FOUND A WAY TO KILL MY FUNGUS GNATS-CHEAP!!!

[resinryder]

So I have had fungus gnats on and off for a while in my coco/perlite filled smart pots. I HATE these things and if I could get my hands on some weapons grade plutonium to blast these little bastards back to the stone age I would. But being that weapons grade plutonium isn't on the market and the obvious hazards of handling it, I found the next best thing.
0000 Steel Wool. That's right, 0000 Steel Wool!
It shreds these little flying fuckers in a way that is most pleasant to me.
I have tried Gonats, Diatomacious Earth, and some other sprays, etc that are supposed to kill these flying menaces, but they never ever got rid of these little bastards.
Maybe you can tell by things so far that I absolutely hate fungus gnats!!!
I got to thinking 1 day, something i rarely do anymore, that if I could find something to shred these little bastards as they entered and exited the smart pots that I could beat them down.
Then suddenly as a bright light from the heavens went off in my head, actually a 1k bulb firing up, it hit me, steel wool!!!
So i grabbed some that I had here at the houes. Unrolled 6 of the pads and gently stretched them out to form to the top of the pots and around the stem of each plant.
BOOM BABY!!
Every one of these flying fuckers were wiped out within the 2 weeks I had them covering the pots. I do hope they suffered the most extricating of deaths as they tried to enter and exit the pots so they could breed more of these gimp bitches.
Now even tho I had some of the steel wool on top of the coco/perlite mix I didn't get any rusting of the steel wool. I use E&F and the water doesn't come all the way up to the level where the rock wool was so maybe I just got lucky with that. But I don't see where a little rust would bother them anyway.
I took the steel wool off after the 2 week period and sat my mothers on them, between the plastic containers and the water catch trays and across the top of the soil level, after the top soil level dried out a bit and once again,
BOOM BABY!!!
No more fungus gnats.
You may find this helpful you may not. I could care less if you don't like it. But as for me and mine, I just wish I could be there to hear them scream in fungus gnat agony as they are shredded to bits if you give it a try.
Now if I could just get this to work on white flies. lol And it actually does but they have to fly down and land on the steel wool which a lot of them do.
Later!!

 

[40AmpstoFreedom]

Plutonium for fungus gnats:

http://rinconvitova.com/predator%20mite.htm#Hypoaspis%20miles

1 jar can treat 6kwatt grow and even an infestation will be dead in 3 days tops. I love the steel wool idea as a preventive measure though may give this a try.

 

[resinryder]

Good info 40Amps. Thanks. I've tried ladybugs and praying mantis in the past for white flies and the gnats but the lady bugs die within 12 hours of being released and the praying mantis dies about as fast as they pop out of their egg sack. Don't know why. Has happened twice now. Looks like you posted something new for me to try next time.

 

[40AmpstoFreedom]

Those are all way too huge to get inside the soil. Trust me this is plutonium you could easily treat 12k watts with this many predator mites I was just watering in my room and used them about 9 days ago and there are 300+ visible on top of the soil a lone in every container it is really freaky to watch them all move and be all up and down the pots. It is like ordering a friggin army I no longer worry about ANY bug after finding out about beneficials. From mites, to aphids, to fungus gnats I have beat the shit out of bugs with beneficials and they have been 100x more effective than pesticides. Plus who misses a good fight? Get out your video camera these things are freaky as hell lol.

Seriously the ground looks like it pulses when you look at it, you are a leader of a powerful army

Now look closely these things blend in perfect with the ground where they tend to live. These are best used for low pests not red mites or such use another predatory mite they recommend for those.

 

[40AmpstoFreedom]

They are so fast on flat ground they look like worms moving across the bag you could not only hold UFC nights on the weekends but F1 racing as well.

 

[Hammerhead]

I use sevin-5.. I have not had a outbreak since.

 

[resinryder]

Good stuff 40Amps.
Hammerhead-I do use that on my tomato plants at the first sign of Horned tobacco worms. Wipes em out over night. never thought about using in my smart pots. Would end up getting in the water in my rez and I don't think I want that lol

 

[Hammerhead]

I was concered about getting it in my water as well so I watered all the plants well and sprinkled a layer onatop of the soil I let it sit for 3 days. I then used a shop vac and sucked all the powder and dead bugs up and watered the plants. repeat this until all bugs where dead. 1 application is all that I needed.

 

[taslicker]

predator mites work and there is no chemical problems and you can use them all during flowering. you can get them for spider mites as well. there as easy as falling off a log

 

[Hydropimp]

Sevin works homies

 

[taslicker]

If you dont like the idea of predator mites try Mosquito Bits.

