?? Fungus Gnats -- Controlled With Basil, Lavender, Etc.??

B

brown_thumb

Active member

• Oct 20, 2016

• #1

I've read that Lavender, Basil and other herbaceous plants along with some ornamental plants such as marigold do an excellent job of repelling fungus gnats. I wonder if growing these very near to or in the same bucket as the cannabis plants is effective at eliminating the gnats and other nasty pests.

Has anyone tried this technique in the cannabis community? The herbs smell nice, look great and we can eat them. It seems like the perfect solution if it works.

 

B

brown_thumb

Active member

• Oct 20, 2016

• #2

I'm asking because I have a fungus gnat infestation. Soap, neem oil and H2O2 are working but IMO it's even better to simply repel the little bastards with plants that are beneficial to us anyway. There's nothing tastier and healthier than garden-fresh herbs that are organically grown.

 

B

brown_thumb

Active member

• Oct 20, 2016

• #3

Oh... and these plants repel aphids and other nasty critters too. I initially asked because of my gnat problem.

 

Z

Zigsta

New member

• Oct 20, 2016

• #4

diatomaceous earth works well for me.nice layer on the soil helps.
Ive noticed that keeping the humidity on the lower side helps.
Also, i noticed keeping the pots on the drier side helps.

Im sure the pros will be along shortly, so wait for them to chime in.
Good luck mate.

 

B

brown_thumb

Active member

• Oct 21, 2016

• #5

Thanks, yes, I'm sure DE would help. I've yet to try that.

 

N

nksv

Member

• Oct 21, 2016

• #6

i am going to try it actually. I started just doing compost teas which pretty much wiped them out for me. I also thought it might be worth having some pots of lavender/ marigold in there - worth a shot.

 

B

brown_thumb

Active member

• Oct 21, 2016

• #7

Compost tea kills gnats? I'll research that. I know certain bacteria do.

 

N

nksv

Member

• Oct 21, 2016

• #8

I did a few neem sprays also but yeah the compost teas built a soil life up to help eliminate the larve. Check out the book 'teaming with microbes'.

 

B

brown_thumb

Active member

• Oct 21, 2016

• #9

Okay, thanks. I'll find that book.

 

corky1968

Active member

Veteran

• Oct 21, 2016

• #10

I bought a Fly Ribbon 4 pack because I had a stupid house fly in my place a while back.
I then decided to put 2 around my plants. The house fly got caught the next day and
a few fungus gnats that the H2O2 didn't take care also got caught so that's cool.

 

B

brown_thumb

Active member

• Oct 21, 2016

• #11

My worst infestation was in a 18L bucket with soil but no plants. I did have five 100mm diameter coconut fiber pots sitting on top of that soil though. Those small pots were keeping the top 30mm of soil moist in the bucket. I moved the pots and dozens of gnats went flying. I disturbed the top 12mm of soil and hundreds of the little buggers went flying. I let them settle back in then drenched that bucket with a 4 liters of water with 60ml of neem oil plus 240ml of 3 percent H2O2. Of course, the drench fizzed like crazy but the next day all the gnats were gone. I was comfortable using that much H2O2 because the bucket had no plants.

I drenched the other buckets and the small pots with the same mixed but with one fourth as much H2O2.

Since then I've read that some people drench their buckets with live plants with a 50:50 mix of 3 percent H2O2:water. That seems awfully strong. Won't that burn the roots of the plants? Most references I see recommend 100ml of 3 percent H2O2 per 4L of water.

 

Last edited: Oct 21, 2016