Fungus gnats - Need some advice

[Ace88of420]

So i was getting ready to start my grow this year and i noticed i have little flies inside my bag of soil from last year. I'm guessing they are fungus gnats. Does anyone have a suggesting for getting rid of them before i begin growing? I've read about baking the dirt, but if the dirt gets too hot it release toxins that will hurt my plants, and i guess it really stinks. I can't put the soil outside to compost it, and then I've about hydrogen peroxide but it can kill off good and bad in the soil. What are your thoughts on it? And can i just spread the soil out and let it dry completely or will that Not work?

 

[InTheShed]

There's almost too much information out there on fungus gnats. Best place I've seen with a summary on it is here:
How to Get Rid of Fungus Gnats for Good! | Grow Weed Easy
I used diatomaceous earth on the top layer of my soil, but my plants were already growing.

 

[Ace88of420]

Thanx for the link I'll look at it in a few minutes. Yea i have a few ideas but i figured that just spreading it and letting it dry completely would be the easiest and cheapest. I just don't know if the eggs will survive the dry just to start hatching when they feel the moist

 

[InTheShed]

It's worth a test! Spread some out and let it dry (that will depend on your local weather and ambient RH of course). After some period of time, put some of it in a pot and water it. Cover the pot with a ziploc to keep any buggers contained if they hatch. If they do, leave the rest of the dirt for longer and try again.

Report your findings here!

 

[Ace88of420]

Yea i think I'm gonna test it, i was hoping someone before me had tried it and knew if it was a waste of time or if it worked

 

[InTheShed]

Never mind...just found this:
"The larvae of fungus gnats cannot survive in dry soil. However, they will remain dormant and begin their development once the soil is moist again."

You can go with hydrogen peroxide and then add the microbes back after the soil is clean too.

 

[Ace88of420]

Thank you that's exactly what i was afraid of

 

[GodOfPot]

Pointing a fan at the rim of your pot during a grow will help prevent them....use something called spinosad in an IPM or to beat an active infestation, it's organic and safe....using Monterey Garden Insect Spray I think the recommended dose is 4tbs per gal of water....when we use it for our weekly IPM we use it at a rate of 1TBS/gal and if battling an active infestation 2-3TBS/gal every 3 days for 2 weeks

 

[HayStack]

The best thing to do is keep the bag sealed and put it in the trash. Those little things are hard to get rid of. If they start hatching in your tent you will hate it. So, just throw it away and get new soil.

 

[Calvados]

Hi. I had the same problem with my last grow. I thought I brought them into my tent, but having done some reading it is much more likely they were in the bag before I opened it (Canna Terra).

You can buy nematodes on line, which come in a powder that you mix with water. Basically, they are bugs that eat the bugs. They don't bother your roots or sprout wings. I'm going to treat my soil before I pot them for my next grow whether I see them or not. They are a pain in the ass.

Diatomaceous earth is good stuff.

A thin layer of sand on the top of your pot is also another way to go. It prevents the larvae from escaping, so they die in the soil. I use the pots with holes in the sides, so that doesn't work for me. They are great for developing roots, but are like a high rise for pests.

The most important thing is to break the cycle.

 

[Calvados]

Google Nemasys Sciarid Fly Killer. That should steer you in the right direction.

 

[InTheShed]

A thin layer of sand on the top of your pot is also another way to go. It prevents the larvae from escaping, so they die in the soil.

I'm not sure a thin layer would be enough to trap them, and I would be wary of covering the soil with a thicker layer of sand (even though I have read that solution before) as it could trap moisture in the soil and prevent the natural drying out. Just a thought.

 

[MRXC]

i use cinnamon to kill the little fuckers. It works as a natural pesticide. just get a bowl 2 tabel spoons of cinnamon per liter boiling water stirr well and let it cool down before adding to the soil. I have used this method on all kind of plants and works great I have also used it in early flowering stages and it won't hurt yield.

 

[Icemann420]

Diatomaceous earth is microscopic shard of glass like powder it will kill any exoskeleton type bug as the bug walks files through or even touched the glass like powder adhesive it's self to the bug and cuts its way in and drys the thing out in a matter of hours. It's really good stuff I dust my garden plants with it and use it for general bug control in farming with the chickens and cows also it's food grade and can b taken for human consumption

 

[Cultivator]

I battle fungus gnats most grows. As I grow in coco the media never dries out and its constantly moist so its a perfect environment for them. This is what I do and it works to keep it under control.
Place yellow sticky tops in each pot when using large pots or every other pot if smaller. Just staple to a lollipop stick and fold in half. I then add Bacilus to my cute mix once per week in veg and then a couple of times during flower. The bacillus kills the larvae and the sticky traps catch the adults.

This Is highly effective treatment that is cheap.

 

[stipulus]

So i was getting ready to start my grow this year and i noticed i have little flies inside my bag of soil from last year. I'm guessing they are fungus gnats. Does anyone have a suggesting for getting rid of them before i begin growing? I've read about baking the dirt, but if the dirt gets too hot it release toxins that will hurt my plants, and i guess it really stinks. I can't put the soil outside to compost it, and then I've about hydrogen peroxide but it can kill off good and bad in the soil. What are your thoughts on it? And can i just spread the soil out and let it dry completely or will that Not work?

Dont put a thing on your plant, let the soil dry out completely pretty much, and hang a couple of yellow sticky traps around it and the problem sorts itself out.

 

[stipulus]

Thanx for the link I'll look at it in a few minutes. Yea i have a few ideas but i figured that just spreading it and letting it dry completely would be the easiest and cheapest. I just don't know if the eggs will survive the dry just to start hatching when they feel the moist

Nope, the legs die..ive had one or two gnats hanging around my tent for a year now, they have never got to a good population at all because I let the coco dry out.

 

[stipulus]

The

I'm not sure a thin layer would be enough to trap them, and I would be wary of covering the soil with a thicker layer of sand (even though I have read that solution before) as it could trap moisture in the soil and prevent the natural drying out. Just a thought.

sand works for sure, but you are better off letting your medium dry right out and hang sticky traps

 

[Cultivator]

you should never let coco dry out, it s def not good for plants.

 

[Fsanti1226]

Try using some beneficial nematodes