Fungus Gnats
- Thread starter Sativan
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one.sixoneeight
Member
mosquito dunks in the reservoir you water from, if you water from the tap use mosquito bits sprinkled on top of the soil in each pot.
Yes mosquito dunks and yellow sticky traps. Might want to try boiling water to expand the bricks, also. I have not had them in months, with a dunk in every bucket of water. When I mix nutrients to use, I throw the dunk into another bucket. They will last for weeks like that.
They are currently driving me F-ing crazy. Expanded a brick for up-potting, and left the bucket in TV room. A week later now the bastards keep flying into my eyes. Of the 10 or so reasons I hate coir, that is in top 3.
They are currently driving me F-ing crazy. Expanded a brick for up-potting, and left the bucket in TV room. A week later now the bastards keep flying into my eyes. Of the 10 or so reasons I hate coir, that is in top 3.
I read about this & tried it a few weeks ago w one watering... it suppressed Fungus Gnats for a few weeks & now they're beginning to repoplate the veg area.
Mix 4 to 1 water & H2O2 and water with that several times.
The H2O2 will destroy the fungus gnats, larve & eggs via oxidation. Not only that but the reaction leaves the soil rich with Oxygen.
Be sure to use a good living tea to replace any bennies that got oxidized too.
Mix 4 to 1 water & H2O2 and water with that several times.
The H2O2 will destroy the fungus gnats, larve & eggs via oxidation. Not only that but the reaction leaves the soil rich with Oxygen.
Be sure to use a good living tea to replace any bennies that got oxidized too.
Mike Myers
Member
Diametatious earth will help too, but they always seem to come back. Don't have it near as bad as awhile ago using dunks and stickys, never tried h2o2. Contemplating trying a light soil drench with spinosad
U mean my pets??? Just when u think the grow is clean u find them in the TV room. 
It is a constant battle, all off the above are tools to use in that battle.. Along with H2O2 light bleach water will work. Water hot enough to kill the gnats but not the plant (tricky and can lead to "blonde AK" when u kill the plant under 1000's
SM90 is a good product to use with every water to keep them pushed back.
Learn the life cycle of the little fuckers... The adults create a bacteria?, on the feeder roots That the larva feed on. That's what h2o2 and bleach target.. No food less babies......
It is a constant battle, all off the above are tools to use in that battle.. Along with H2O2 light bleach water will work. Water hot enough to kill the gnats but not the plant (tricky and can lead to "blonde AK" when u kill the plant under 1000's
SM90 is a good product to use with every water to keep them pushed back.
Learn the life cycle of the little fuckers... The adults create a bacteria?, on the feeder roots That the larva feed on. That's what h2o2 and bleach target.. No food less babies......
About six years ago I got serious about fungus gnats and used many chemicals, including the messy Neem oil.
The best chemical I found was Raid bedbug spray. Safe enough for humans to sleep with, a light spray on the surface before watering gave a 100% kill rate the first day. Repeats were in the six weeks to two months range.
Now I use Perlite as a topcoat. Two inches of Perlite over the media after roots are established.
The system is a pain in the ass, but it keeps the bugs out with out chemicals.
The Perlite is brushes to the side so the growing media is exposed. Watering is done slowly so as not to wet the Perlite, then the dry Perlite is brushed back over the hole, leaving an unbroken two inch layer of Perlite over the entire surface.
The bugs will not lay eggs on a dry surface.
I do this every watering, and it works. The catch is, the Perlite has to be kept dry, if damp the bugs will lay eggs and the larvae will crawl down to the roots.
Brushing aside the Perlite and refilling the depression add less than a full minute to the watering time and stops the fungus gnats without chemical interference.
Perlite is used because it floats and will remain on top of the media for the entire growing period.
Diatomaceous earth has microcrystals that cut the skin of larvae but it will slowly sink and have to be reapplied during the season.
I like the bright white of the Perlite as well, it just looks good. Pictures are a recent transplant and a row of veg plants.
The best chemical I found was Raid bedbug spray. Safe enough for humans to sleep with, a light spray on the surface before watering gave a 100% kill rate the first day. Repeats were in the six weeks to two months range.
