Coco & gnats, brand or store specific?

[Guest 18340]

Oh I've gotten gnats before, but it didn't matter if it was bagged loose coco or blocks that I hydrated. They'll show up once in a while when I keep the coco constantly wet. But I get rid of them easily with Pyrethrin concentrate

 

[waveguide]

in the places i've lived you get gnats via the sewers, so if you create a habitat for them, they're going to set up shop, regardless of where you get your medium.

i grow in soil not coco so ymmv. lot of solutions helped but the fixer was agsil. you could try it

sprinkling some ceylon cinnamon did seem to be fairly effective. don't get it in the medium, it inhibits root growth.

 

[JammRock]

ive only ever had gnats on other indoor plants, not canna plants which is pretty fortunate i guess.

 

[thesloppy]

in the places i've lived you get gnats via the sewers

Interesting. Never thought of that avenue.

 

[irobot sd]

I've seen gnats flying out from air holes of wet coco bags at more than 1 hydro store in my area. Also waveguide is right gnats don't just come out of thin air into your medium. They do dwell in sewage and sink pipes. They're shit bugs. One preventative move could be blocking off all sink holes or shower holes in a bathroom sharing a grow-room if this bathroom isnt being used for showering etc.. A wash cloth could plug a hole good. Even AND especially is the hole in the sink or bathtub that is there for overflow. It's usually at the top of the sink opposite side of the faucet. I'd say 9 out of 10 times this is where they can be coming from without ever being suspect.

 

[Fresh Start]

I know that mosquito dunks will kill the gnats. They're organic-being bacteria that will feed on the eggs of gnats.. They also really help keep mosquito populations down if you have a stagnant water problem around the house- FYI.

But I have started using coco croutons as a mulch on top of my soiless mix and my gnat problem is non-existent-knock on wood. Also helps keep the top layer moist and prevents drying out of the medium.. My two cents. -Fresh

 

[jocat]

gnats suck

gnats suck

after dealing with them little buggers on a regular basis i came up with a solution, i got rid of all my plastic pots that have four little drains around the base, i just use 5G plastic buckets with a single drain that is hooked to the system, no entry points for the buggers! then i top dress the pot with a few inches of perelite & diaotomacous earth, not spelled correctly, super fine sea creature shells that cut the larve to ribbons and soon no more gnats and still organic.

 

[Kit Kat]

Would top-dressing the coco with neem cake prevent gnats?

 

[Guest 18340]

I've seen gnats flying out from air holes of wet coco bags at more than 1 hydro store in my area.

If they're selling wet bags of coco then that tells you it was stored outside. ANY medium stored outside is bound to have insects (gnats).

 

[TribalSeeds]

Common misinformation there. Dongle69 here at the mag confirmed with a microscope that sm-90 does NOT kill beneficial bacteria. The company also claims to have tested it with their bacteria product with the same result.

After reading a few more threads Ive found that you're misunderstanding SM-90. I did not say "kill"
It does not kill benefiial's, though it does inhibit their growth. It says so right in the product information and the company has done many tests.