Super Gnats?

[cheerio]

I have fungus gnats. Everywhere on the forums says they can be gotten rid of except maybe a post or two, and I'm starting to think that the latter are correct on the matter.

For the record,
I've tried mosquito dunks, on 2 now. Saw little to no reduction.
I've tried beneficial nematodes, saw slight reduction for a couple days.
I've tried withholding water, which worked only where I have one plant.
I've tried layer of sand, worked until watered.
I've tried a garden spray containing Pyrethrins, this works the best but seems to harm the plant.
Also have yellow sticky traps placed about.

I'm really going crazy with these little buggers flying around the damn place all the time. Can these things really be gotten rid of for sure? Or can they only be controlled and that's why solutions combating them only say for fungus gnat *control*?

 

[dirkdaddy]

first off the nematodes will work. make sure they stay wet the first few days you applied them and that they were a viable set to begin with.

second, you can buy this white powder stuff from lowes called Diatomaceous Earth. it has the texture of powdered sugar. its dried silica or something and is like powdered razors for bugs. take this stuff, work it into the top part of the soil, allow the top part of the soil to dry out between waterings (it only works when it is dry) and that shit will cut up/kill every gnat that pokes his head out. in a week or two the breeding cycle will be broken and eventually gone within a month. use it in the future as a preventative, its cheap.

hell, use the rest of the bag and spread the powder around your kitchen, grow area, carpets, wherever and you won't ever have a problem with bugs around your house. the stuff kills roaches, ants, whatever. its great. its harmless to humans and animals and odorless as well.

 

[StealthyScrog]

also water from the bottom, not the top. leaving the diametoucstousitsht earth dry

 

[Green-ninja]

Try Gnatrol it's the only thing i tried that work.

 

[maryjohn]

DE is a carcinogen, and should not be used around the house! Be very careful about not breathing in the dust.

If you have excess fungus gnats, you have moisture and you have fungus.

Why is withholding water only working with one plant? Cannabis can take a lot of dry before it starts to wilt, so really let it dry out. If it's not consistently moist, they will go away.

also neem works well for me when it comes to seedlings (they only time i worry about my fungus buddies).

 

[VerdantGreen]

how do you use the neem against gnats mj? - do you spray the surface or water with it? - how concentrated?

ps. i think the carcinogen effects of DE are due to its fine powder form which can easily be breathed in, similar to asbestos. (rather than a chemical effect, DE is pretty inert)

 

[maryjohn]

Yes, it's the dust from DE (crushed up seashells) that is so deadly, which is why you don't want to apply it to your kitchen, etc... It does to your lungs exactly what it does to the carapace of insects. For a long lasting household insecticidal dusting application you want to use boric acid, not DE.

For fungus gnat control with neem, I mix up a normal strength batch (I believe 1.5 tsp per quart but I always read the bottle). For slow germinating seeds, I rewet the soil using neem oil (some seeds take a month), or for cannabis, I do a one time soil drench when I set the seed in the soil. Doesn't seem to affect germination rates (neem inhibits the germination of certain weeds). This also controls powdery mildew, which where i live is very prolific. One tip, if using a hand sprayer, is to keep a couple of pebbles in your neem bottle. Helps with the mixing (got the idea from spraypaint cans).

If you are really desperate, and want to risk the possibility of tobacco mosaic, you can drench the soil with tobacco tea (chewing tobacco steeped in water, then boil the liquid).

really though, it's best to learn to live with a certain amount of the little guys, as they indicate healthy soil. Only a problem in very great numbers.

Oh, I left out another control method: the vacuum cleaner. Remember to suck up a little boric acid after you suck up the gnats.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

If you're using the neem seed oil from 'Dyna-Gro' you need to be aware that the directions are misleading.

It reads 'Mix 1 1/2 tsp.' per quart which appeared to me to mean '1.5 tsp.' but that's incorrect - it's '1 each 1/2 tsp.' per quart - at that rate you will not burn your plants.