Now I use Perlite as a topcoat. Two inches of Perlite over the media after roots are established.
The system is a pain in the ass, but it keeps the bugs out with out chemicals.
The Perlite is brushes to the side so the growing media is exposed. Watering is done slowly so as not to wet the Perlite, then the dry Perlite is brushed back over the hole, leaving an unbroken two inch layer of Perlite over the entire surface.
The bugs will not lay eggs on a dry surface.
I do this every watering, and it works. The catch is, the Perlite has to be kept dry, if damp the bugs will lay eggs and the larvae will crawl down to the roots.
Brushing aside the Perlite and refilling the depression add less than a full minute to the watering time and stops the fungus gnats without chemical interference.
Perlite is used because it floats and will remain on top of the media for the entire growing period.
Diatomaceous earth has microcrystals that cut the skin of larvae but it will slowly sink and have to be reapplied during the season.
I like the bright white of the Perlite as well, it just looks good. Pictures are a recent transplant and a row of veg plants.
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U would like the look of diatomaceous earth or the one made out of recycled glass.. Grow stone makes it maybe?? Really looks good and is somewhat easier than perlite to handle
Gnats are always a nuisance especially if organic and in coir.
I use neem oil to spray the flyers.
I try and not spray the soil or plants with the oil.
I use neem cake (meal) as a top dressing.
I use BTI in my water.
This regime tends to beat them back.
Another trick is they love coffee.
Leave a cup of coffee and soon it will be covered in dead gnats if your having a population explosion.
Ratz
I use neem oil to spray the flyers.
I try and not spray the soil or plants with the oil.
I use neem cake (meal) as a top dressing.
I use BTI in my water.
This regime tends to beat them back.
Another trick is they love coffee.
Leave a cup of coffee and soon it will be covered in dead gnats if your having a population explosion.
Ratz
Some people have had good luck using a mesh paint strainer bag to enclose the entire container, with the top cinched tight around the main stem. Guess it wouldn't do much good after an infestation is started.
You can knock a heavy infestation back by letting the media dry so the larvae move to the bottom of the container. Then fill a shallow saucer with water, spray the surface with a pyrethrin based insecticide, then set the container into the saucer.
If you have some tanglefoot, you can make your own sticky traps using the free yellow paint color sample cards from the hardware store.
Tree frogs in the grow room do a good job on the fliers.
You can knock a heavy infestation back by letting the media dry so the larvae move to the bottom of the container. Then fill a shallow saucer with water, spray the surface with a pyrethrin based insecticide, then set the container into the saucer.
If you have some tanglefoot, you can make your own sticky traps using the free yellow paint color sample cards from the hardware store.
Tree frogs in the grow room do a good job on the fliers.
jesus christ dudes
stop doing all this stupid ass shit...
perilite???
neem oil sprays
top dressings...
gnatmix from Growstone is OKAY...
do a little bit of research and learn about how professional cultivators handle problems.
Beneficial NEMATODES mother fuckers.
Its stupid easy.
Step one, Order your Benneficial Nematodes. I like Dr. Pye's Scanmask 10 Million Live Beneficial Nematodes - Kills Over 230 Bugs
be sure to contact the seller on amazon and request a styrofoam cooler/icepack to keep ur nematodes cool during the hot summer months. Greencoast, a local hydro store, also carries nematodes for purchase, but i have not found them to be as effective, maybe your local shops carry the little buggers.
Nematodes need to be refrigerated to be kept alive. You can store them for up to a year, but you must rehydrate the vermiculite.
Step two. choose your application method.
My favorite is to water them in. Just mix into your current nutrient feeding and hand water, the vermiculite will clog irrigation.
or you can top dress if you are automated, this is more difficult imo to ensure maximum coverage, use the same volume tool to apply per container, and be sure to water them in good.
You have to water in the nematodes so time application with watering.
Step three, smoke a fat joint cause now you are using mother nature to combat the gnats and you can save money, time and energy and focus it on something else more prominent.
Your gnats should be gone in a few days. IF you have that serious of an infestation, might need two applications.
You also just doubled up and combated any other peice of shit in your grow medium trying to fuck up ur ladies.
