What are these little bugs? Showed up last year and now everywhere.

[MackMurder]

Any idea what these are and how i get rid of them? Their on my cieling. Walls. Flyi g around my plants.
Last bug problem i had was thrips. Once i got rid of soil growing and used a bunch of diamatus earth (sp?) They went away. Now i got these annoying little flies. Thousands of them in my grow room. Their tiny..dont seem to hurt the plant. But now ive got the odd one coming upstairs to my living space.

 

[Chrondocious]

Looks like fungus gnats. I'm in living soil, so I use predatory mites to control them.

 

[MackMurder]

Looks like fungus gnats. I'm in living soil, so I use predatory mites to control them.

Interesting. Im using a flood table thats sealed off so no soil here to put mites into.
Theres no markings on my leaves underneath or on top. Nothing on the stem. No eggs. Nothing. My air does come from outside. I have an intake on a window. With no tiny mesh screen. Mayne i should consider that. Then just use a vacuum to suck em up. Or some extreme heat when my grows done in a month.

 

[ThirdUncle]

Fungus gnates for sure , they are tough to get rid off

 

[stinker]

I use a a product that contains Bti, and add it to my water/feed. Usually 1 application is enough. It always works for me. Mosquito dunks in the states. "Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti), which have an effect on the larvae of various mosquito species. While the larvae are feeding, the active ingredients enter the intestines and prevent nutrient absorption there. Bti has a specific effect on mosquito larvae (sickness gnats and related species). Other organisms in the soil or water are not harmed."

 

[ThirdUncle]

they live in the substrate , eggs , larve ,& adults , i make a tobacco tea & spray the surface of the potting mix every second day , it works but have to stay on top for for a couple of weeks , i dont smoke tobacco so dont like to us it when the ganja is in flower

 

[MackMurder]

Fungus gnates for sure , they are tough to get rid off

I use a a product that contains Bti, and add it to my water/feed usually 1 application is enough. It always works for me. Mosquito dunks in the states. "Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti), which have an effect on the larvae of various mosquito species. While the larvae are feeding, the active ingredients enter the intestines and prevent nutrient absorption there. Bti has a specific effect on mosquito larvae (sickness gnats and related species). Other organisms in the soil or water are not harmed."

Is that only for soil tho?

Its super weird that i have fungus gnats who live and breed and grow in soil. I havent had soil in my grow room for two years and they just showed up a couple months ago. I have no organic material whatsoever other than my 8 plants but they have no roots exposed. Everything is underneath panda film which is sealed. I have no dead foliage rotting anywhere. No dirt. Nothing. Just a resevoir i change out every 2 weeks.

im not denying i have them there obviously there but how their there is a bloody mystery.

 

[CaptainLucky]

Interesting. Im using a flood table thats sealed off so no soil here to put mites into.
Theres no markings on my leaves underneath or on top. Nothing on the stem. No eggs. Nothing. My air does come from outside. I have an intake on a window. With no tiny mesh screen. Mayne i should consider that. Then just use a vacuum to suck em up. Or some extreme heat when my grows done in a month.

I use mosquito dunks for fungus gnats and it works great . I put a busted up dunk in a gl. of very hot water and then let it seep in. When it has a yellow hue I use it with my nutrients. CL

 

[stinker]

Is that only for soil tho?

Not sure, google. It should be fine as its not a poison but spores.

 

[ThirdUncle]

its not a poison but spores.

Ok sounds interesting @stinker

 

[Sparkey224]

Good to see you around Mack still at it bro

 

[MackMurder]

Good to see you around Mack still at it bro

Still around brother. Life has been overly busy with work and our little family. Been trying to get back into the forums part time I will have to make more of an effort. Glad to see your still around and well

 

[Chrondocious]

Is that only for soil tho?