You'll need to add a surfactant - I use food-grade yucca extract which is also effective as a 'soil penetrator'

You can also use need seed meal as a top dressing and completely wipe out the gnats in a matter of days. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup on the soil surface and water as usual.

HTH

CC

 

[TheOneWill]

Hot shot pest strips will do the trick.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

Doing the 'trick thing'

Doing the 'trick thing'

Hot shot pest strips will do the trick.

Not in an organic growing situation.

Floramine will all 'do the trick' but at what price to one's health?

 

[maryjohn]

If you're using the neem seed oil from 'Dyna-Gro' you need to be aware that the directions are misleading.

It reads 'Mix 1 1/2 tsp.' per quart which appeared to me to mean '1.5 tsp.' but that's incorrect - it's '1 each 1/2 tsp.' per quart - at that rate you will not burn your plants.



HTH

CC

This is incorrect. The rate is 1 oz per gallon, or 1.5 tsp per quart. 4 quarts to a gallon, 6 tsp to an ounce. 6 tsp divided by 4 quarts = 1.5tsp/quart

I use it at that concentration to control powdery mildew on drosera adelae, which is my canary in the coalmine. If it doesn't burn drosera adelae, it doesn't burn.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

This is incorrect. The rate is 1 oz per gallon, or 1.5 tsp per quart. 4 quarts to a gallon, 6 tsp to an ounce.

That is why I couched my comments relative to a specific brand, i.e. Dyna-Gro - unless you're saying that their own recommendations for their product is incorrect.

2 tbls. per gallon (1 oz.) of Dyna-Gro Neem Seed Oil will definitely burn any plant - guaranteed.

What brand are you using? Monterey Garden? Einstein Oil?

 

[maryjohn]

That is why I couched my comments relative to a specific brand, i.e. Dyna-Gro - unless you're saying that their own recommendations for their product is incorrect.

2 tbls. per gallon (1 oz.) of Dyna-Gro Neem Seed Oil will definitely burn any plant - guaranteed.

What brand are you using? Monterey Garden? Einstein Oil?

I use Dyna-Gro as well. Please review your math. 6 tsp in one ounce. 1 ounce per gallon, therefore 1.5 tsp (NOT TBSP) per quart. The Dyna-Grow directions read thusly:

Mix 1 1/2 tsp. per quart of water (1 oz./gal.) plus 1 1/2 tsp of Pro-Tekt liquid dish soap per quart of water (1oz./gal.) as an emulsifier. Shake well.

0.5 tsp per quart is below recommended strength. The directions are not misleading. Nor is my drosera adelae. It is often used as a test plant because it is so sensitive.

Maybe they changed their labeling since you bought yours? But mine specifically states 1 oz per gallon (I did not add that).

 

[maryjohn]

actually, I'm even more interested if you are getting results at .5 tsp/quart. Does it control powdery mildew? because even at 1.5 tsp per gallon I am not getting control on my adelae, although it seems to be working on a d. spatulata. If the answer is not more, maybe it's less.

these are plants that can't dry out because they live in bogs.

 

[dirkdaddy]

DE is a carcinogen, and should not be used around the house! Be very careful about not breathing in the dust.

If you have excess fungus gnats, you have moisture and you have fungus.

Why is withholding water only working with one plant? Cannabis can take a lot of dry before it starts to wilt, so really let it dry out. If it's not consistently moist, they will go away.

also neem works well for me when it comes to seedlings (they only time i worry about my fungus buddies).

I believe you are referrig to the "pool grade" DE. the stuff you buy at lowes in the gardening section has a much lower percentage of "free silica" (30% vs 70% for pool filter grade DE). it is not heat treated so the silica does not assume crystalline form. yes, continual breathing should be avoided just as with things that we use everyday like perlite and dolomite lime, but when a product ADVISES you put the stuff in your kitchen/bed/pets fur even I think you will be ok.