PM if you have questions, i'll help everyone.
stop doing all this stupid ass shit...
perilite???
neem oil sprays
top dressings...
gnatmix from Growstone is OKAY...
do a little bit of research and learn about how professional cultivators handle problems.
Beneficial NEMATODES mother fuckers.
Its stupid easy.
Step one, Order your Benneficial Nematodes. I like Dr. Pye's Scanmask 10 Million Live Beneficial Nematodes - Kills Over 230 Bugs
be sure to contact the seller on amazon and request a styrofoam cooler/icepack to keep ur nematodes cool during the hot summer months. Greencoast, a local hydro store, also carries nematodes for purchase, but i have not found them to be as effective, maybe your local shops carry the little buggers.
Nematodes need to be refrigerated to be kept alive. You can store them for up to a year, but you must rehydrate the vermiculite.
Step two. choose your application method.
My favorite is to water them in. Just mix into your current nutrient feeding and hand water, the vermiculite will clog irrigation.
or you can top dress if you are automated, this is more difficult imo to ensure maximum coverage, use the same volume tool to apply per container, and be sure to water them in good.
You have to water in the nematodes so time application with watering.
Step three, smoke a fat joint cause now you are using mother nature to combat the gnats and you can save money, time and energy and focus it on something else more prominent.
Your gnats should be gone in a few days. IF you have that serious of an infestation, might need two applications.
You also just doubled up and combated any other peice of shit in your grow medium trying to fuck up ur ladies.
PM if you have questions, i'll help everyone.
Can you keep a stable nematode population going in coco?
Yellow sticky traps to capture and monitor flying adults. Get Microbelift BMC to use instead of mosquito dunks. It's 8% Bti as opposed to the 2% Bti in the dunks and it's already in a liquid form. The product is cheap and can be found on amazon for 16 bucks.
unless you are perpetual and swapping out trays every week with fresh plants that always have gnats, I doubt there is any need to have a stable population without any actual pests.
I don't always use nematodes routinely as part of my IPM, they come in handy when i see some gnats and know what will come if unattended. I keep my coco wet.
I don't see gnats often as I have been buying very fresh Canna coco and its been very clean and kind. but just recently I have had some in my outdoor soil smart pots, and I applied that last week, haven't seen a single one since.
Theres lots of little critters in gaias tool belt we can harness to our benefit. Issue is they aren't making a lot of money due to a lack of public demand, aka education/attention.
Whodatis uses predatory mites, and has great results.
I think ultimately for fungus gnats, theres very few reasons to have them.
One, houseplants, homedepot is famous for gnats, any every and all of their soils, guaranteed, even the dr earth, thats why i needed nematodes
cause no one sells dr earth no more!
Two, medium. Few ways, its cheap, the store has some old bags with fliers and not a great staff, came from the source of the medium directly.
Three, grower introduction. One would be hard pressed to know everything that truly moves throughout the day. Something as simple as an ill filtered intake or door open for a while can lead to such issues.
ITs all good tho, learning experiences, and balance created by life, can't have the good without the bad!
I don't always use nematodes routinely as part of my IPM, they come in handy when i see some gnats and know what will come if unattended. I keep my coco wet.
I don't see gnats often as I have been buying very fresh Canna coco and its been very clean and kind. but just recently I have had some in my outdoor soil smart pots, and I applied that last week, haven't seen a single one since.
Theres lots of little critters in gaias tool belt we can harness to our benefit. Issue is they aren't making a lot of money due to a lack of public demand, aka education/attention.
Whodatis uses predatory mites, and has great results.
I think ultimately for fungus gnats, theres very few reasons to have them.
One, houseplants, homedepot is famous for gnats, any every and all of their soils, guaranteed, even the dr earth, thats why i needed nematodes
cause no one sells dr earth no more! Two, medium. Few ways, its cheap, the store has some old bags with fliers and not a great staff, came from the source of the medium directly.
Three, grower introduction. One would be hard pressed to know everything that truly moves throughout the day. Something as simple as an ill filtered intake or door open for a while can lead to such issues.
ITs all good tho, learning experiences, and balance created by life, can't have the good without the bad!
