Fungus Gnats for days!

[Rromack]

Try a drop per 5 gallons of pine needle oil. Also contains some soluble nitrogen so don't over do it.

 

[The OrigF/clred]

Interesting. Dunno how I could incorporate that into my setup as I'm in 4x8 coco beds and the runoff drains outside of the room but definitely good information regardless! Appreciate the take on the DE drying on top of the soil as I haven't tried that route yet but WAS something I was contemplating.

it may only be the Safer Brand DE that turns to rock hard clay like that but it eventually cracked like the images of dried up river beds in africa. When i noticed it attracted gnats, i got to wondering what was in it, so i contacted SB - all they would tell me it that it was "22% non-DE but that they would not reveal proprietary compounds they had added". So it may be that un-identified 22% causes their DE to bind up - even after re-wetting, it would wet but felt like hard wet greasy play dough

back to --- didn't realize coco beds meant no dry space inside the tent - maybe turn some buckets upside down and sprinkle some on top - it does attract them and isn't long in the 99.99% decimation of the little bastards

btw, his grow was 16 5 gal pots, so when i say it was a swarm of them when the infestation got bad, you couldn't take a step without seeing a number flying across in front of you.

The mosquito dunks never did seem to come close to eradicating them, but others have reported success .... maybe it's the "strain" of fungus gnat that determines

 

[ganjourno]

OK so I have a few strategies that when used together work pretty well - thanks everyone for the tips.

If still in veg, bayer complete insect killer applied thoroughly at 15ml per gallon as a soil drench has a 100% kill rate. However, they will return eventually, so follow up the bayer treatment immediately with some BTI to inoculate against a resurgence, (gnatrol is best, have tried the microbe lift BMC and had mixed results).

If in flower, treat several times a week apart with gnatrol, but also do the following:

- cover the media surface completely with cinnamon. This kills surface fungus/algae (which is the gnat's food source), and the gnats also HATE it. The fliers immediately leave the soil when I start sprinkling and they don't come back. I buy a big jar from restaurant supply places like costo or smart and final, treats a bunch of plants for cheap.

- Apply "tanglefoot", which is a very very sticky resin that comes in a toothpaste type of tube, around the base of each stalk. This catches gnats as they crawl up from the soil, and has a higher success rate than sticky traps. I smear this glue stuff everywhere I see the bastards crawling around, works great! http://www.amazon.com/Tanglefoot-300000684-Tree-15-Tub/dp/B000BWY3AA

- If in rockwool, use the panda film block covers or make your own, to keep light off the blocks. Greatly reduces algae growth and this means less food for the gnats!