Help! Fungus Gnats in flowering period!

[ReeceyNG9]

Hi guys.

I have 3 dinafem amnesia haze autoflowers growing.

They germinated on the 7th of feb and have been under a 20/4 light cycle since then.

I’ve transplanted twice to bigger pots

I have led light strips that I used to vegetate and flower my plants.

I’m in the last 2/3 weeks of flowering and have started to get fungus gnats, I believe this is due to overwatering which I have now stopped doing and waiting for the soil to completely dry out.

Please can anyone drop some hints/tips on the best thing I can do for these plants to maximise yield but also to maintain healthy plants.

 

[SensibleSal66]

I get gnats also. I think mine came from my potting soil?? I use gnat sticky traps. I hope this helps out just a bit. Nice big plants by the way!! Mine are half the size and also germinated in February.
I hope you don't mind if I show you.

 

[Bill284]

Hi guys.

I have 3 dinafem amnesia haze autoflowers growing.

They germinated on the 7th of feb and have been under a 20/4 light cycle since then.

I’ve transplanted twice to bigger pots

I have led light strips that I used to vegetate and flower my plants.

I’m in the last 2/3 weeks of flowering and have started to get fungus gnats, I believe this is due to overwatering which I have now stopped doing and waiting for the soil to completely dry out.

Please can anyone drop some hints/tips on the best thing I can do for these plants to maximise yield but also to maintain healthy plants.

Beautiful ladies my friend.
Welcome to 420magazine.
A good fan blowing across the top of the pots is helpful also.
10% H202 in water helps kill the buggers.
Also our sponsors have good products for getting rid of them.
Happy growing.

Stay safe
Bill

 

[Buds Buddy]

Do you want to kill the Fliers & the Larvae in the soil ? Use Mosquito Dunks or 1 Qt. of Peroxide mixed in a gal. of water & pour it through your soil. That will kill the Larvae. Sticky Traps work but they should be the Yellow ones as that color attracts gnats. You can also use Warm Beer in a bowl or smear Molasses on a paper plate. They are attracted to the scent & will get stuck in it. I had a bad gnat problem once & this is how I fixed it.

 

[SmokingWings]

I’m in the last 2/3 weeks of flowering and have started to get fungus gnats, I believe this is due to overwatering which I have now stopped doing and waiting for the soil to completely dry out.

The problem with Fungus Gnats is not the flying gnat itself. Those are a nuisance. The real problem is that the eggs are planted just below the soil surface. When the egg hatches the larva stays in the damp soil where it eats and matures while going through 4 stages before turning into a pupa and then an adult.

While in the soil the larva eats organic material which is part of the cycle of breaking down and returning the trapped nutrients. The big problem is that the gnat larva also eats small roots, often the small hair & feeder roots.

The 'sticky' traps are not designed to trap enough insects to get rid of the problem. Plus by the time an adult gets trapped it might have already laid enough eggs that the next generation is going to be even worse. They are designed to trap the occasional flying gnat to give a farmer or gardener an idea of how many insects are around.

Best thing to do is to get an insecticide that contains "Bti" which is completely organic and safe for humans, animals, beneficial insects, and plants. The Bti is a micro-organism that is eaten by the gnat larva (or mosquito larva) and destroys their digestive system. Products containing the Bti include Mosquito Dunks and Mosquito Bits.

The dunks are small donut shapes that can treat up to several gallons of water so most gardeners end up breaking each one into 1/4s and using one piece to treat a 5 gallon bucket. Within 24 hours the water is ready and the plants can be watered as normal. The Bits are the same product but it is loose like large grains of sand though it looks like ground up corncob. A pinch sprinkled on the soil surface in each of those pots is enough and the product starts to work shortly after it gets wet. A pinch or two can be put in a gallon or two of water and the next day the Bti is ready.

There are other things that can be done but I have found that using the Mosquito Bits is the easiest.

 

[HappyHazmat88]

Hey I have had gnats every grow they happen...no big issue with the flies...it's the larva that could be a problem for roots. But I use yellow sticky traps and ecoworks all-i-cide works like a charm.... Not sure if ecoworks are still a sponsor but I got they're product in a @GeoFlora Nutrients pack.

 

[Vegan4life]

Do you want to kill the Fliers & the Larvae in the soil ? Use Mosquito Dunks or 1 Qt. of Peroxide mixed in a gal. of water & pour it through your soil. That will kill the Larvae. Sticky Traps work but they should be the Yellow ones as that color attracts gnats. You can also use Warm Beer in a bowl or smear Molasses on a paper plate. They are attracted to the scent & will get stuck in it. I had a bad gnat problem once & this is how I fixed it.

^^^^^^^ +1 on the Mosquito dunks. And as a preventative in the future you could also use site sponsor @Sierra Natural Science SNS-209 soil drench.

 

[Nine Toed Hippie]

Do you want to kill the Fliers & the Larvae in the soil ? Use Mosquito Dunks or 1 Qt. of Peroxide mixed in a gal. of water & pour it through your soil. That will kill the Larvae. Sticky Traps work but they should be the Yellow ones as that color attracts gnats. You can also use Warm Beer in a bowl or smear Molasses on a paper plate. They are attracted to the scent & will get stuck in it. I had a bad gnat problem once & this is how I fixed it.

I used this same advice from @Buds Buddy to get rid of my gnat problem on my first grow. Worked like a charm.

NTH

 

[013]

Ditto Smoking Wings on sticky traps & BTi plus if they can’t land they can’t lay eggs - a fan moving air across top of soil hoses up their lz

 

[ReeceyNG9]

So the traps are in place (Thanks Guys) - they’re steadily catching each little critter as I go along!

However I’m unsure on what pesticide to purchase, some people have recommended the Oxyplus H202 (see pic. Attached) has anybody got any feedback from this and also is it safe to do even though it’s going through the flowering period ?

Cheers guys

 

[Buds Buddy]

However I’m unsure on what pesticide to purchase, some people have recommended the Oxyplus H202 (see pic. Attached) has anybody got any feedback from this and also is it safe to do even though it’s going through the flowering period ?

Cheers guys

Same thing as Peroxide.

 

[Bill284]

However I’m unsure on what pesticide to purchase, some people have recommended the Oxyplus H202 (see pic. Attached) has anybody got any feedback from this and also is it safe to do even though it’s going through the flowering period ?

Cheers guys

Good morning my friend l hope you are well.
Great garden.
Never used that product but any h202 will work.
Those lights do they put off any heat.
I don't believe you get much penetration with them.
I'd move them closer right down into them literally.
Keep up the good work.

Stay safe
Bill