnats multiply like crazy and you'd definitely notice them flying around. I've only heard of putting vinegar outside the pots to attract + drown the gnats.
     
  4. i covered my soil all around my plant w/ tin foil...i use a 600MH sunmaster cool blue about 8 inches a way and the foil hasnt burned my plant if u were wondering...lol...it has cut the number of gnats down drasticly...i half azzed it not fully covered my soil...i didnt have enough time...thats my job tonight so ill let you know if it fully works...vinegar sounds real good for the adults ill try that..
     
  5. So the perlite I hope is working, can't really tell yet. But there are a shitload of gnats stuck on all bug strips. A mosquito eater and some red fly's got stuck too. I seen a few gnats just feeding off some leaves so I try to wave air around and take them off because they hurtin my babies:mad:. Some leaves are getting little white spots on them and loosing natural green color, kinda pissing me off right now. Is that from them feeding off the plants nutrients? Something else I should maybe do:confused:

    Where can you get this? And have you used it? Sounds pretty sweet I'm gonna google it and see what I can find.

    I have holes on the bottom of my pots too. So its probably best to use that neem oil and tape for the bottom. What kind of tape you use and where can I get that meem oil? Thanks for everyone's contribution:D
     
  6. ive been growing for almost a year and just the other day I saw a couple and my harvest is coming up too. this is a great idea + rep
     
  7. #27 jacklambert58, Jul 10, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 10, 2009
    I woke the other morning to seeing silver looking spots on a few of the lower leaves. While checking undernieth side of leaves I noticed gnats flying around the room, looked at sticky trap hanging from the wall and it was covered with several types of insects. Then the soil was crawling with gnats and lavre. I thought I was dreaming to say the least. But after a slap to the face and feeling the burn I relized I was awake and living my worst fear " BUGS on my plants":eek:.

    To make a long story short I believe I have won the battle. 2 days after the below treatment I still had bugs, but they were dead bugs. This is what I did.
    #1. Mixed up Azamax. 7.5 millilleters to a gallon of water. Filled 16 oz spray bottle and sprayed foilage (top and bottom of leaves).
    #2 Bought predator nematodes and set those little bastard killers free for an all out assault on the bastard bugs attacking my plant.
    #3. I put one of those hot shot pest strips in the room. To see all those fugas gnats dead on the floor was a grand sight to see this a.m. when I went to visit my plants.

    Below I added a few things about the insect control I used. Good luck with the rset of your grow.



    Nematodes
    Nematodes are one of the most useful peast controls to come along in a long time. They attack and kill more than 200 types of insects, including fleas,thripes, fungas gnats even insects as large as cutworms. nearly any insect that spends time in soil is likely prey for predator nematodes. Nematodes come packaged on a small piece of synthetic spongenthat you rinse out in water. Then use any sprayer to apply them to the soil. The pressure nozzle wont faze them at all. each package has one million nematodes and covers approx 2000sqf. I unleased them all in a 80sqf room.

    AZAMAX
    AzaMax is an antifeedant and insect growth regulator and controls pests through starvation and growth disruption. AzaMax effectively controls spider mites, thrips, fungus gnats, aphids, whiteflies, leaf miners, worms, beetles, leafhoppers, scales, mealy bugs, nematodes and other soil borne pests. Best of all, AzaMax can be applied up to the time or day of harvest. The product is exempted from residue tolerance, thus there is no harmful residue on veggies, fruits, herbs and flowers etc. Truly, AzaMax is a product of Nature in tune with Technology.
     
  8. #28 Giggity Goo, Jul 10, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 10, 2009
    Just to update: Perlite alone wont take care of the problem, but it makes it so they cant get beneath the soil . They subsided for a few days but since I have grow bags and not pots they were still crawling down the sides into cracks and breeding. I've since covered the soil with plastic wrap and watered with with a pretty high concentration of neem oil. Time will tell...PITA though.

    I may just go ahead an order some nematodes if that doesnt work.
     