In the first stage of its life cycle the Fungus Gnat lives in the soil as larvae and this is where the Mosquito Bits work, it kills the larvae before they hatch.

its not a poison, its a biological control, it kills the larvae by disrupting a protein in the larvae and they starve to death.

http://www.summitchemical.com/mosquito/mosquito-bits/

you sprinkle it over the soil surface. its harmless to fish and all animals. it just effects the larvae.

 

[accessndx]

Get some of this stuff that contains bacillus thuringiensis israelensis:

http://www.amazon.com/Valent-Gnatrol-WDG-60-grams/dp/B003E7BGTU

Repackaged in 2-30gram Bottles...NEW FORMULATION Gnatrol WDG Water Dispersible Granule biological larvicide offers the same effective control of fungus gnat larvae that growers expect from Gnatrol, but with added product benefits. Increased shelf life - now 2 years liquid formulation was only 1 year Much more concentrated; less product packaging to carry around and to dispose of Increased convenience and application accuracy Easier to measure and wont leave a residue like the liquid formulation Can be used on vegetables, bulb crops, bedding plants and a wide variety of ornamentals Fungus gnats stop feeding almost immediately after it is digested, and death occurs 24 to 48 hours later OMRI listed Gnatrol WDG is a biological control for fungus gnat larvae. It contains a variety of bacillus thuringiensis bacteria that kills most gnat larvae. Apply as a soil drench or add to the nutrient solution of your growing system. Does not kill adult fungus gnats, but once the larvae is killed, the adults will quickly die off. Can be used up to the day of harvest on all edible plants. Use 0.25 to 3.25 teaspoons 0.9 to 7.3 grams per gallon of water depending on severity of infestation.

 

[BrnCow]

If you dont like the idea of predator mites try Mosquito Bits.

In the first stage of its life cycle the Fungus Gnat lives in the soil as larvae and this is where the Mosquito Bits work, it kills the larvae before they hatch.

its not a poison, its a biological control, it kills the larvae by disrupting a protein in the larvae and they starve to death.

http://www.summitchemical.com/mosquito/mosquito-bits/

you sprinkle it over the soil surface. its harmless to fish and all animals. it just effects the larvae.

If you use these mosquito dunk/bits types of control in aero/drip/hydroponics, be sure and put them in a sock of some kind or they will break down into small pieces that will clog the watering system up...probably can leave them for a couple of days and then remove the sock/fine filter bag...

 

[1and1]

If you dont like the idea of predator mites try Mosquito Bits.

In the first stage of its life cycle the Fungus Gnat lives in the soil as larvae and this is where the Mosquito Bits work, it kills the larvae before they hatch.

its not a poison, its a biological control, it kills the larvae by disrupting a protein in the larvae and they starve to death.

http://www.summitchemical.com/mosquito/mosquito-bits/

you sprinkle it over the soil surface. its harmless to fish and all animals. it just effects the larvae.

Works great, Cheap, Easy. Every time you water you are giving them another little blast of BT.

 

[AKDrifter]

I think I am maybe being paranoid, but reading the label on the bits and the inhalation caution. Any thoughts on this running through to the end product which will most likely be inhaled/smoked?

Most likely a non issue, but seeing it only mentioned for flowers and the "microbial insecticide" part just made me wonder a little.

How about any old time pantry solutions? we need Granny to chime in how she kills them in her herb garden with cinnamon. (I actually read that somewhere)

 

[vertigo0007]

I think I am maybe being paranoid, but reading the label on the bits and the inhalation caution. Any thoughts on this running through to the end product which will most likely be inhaled/smoked?

Most likely a non issue, but seeing it only mentioned for flowers and the "microbial insecticide" part just made me wonder a little.

How about any old time pantry solutions? we need Granny to chime in how she kills them in her herb garden with cinnamon. (I actually read that somewhere)

I hand mix it in with my coco for transplants. It smells like cracker jacks. I get pretty close to it and most likely breath a little. No ill effects yet.

 

[AKDrifter]

Right on.

I have been reading up since seeing a couple of them which I expect came from bags of black gold I have in window boxes full of basil and parsley. But, I bought extra black gold for a future batch of SS so want to be ready.

I read the labels on the dunks and the bits earlier on the makers web page and saw the insecticide bit, but was unsure if it was a chemical or bio goodness doing the work.
I also read up on gnatrol which sounds to be completely organic and can be used on vegetables up to the day of harvest.

Im still reading up.

 

[NeWcS]

I have been using mosquito bits on the top of all my coco with no luck. I am not sure about the larva but I can tell you its not doing shit to kill or rid my garden of these little pecker heads. Going to try dryer sheets and see if those will work. Have worked in the past so we'll see...

 

[punkenstien]

Sevin works homies

Does it have an Omri stamp of approval?

 

[Rcknrog11]

I know it's been years but can I ask you about the steel wool and those bitch ass knatt fuckers??

Roger.