Ghefredo
Active Member
I have a fungus gnat problem I been using been oil for about a week now it calmed the situation down but not completely any advice on how to get rid of them completely
Fungus gnats
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The Celt
Well-Known Member
Get some Mosquito Dunks, break off pieces and soak in water for 24hrs, then use that water to wate your plants and also use as a foliar spray. Will take a few days and maybe a few waterings to kill them all off, but it works And won’t affect your bud.
BedroomFarmer
Well-Known Member
I fought the battle against them it was actually a war. They came and I used Diotomacois earth, dunks, bits, and sticky traps they went away then regrouped came back worse. Used some kinda spray, I think neem or something that helped but they came back with vengeance. when I opened the room they would fly at me a swarm. I had to use azamax. didnt want to but they never came back after probably because I'm more conscious of my waterings
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Ghefredo
Active Member
Thank you guys will look into that
Tony Urban
Well-Known Member
Mosquito dunks work well. I also used a layer of fine sand on top of the soil with diatomaceous earth dusted on top. The sand and DE is like broken glass to to the adults. They don’t reproduce as well.
The dunks kill the larvae and the adults can be dealt with in other ways. I also used sticky traps on the surface.
I have 200 gallons of soil in various bins and stages of compost/amending. I rarely see fungus gnats around these days.
The dunks kill the larvae and the adults can be dealt with in other ways. I also used sticky traps on the surface.
I have 200 gallons of soil in various bins and stages of compost/amending. I rarely see fungus gnats around these days.
GucciDaGrowman
Well-Known Member
A light Azamax does (OMRI certified, not sure why people hate it so much since you aren't spraying the plant, just the top soil) just spray to knock out those living in the top soil and any larvae, sticky traps to catch adults (prevent them from laying eggs), and in my opinion diotomaceous earth is the biggest waste of time. It does not work for anyone I've told about it, it's messy, it turns to a weird paste after it gets wet, and I've watched gnats walk all over it, even dig through it to get to my soil. I'll never waste another dime on it, plus the powder is so fine it goes everywhere including your lungs (not super harmful, but still better not to breathe in any if you don't have to)
The absolute best thing is an organic bacteria culture Bacillus thuringiensis. After a 4-5 weeks of feeding, every single gnat will be gone, it kills larvae (NOT ADULTS) so you still need to control any who are there with traps. But this is the best option as you add it into your water, it does not affect pH or EC, your plants do not take it up, it's by far the most natural way to remove them PERMANENTLY. I always water with it when I buy any new grow medium, regardless if I see any gnats or not, just to be sure. I would bet to say nothing is as safe while being as effective, unless there is some magical trick/product I've yet to hear about.
The absolute best thing is an organic bacteria culture Bacillus thuringiensis. After a 4-5 weeks of feeding, every single gnat will be gone, it kills larvae (NOT ADULTS) so you still need to control any who are there with traps. But this is the best option as you add it into your water, it does not affect pH or EC, your plants do not take it up, it's by far the most natural way to remove them PERMANENTLY. I always water with it when I buy any new grow medium, regardless if I see any gnats or not, just to be sure. I would bet to say nothing is as safe while being as effective, unless there is some magical trick/product I've yet to hear about.
Tony Urban
Well-Known Member
I have had great success with diatomaceous earth elsewhere. I live in a shared complex and my neighbours had ants and they were coming into my basement from their side. I put a small dusting of DE, using a sieve, around my entire basement floor bordering my neighbours.
Within a day the ant traffic was down. Within a week their attempts to find another route failed. Two weeks and no ants trying to get in. When kept dry the DE acts as little knives and damages the exoskeleton of insects.
When used properly DE is effective. Applied as directed it’s safe. My DE is food grade
Fungus gnats are a nuisance. In larger numbers with young plants or seedlings they can do some damage but overall in my experience they are just irritating. If it’s a few here and there, no need to go full agent orange.
If you have a larger infestation, then look to the more serious alternatives like predatory mites/bacteria or insecticides.
Mosquito dunks for the win.
Within a day the ant traffic was down. Within a week their attempts to find another route failed. Two weeks and no ants trying to get in. When kept dry the DE acts as little knives and damages the exoskeleton of insects.
When used properly DE is effective. Applied as directed it’s safe. My DE is food grade
Fungus gnats are a nuisance. In larger numbers with young plants or seedlings they can do some damage but overall in my experience they are just irritating. If it’s a few here and there, no need to go full agent orange.
If you have a larger infestation, then look to the more serious alternatives like predatory mites/bacteria or insecticides.
Mosquito dunks for the win.
Tony Urban
Well-Known Member
Another thing I tried was hydrogen peroxide and water solution. It is also supposed to kill the larvae.
I stopped using it because I use living organic soil and I felt it was also doing harm to the good bacteria and organisms in my soil, not just the fungus gnats larvae.
Using another medium and feeding with bottled nutrients, may allow the use of H2O2 to kill them. But other options presented here may be better. I just looked at ways to do it naturally first.
I stopped using it because I use living organic soil and I felt it was also doing harm to the good bacteria and organisms in my soil, not just the fungus gnats larvae.
Using another medium and feeding with bottled nutrients, may allow the use of H2O2 to kill them. But other options presented here may be better. I just looked at ways to do it naturally first.
This is the exact same way I got rid of them. Worked great. I think it was because I used Miracle Grow Soil from Home Depot. Been using FFOF since & never had an issue.
GucciDaGrowman
Well-Known Member
I'm not denying that it helps reduce them, but why spend money on simply lessening an issue when you could thoroughly eliminate it? Plus, controlling ants vs gnats is a totally different subject, as well as their habitats.
Sure, if there's a few you won't see much root damage, but then you are constantly having to control them. You cannot dress soil with DE and keep it dry permanently, it will absorb water from your soil (once it is wet, it no longer works, as it cannot function properly to kill them). The longer you have even a few, the more DE and traps (horrendous plastic waste) you must buy to continually control the problem and prevent them from repopulating; money wasted in my opinion. The more organic your soil, the more gnats are able to thrive and reproduce in it. I know what DE is and how it works, it just isn't as practical for the long term. It's simply dead Diatom shells, silica. It does not cut them like "knives" or glass, while it is abrasive and sharp, the killing mechanism it has on insects is to dry them out and die by absorbing the oils and fats from the cuticle of the insect's exoskeleton (hence why it is ineffective once wet). Essentially it's death by dehydration.
Simply put, if you have exposed soil, they are smart enough to simply avoid the DE and a single gnat can lay 120 eggs (some studies say 300) a day. I'm not saying DE won't mitigate a gnat takeover, but it will NOT eliminate 100% of them, which is easily achievable with the bascillus, which is as natural as DE. And better yet, no mess, no dust, no wet paste.
Mine finally went away once I took the top few inches of soil and discarded it (far far away) replaced it with new soil, watered with dunks and had yellow traps out to catch the strays.
Now I water from the bottom with dunks and don’t have a gnat problem anymore.
Now I water from the bottom with dunks and don’t have a gnat problem anymore.
The Celt
Well-Known Member
Mosquito Dunks and Bits are Bacillus Thuringiensis var Israeli
First grow I added Mosquito Bits to my water, added yellow stickies and finally raised my pots off the saucers...cheap fix picture from first grow. It finally knocked them down to a few at the end. I think raising the pots for Under ventilation was the game changer...no stagnant drops of water. My current 2nd grow I put a small handful of Mosquito Bits on top of soil when I up-potted from solo cups and kept pots raised. I havent seen one Fgnat so far.
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