  9. I am seeing a bunch of discussion regarding above ground stuff, not much about underneath.
    Anyone using mosquito dunks or mosquito bits? They list Fungus Gnats on the label. I am having some FG problems, little black flies on the soil, and unseen maggots eating the roots. My starters just weren't kicking in, things weren't "Thriving" anymore. Apparently the maggots eat the fine root hairs faster than the plant can grow them, then in about two weeks they emerge as Adults from the soil to lay more eggs whose numbers multiply exponentially real quick. BTI, Bac Thur Isr are what the dunks or bits are comprised of, safe for aquatic life. Since one dunk will keep 10,000 gals clear of mosquitos for 30 days, busted up, a sprinkle on top of the soil to work as it is being watered in is sufficient. Throw a teaspoonful into a bag of mix you might have laying around to prevent future outbreaks, or any new brought home from the store. As the Gnat maggots ingest the BT they die. A tiny bit in a nylon in a hydro rez or water bubbler is supposed to work as well. So like I say, probably a tiny bit will do, and this is supposed to work pretty well, the dunks are approx 6/$10, the bits are a better value if the same price. That is all happening below soil level.
    Diatomaceous Earth - DE, works like broken glass where the maggot is concerned. As mentioned above, can be purchased as a food grade feed supplement, as well a swimmingpool filtration product. Sold as grub control or ant control as well, in smaller quantities yet with larger price tags. DE is supposed to be neutral, so I'm thinking by adding a scoop into my next batch of mix, it will shred the maggots as they move around in the soil. Depending on your need, go down to the local feed & grain pick up a 30lb bag for cheap. 
    My friend sez, go down to the grow store and get this (Canadian) product called Tanlan, so I google the stuff to check, its a DE solution claiming a couple of drops in the rez or watering tub and the maggot problem is gone in a few days. My pal sez it works great. Amazon @ $43 + shipping for 1oz of the solution, saw the same product listed as Tin Lin but shown as Tan Lan for 25 + shipping.
    I would not rule out neem cake although it might be difficult to get your hands on some like yesterday. Sounds like an awesome product for many reasons, especially the preventive effect. Unfortunately I am at the other end of the spectrum, concerned presently that the "I know I've got them" after-effect is having the greatest pull, needing to deal with this at the DEFCON 4 level as some of these gals are at the point of harvest and look like they have seen a ghost. The only value some of these will have will be as foder for a proper treatment, a challenge of organic proportion! Be brave young lady.
    Thing is, while you are killing all the babies the moms are havng more eggs being spread around your space, so I like the ideas of Perlite or a DE top off as opposed to the other suggestions I've heard being a) Pyrethrin spray lightly on the soil to control the adults while the BT works underground, b) No-Pest Strips.
    The options of sticky yellow tape, Tanglefoot, and vinegar or cider sound fairly benign and perhaps may work for the organic/medical grower, in conjunction with the BT and DE. 
    Nematodes have a huge reputation here, although I'm uncertain if you might use those successfully with chemical ferts like MG or DynaGro or some of the FF line.

    A couple of questions I have would be:
    Does anyone use DE in their mix as a general rule? If so, why?
    Does the DE slice up the root hairs as they move through the soil or do they just work around them?
    If I just so happened to have my Mantid babies right this very moment, could they eat the adult FGs and fast enough?
    If it came to it, would a sulfur burn take out the maggots in the soil?
    I think it all started when I didn't use perlite in the bottom of the 1/2gal grow bags I used for my starters this time around. Big mistake. Creates a pocket in the bottom where the funky organic squid nutes collected. Maybe a few more holes would have been one improvement. I didn't think they'd be in those long enough to matter, (wrong) but as time goes on now I realize I've had this problem longer than just when I noticed it. If you're thinking hey, its just a couple of fruit flies, time to take another look. Maybe they came in with some clones, a bag of soil, or maybe they just appear under the right conditions. Fact is either way now I get to learn about these creatures as there is no doubt they have moved in and they need to move on out.
    So - just passing these tidbits on, as with all remedies, they may or may not work for you. Something to think about then. Whitey
     
  10. #30 AugustWest, May 14, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: May 14, 2014
    hot shot no pest strips are not something you want to be putting in your indoor grow..
     
    that's just horrible advice.
     
     
     
    i just had a little gnat infestation last week..
     
    i cranked up 2 box fans at soil level, put them on full blast for 3 days and the gnats are gone.
     
  11. My advice for fungus gnats...
     
    Fungus gnats have a 30 day lifecycle, and you want to get rid of the adults and the larvae. I take this multi step approach and I never have problems with fungus gnats anymore.
     
    Get mosquito dunks or another BTi product. BTi is a bacteria that basically kills the larvae from the inside out. I use a half a mosquito dunk per 5 gallon bucket of water. I crush it up in my fingers, and then feed my plants. If the infestation is really bad you may want to use a whole dunk... Do this every feeding for a month and the larvae wont have a chance.
     
    Control your watering. Fungus gnats love damp soil, so try to let your soil dry out slightly more inbetween feedings.
     
    Watch your nitrogen input. When plants are N rich, they are like bug magnets. I wont go into detail on this but just don't overdo your N.
     
    Get yellow sticky cards...rip them in half and place one on the soil of each plant. Look for shaded areas in your grow area and hang a few yellow sticky cards there. They work very well for fungus gnats, and the gnats tend to stay out of the direct light and hang where its dim.
     
    Get some yucca extract, it helps repel the fungus gnats I usually add about 5ml per 5 gallons bucket of my feedings and use it in every other feeding.
     
    SNS makes a great soil drench for fungus gnats and a little goes a long way. I use it about 1x per month during veg and early flowering and it seems to keep them away.
     
    If you do all of these things, you should see the fungus gnats clear up. Remember its a 30 day life cycle so you have to do repeated mosquito dunk treatments and they will be gone. If you use that with the SNS, then you should have no issues at all after that.
     
    Hope this helps...
     
  12. Steam the soil! Remove the top couple of inches of soil and steam ! Then steam the soil you removed or replenish , Iv also heard of pouring almost boiling water through the pots to kill them..... This is for the organic heads out there not wanting to use pesticides !
     

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