Its super weird that i have fungus gnats who live and breed and grow in soil. I havent had soil in my grow room for two years and they just showed up a couple months ago. I have no organic material whatsoever other than my 8 plants but they have no roots exposed. Everything is underneath panda film which is sealed. I have no dead foliage rotting anywhere. No dirt. Nothing. Just a resevoir i change out every 2 weeks.

im not denying i have them there obviously there but how their there is a bloody mystery.

Yeah idk ...you using an organic solution? Or they could just be attracted from outside like you said. Lights, heat, humidity. Plants look great!

 

[Sueet]

BTi aka mosquito dunks (bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) are a substrate of sorts that carries the dormant BTi, you can make a tea of it and apply it as watering, but .... You have to know where they are nesting, because the BTi only works by munching on the baby gnats when they are eggs/first born, so they don't get to mature. If you don't have a breeding site, it can't help you, it doesn't affect the flying adults.

 

[seaofgreen18]

Looks like fungus gnats. I'm in living soil, so I use predatory mites to control them.

Cool ,me to! also rove beetles and nematodes i get stragglers of fungus gnats every once in a while but they DON'T live to long .
I go beneficial insects because bugs don't build up immunity to being eaten like they can with pesticides be besides pesticides are damaging to other beneficial insects and the environment.
So Prevention is and A good IPM (Integrated Pest Management) is what you want to do, keep the sticky traps around, get yellow ones to monitor, but adult fungus gnats are just a nuisance its the larvae that do the damage! They feed on your roots so the above mentioned will do the trick but there's several routes to go when getting of these so im be sure you'll get other ideas from others here that might fit your set up better

 

[seaofgreen18]

Is that only for soil tho?

Its super weird that i have fungus gnats who live and breed and grow in soil. I havent had soil in my grow room for two years and they just showed up a couple months ago. I have no organic material whatsoever other than my 8 plants but they have no roots exposed. Everything is underneath panda film which is sealed. I have no dead foliage rotting anywhere. No dirt. Nothing. Just a resevoir i change out every 2 weeks.

im not denying i have them there obviously there but how their there is a bloody mystery.

You don't need soil to draw them in Something is Stinky and icky are drawing or excessive moisture you have a issue somewhere that they smell and like and you don't need soil to get them damp dank conditions will attract them like a stinky dirty hydro res or like root rot is attractive to them so actually having an infestation is A sign of something else you might want to look for as well

 

[SmokingWings]

Is that only for soil tho?

The bacteria found in the Mosquito Dunks or Bits was developed for killing Mosquito larvae which are found in lakes, ponds and other bodies of water. It seems like the scientists found out by accident that the Bti worked for Fungus Gnat larvae which live in moist soil.

Its super weird that i have fungus gnats who live and breed and grow in soil. I havent had soil in my grow room for two years and they just showed up a couple months ago. I have no organic material whatsoever other than my 8 plants but they have no roots exposed. Everything is underneath panda film which is sealed. I have no dead foliage rotting anywhere. No dirt. Nothing. Just a resevoir i change out every 2 weeks.

I have read reports from growers who have found Fungus Gnats in hydro style grows, usually in the ones with coco coir or peat moss. Some have found them in the root mass in a basket hanging over the water.

Even if the Panda Film is sealed there still is a gap where the plant stem come through. When working on plant maintenance take a look to check to see if you notice an adult gnat flying in or out of that gap. Look for any damp or wet areas in the grow room such as wet wood or paper or cardboard.

I break up one Mosquito Dunk into four pieces and put one piece in each 5 gallon bucket of rain water. Takes about 3 weeks before it breaks up and I replace it a week later. That is still overkill since the back of the package says one dunk is enough to treat 100 square feet of water surface no matter how deep. That is a lot of 5 gallon buckets. And, the company says that the dunk only has to be in the water for a day or two to release the bacteria and it can be removed, dried out and used again later on for another bucket of water.

If I did not have several buckets under the drip edge of my outside rain catcher I would get by with sprinkling a pinch of Mosquito Bits over surface of each pot of soil and let the watering sessions slowly release the bacteria.