Possible problem with gnats

[Bimmer85]

When checking my girls tonight I noticed some knats flying around, havent noticed them before but they stuck out today for some reason. Anyway what worries me is the top of the soil seems to have tiny white dot/egg looking things. Id post some pics but you cant seem them in the light. Ill try tomorrow in the sunlight. Now it might just be my soil mix but I never noticed them until now. Should I be concerned? I have heard of using regular play sand to combat this problem but have no idea how to do it. Anyone have this problem before? How did it work out?

 

[Jimmycricket]

Re: Possible problem with knats...

a few fungus gnats are not gonna kill nothing. Its only when you got a huge infestation that you gotta start worrying.

For now just go get some fly paper and stick it near the base of the plants. If problems become severe get some diotomacious earth.

 

[JJ Bones]

Re: Possible problem with knats...

Fungus Gnats can be controlled by allowing the growing medium to dry between watering.

Some insecticides and biological control agents can be used to control fungus gnats larvae in growing media.

the fungus gnats babies are called larvae. The larvae are usually clear or white in color with a shiny black head.

Fungus gnat larvae hang out in the root area typically only inches from the soil level.

What do the Fungus Gnats larvae do to cause harm to my plants?

The fungus gnats babies cause your plant to become weak by feeding on tender new roots and leaves… These little pests are also carriers for disease, which can be passed on to your healthy plants.

The larvae eggs are laid by the fungus gnat females on the surface of the moist soil, typically by the plants stem.

Now that we know what fungus gnats & their larvae are, let’s discuss how we can keep them out of our grow rooms. There are several different methods you can choose from; however we recommend that you use them all for ultimate success!

Method 1 – Use a Dust Shroom or Bug Screen to cover your intake air. Basically anywhere you have air being pushed into your grow room, should be filtered. An easy way to filter the air is to use a dust shroom/bug screen which will keep all dust and bugs out of the grow space.

Method 2 – When growing in soil, the fungus gnats will be attracted to the moisture. Letting your soil dry between watering’s will help reduce gnats from finding your garden attractive. It’s important not to let your plants starve, but let the soil dry, on the surface is a good idea.

Method 3– Place something on top of the soil which will block the fungus gnats from laying their eggs. A great product is the coco-caps which you can place at the base of your plant. This will do two things; it will prevent gnats from spreading and also help your soil surface avoid algae.
Diatomaceous Earth

Bonus Tip: Use a product such as Diatomaceous Earth to Kills Fungus Gnats. Diatomaceous Earth is a sharp material that will stab soft bodied insects such as Fungus Gnats stopping them in their tracks.

(Don’t worry it’s too small to cause harm to humans).

Method 4 – The all-around bug eliminating product is Aza-Max. We’ve used this product for the past 3 years along with or grow coach clients. When used properly, nearly all growers have completely gotten rid of ALL their bug issues.

 

[Weed420]

Re: Possible problem with knats

A plate of molasses will take care of the gnats. If it looks like they're laying eggs spray some neem oil on the soil. Gnats don't generally hurt anything except they stick to the sticky buds and you end up smoking them.lol

 

[JJ Bones]

Re: Possible problem with knats

The larvae is the issue, not the gnats. Gnat babies will eat roots.

 

[Icemud]

Re: Possible problem with knats

Best remedy that I have found in soil grows..

Use mosquito dunks every 2 to every third watering...

get yellow sticky cards and put them everywhere under your canopy, cut them in half and put them on your soil...anywhere its damp or shaded...

This keeps the gnats at bay in my grows...I may see 1 or 2 here and there..but with the dunks in the soil, they can't reproduce

If you have a really bad infestation (you will notice hundreds if not thousands of thread like, clear larvae in the soil) then go with a soil drench like SNS, azamax, azatrol or gnatrol.

 

[Bimmer85]

Re: Possible problem with knats

I hung some sticky fly paper next to the plants and its seems to be doing its job

 

[Jimmycricket]

Re: Possible problem with knats

Good

With proper watering and a bit of fly paper gnats really arnt a problem. All soil growers will see some. But for most of us they arnt a big deal.

 

[420]

Re: Possible problem with knats

I hear this does the best for gnats and it's all natural.
SNS-203™ Kills and Repels Fungus Gnats, Root Aphids, Thrips, Shore Flies and White Flies.

 

[HydroGrowTents]

Re: Possible problem with knats

The best thing you can do to really get rid of gnats is to cut off their food supply. Gnats love fungus, and fungus loves moisture! Stucked foods like overripe bananas or peaches and over-watered plants are some of the many sources of fungus and moisture.

You need to get rid of these gnats and the larvae the earliest possible time because they feed on the roots. If the infestation gets serious and the population is really big , it might damage the root hairs of the plants.

Just make sure to dry your soil completely before the next watering. You can also use a vacuum cleaner from windows and from around the plants and use fly paper as well.

Hope this would help!