”It is a mineral based pesticide. DE is approximately 3% magnesium, 33% silicon, 19% calcium, 5% sodium, 2% iron and many other trace minerals such as titanium, boron, manganese, copper and zirconium. ”“

"This DE is not the same thing as the DE used in swimming pool filters. Pool grade DE is Diatomaceous Earth produced for pool filters and it is treated with heat, causing the formerly amorphous silicon dioxide to assume crystalline form. Pool grade DE should never be used for pest control. Swimming pool DE ranges from 60% to 70% free silica! “

”What insects can DE be used for?
Diatomaceous Earth may be used as a barrier to control adult flea beetles, sawfly, coddling moth, twig borer, thrips, mites, cockroach, slugs, snails and many other insects such as:
Aphids, thrips, earwigs, silverfish, and ants. Can be used for bedbugs, cabbage root flies, carrot root flies, fleas, pillbugs, ticks and is helpful in dealing with fungus gnats. Indoor and Outdoor Application: Sprinkle a light layer of DE in areas where pests frequent, including under stoves, cabinets, sinks, garbage cans, window and door frames and sills,
entrance ways, sewer pipes and drains, and in cracks and crevices. Repeat treatment as needed.
Carpet Beetles: Thoroughly dust along baseboards, carpet edges, under furniture, carpet, and rugs, and in closets and shelving.
Bedbugs: Take apart bed and dust joints and channels. Dust any hollow tubing and the interior framework as well as the mattress and all cracks in the room.
Fleas: Thoroughly dust carpets and pet's bedding and sleeping areas, as well as cracks and baseboards. It also can be rubbed into your pet's fur.
Flies: Thoroughly dust areas where flies frequent (walls, straw bedding, livestock pens). It also can be applied to livestock coat as an insect repellent/contact insecticide.
Fly Larva: Keeps fly larvae from developing in manure, which makes a significant reduction in the fly population.”“

 

[maryjohn]

I believe you are referrig to the "pool grade" DE. the stuff you buy at lowes in the gardening section has a much lower percentage of "free silica" (30% vs 70% for pool filter grade DE). it is not heat treated so the silica does not assume crystalline form. yes, continual breathing should be avoided just as with things that we use everyday like perlite and dolomite lime, but when a product ADVISES you put the stuff in your kitchen/bed/pets fur even I think you will be ok.
”“

very true, it's not as bad as the stuff for filters, but I would not be dusting my house with it, especially when boric acid (another mineral product) is so cheap.

It works by tearing up insect skin, and does the same to your lungs. Those microtears are bad news, especially for smokers. So it's fine to handle when you apply it to your plants or certain hotspots and hard to reach corners, but I would avoid treating large (and I do mean Large) areas of your house. I know you are not doing this, but would you not agree there is a tendency by MJ growers to overdo things? And I have to disagree with dusting it on pets, if only because my dogs get a lot of affection and i often breathe in their fur smell by burying my face in it and taking a deep breath. Doesn't everyone?

 

[highgrade562]

I've used it all and nothing seems to completely and permanently wipes them out. The method I found most effective is to keep the top of the containers with a dry layer of DE and another layer of sand on top of that, and always water from the bottom. When gnats appear in my flowering cab I cover the top of my container with screen or mesh and trap them between that and the soil.

 

[buddin_904]

put an oscillating fan constantly blowing over the containers! it really works....i applied crumbled dunks to the tops, then set up a fan that scans the entire floor area, making sure to have steady air blown over every container. the nats dont have a chance of flying in that windstorm! they seek refuge and quickly die. application of dunks and a floor fan reduced my 100? nat infection to 1-2! within 2 days

 

[JackTheGrower]

I had some small creatures a couple of times.. Do these gnats start out really small and just hop about like fizz on a glass of 7-up?

If so laying yellow sticky traps flat on the soil surface got them all in a couple of days.


JTG

 

[robbiedublu]

I was in a similar situation and had tried all of the stuff people are recommending with no luck. Gnatrol worked for awhile but didn't wipe them out and then became hard to find for some reason. The only thing that really worked was predator gnats. Check out naturescontrol.com