BTi, Mosquito Bits become sludge and clogs water pump

[snack420]

Hi fellow growers!

So, I've run into an issue and wondering if anyone else has run into this too and maybe has a good solution for it.

The situation is that I'm growing in coco and both this time and in my previous grow I've had fungus gnats come uninvited to the party. I've been able to control them, but not completely stop them, using a combination of methods including Mosquito Bits, Diatomaceous Earth, H2O2, and yellow sticky traps. The Mosquito Bits (BTi) seems to work very well when used in the nutrient mix, but there is a problem. After a few days, the bits start dissolving a and creating a thick syrupy or sludgy consistency. As I'm using a water pump to move the nutrient mix out of a bucket into a watering can, I'm finding that the pump is starting to clog on the sludgy Mosquito Bits.

Here is a picture of the sludgy bits on the pump...

I've tried washing out the bits from the pump with hot water and the outer stuff comes off, but it seems pretty deep in there and I'm sure the pump will fail completely very soon. Fortunately, the pump itself is very inexpensive so it is easily replaceable, but I'd rather not have to go through several pumps each grow.

Has anyone run into this as well? Have you come up with any good solutions to deal with it?

Thanks for any helpful comments!

 

[vastok]

Neem Oil is your friend, recent lab research has shown neem oil to be systemic, as the plants drink it up and offer considerable protection from the inside too, I suggest a 1/2 teaspoon to a pint hand spray fill with warm water shake and spray 2-3 times per day.

Any plant that got a bug issues often has nute issue too, as bugs will hunt out the weakest plant in your neighborhood

 

[snack420]

Neem Oil is your friend, recent lab research has shown neem oil to be systemic, as the plants drink it up and offer considerable protection from the inside too, I suggest a 1/2 teaspoon to a pint hand spray fill with warm water shake and spray 2-3 times per day.

Any plant that got a bug issues often has nute issue too, as bugs will hunt out the weakest plant in your neighborhood

Cool, I'll have to check that out. Thanks for the info!

So, is this for spraying the plant itself or the medium (i.e. coco)? And, should it be done throughout the plant's lifecycle?

 

[vastok]

either way thats the flexibilty of Neem Oil just avoid direct spray on the nugs, tho it does dissipate quick under uv or on the drying rack too!

 

[HizzyB]

I use rockwool mini cubes and am trying to rid the Bardeen of gnats
Used neem, Sticky traps and now bacillus liquid all the way to 1/4 cup per two gallons fresh water

Does anyone know if the gnat nix works well?