NEEM OIL TO COMBAT GNATS, HARM MICROBES IN SOIL?

I have a few gnats in the garden, wondering if I water in neem oil to kill the larvae will it have a negative effect on the beneficial microbes in my soil??

Neem oil wont do shit. Neem meal amended to the soil will over time. Top dressing castings and compost will do the best and work the fastest to rid the soil of larva and gnats. It's the cheapest method too.. plus all the bennies from them too.

hyroot said:

Neem oil wont do shit. Neem meal amended to the soil will over time. Top dressing castings and compost will do the best and work the fastest to rid the soil of larva and gnats. It's the cheapest method too.. plus all the bennies from them too.

Click to expand...

exactly how does top dressing compost and castings help get rid of gnat larvae? fungus gnats prefer compost, organic matter, soil etc to lay their eggs in, how is adding more of that to the top of the soil going to make them not lay their eggs there?

gna

MammothGrow said:

exactly how does top dressing compost and castings help get rid of gnat larvae? fungus gnats prefer compost, organic matter, soil etc to lay their eggs in, how is adding more of that to the top of the soil going to make them not lay their eggs there?

Click to expand...

gnats like guano and manure. Gnats dont like compost at all. Compost that doesn't have that won't attract gnats. Any Alaskan humus is good. Or make your own. Castings have chitin which is a bacteria that inhibits pests. All the microbes in both deter pests as well.

hyroot said:

gna

gnats like guano and manure. Gnats dont like compost at all. Compost that doesn't have that won't attract gnats. Any Alaskan humus is good. Or make your own. Castings have chitin which is a bacteria that inhibits pests. All the microbes in both deter pests as well.

Click to expand...

sweet, I actually have Denali Alaskan Humus, Malibu compost, and black gold earthworm castings I use in my AACT. not sure if I have enough to top dress all my pots but we'll see

hyroot said:

gna

gnats like guano and manure. Gnats dont like compost at all. Compost that doesn't have that won't attract gnats. Any Alaskan humus is good. Or make your own. Castings have chitin which is a bacteria that inhibits pests. All the microbes in both deter pests as well.

Click to expand...

MammothGrow said:

exactly how does top dressing compost and castings help get rid of gnat larvae? fungus gnats prefer compost, organic matter, soil etc to lay their eggs in, how is adding more of that to the top of the soil going to make them not lay their eggs there?

Click to expand...

Neem meal has strong anti-reproductive qualities for both insects and humans. This, coupled with vermicompost, chitin, etc helps substantially.

This will help clarify Chitin and it's role in pest suppression:

Chitin, Chitosan, Chitinase – an organic pest control arsenal


Peace!
P-

MammothGrow said:

sweet, I actually have Denali Alaskan Humus, Malibu compost, and black gold earthworm castings I use in my AACT. not sure if I have enough to top dress all my pots but we'll see

Click to expand...

With all respect, start a worm bin, or find fresh castings. Those products are less then the highest quality to say the least.

P-

Pattahabi said:

With all respect, start a worm bin, or find fresh castings. Those products are less then the highest quality to say the least.

P-

Click to expand...

can i just topdress the neem meal to get the benefits? cause its a little too late to mix into the soil. Id love to start a wormbin but i have no room in my house for it and i live at really high elevation and winter is about to start so id have to wait till spring to do it in the yard

MammothGrow said:

can i just topdress the neem meal to get the benefits? cause its a little too late to mix into the soil. Id love to start a wormbin but i have no room in my house for it and i live at really high elevation and winter is about to start so id have to wait till spring to do it in the yard

Click to expand...

Yes, absolutely can top dress it in. I mix vermicompost with neem, kelp sometimes a little crab, top dress the pots. Air circulation, especially around the base of the pots also seems to deter the fliers. Yellow sticky traps. I have yet to resort to it, but many people use Bacillus thuringiensis.

P-

Pattahabi said:

Yes, absolutely can top dress it in. I mix vermicompost with neem, kelp sometimes a little crab, top dress the pots. Air circulation, especially around the base of the pots also seems to deter the fliers. Yellow sticky traps. I have yet to resort to it, but many people use Bacillus thuringiensis.

P-

Click to expand...

As for the nematodes that kill gnat larva, do you know if they are present in most AACT's or do you know which type of compost/ewc/humus they would form on?

MammothGrow said:

As for the nematodes that kill gnat larva, do you know if they are present in most AACT's or do you know which type of compost/ewc/humus they would form on?

Click to expand...

It is my understanding nemotodes do not make it through an act? I believe this is one of the points Tim Wilson was being critical of Elaine on.

From Tim's site:

I’ve received many emails from folks distraught over the fact that they found no nematodes in their ACT or that they had very few. This is normal. Unless you happen to have a species of nematode which is an aquatic dweller, (rare in compost wouldn’t you think) you are very unlikely to have many surviving in ACT over 4 or 5 hours old. Why? Because they drown. A few will survive, which accounts for some making it to the end. Even companies which sell nematodes instruct customers to not leave them in the distribution water more than two hours.

P-

MammothGrow said:

I have a few gnats in the garden, wondering if I water in neem oil to kill the larvae will it have a negative effect on the beneficial microbes in my soil??

Click to expand...

like they said, neem oil won't help, but neem meal will, another thing that works is put a one inch layer of horticultural sand on top that will keep them from getting to the soil, or DM, or biochar, or crab meal mixed with neem meal.

greasemonkeymann said:

like they said, neem oil won't help, but neem meal will, another thing that works is put a one inch layer of horticultural sand on top that will keep them from getting to the soil, or DM, or biochar, or crab meal mixed with neem meal.

Click to expand...

so did the ol potato test for gnat larva by placing slices of potato on top of the soil in a few pots and haven't found any larva on them yet, hopefully this means they are just fruit flies hehe.

MammothGrow said:

so did the ol potato test for gnat larva by placing slices of potato on top of the soil in a few pots and haven't found any larva on them yet, hopefully this means they are just fruit flies hehe.

Click to expand...

hmm, haven't heard of that trick before, can you elaborate a lil? is it to keep the flies from laying eggs?

greasemonkeymann said:

hmm, haven't heard of that trick before, can you elaborate a lil? is it to keep the flies from laying eggs?

Click to expand...

Read somewhere the gnat larva love potatoes so you set a few slices in a few pots and check them every once in awhile, if you don't find any larva on the potato you either don't have bad infestation of fungus gnats or they are just fruit flies. Today ill till up a little bit of the top soil and see if I find any larva, if I do and they aren't on the potato ill know that test is bunk

MammothGrow said:

Read somewhere the gnat larva love potatoes so you set a few slices in a few pots and check them every once in awhile, if you don't find any larva on the potato you either don't have bad infestation of fungus gnats or they are just fruit flies. Today ill till up a little bit of the top soil and see if I find any larva, if I do and they aren't on the potato ill know that test is bunk

Click to expand...

cool, I usually don't get gnats, but that's a cool trick to know

greasemonkeymann said:

cool, I usually don't get gnats, but that's a cool trick to know

Click to expand...

@greasemonkeymann would you do me a favor and look at my post under marijuana plant problems. Phosphorus deficiency in week 4 flower. theirs a few pics. pretty sure its phosphorus deficiency but want some input. thanks man.

MammothGrow said:

@greasemonkeymann would you do me a favor and look at my post under marijuana plant problems. Phosphorus deficiency in week 4 flower. theirs a few pics. pretty sure its phosphorus deficiency but want some input. thanks man.

Click to expand...

sure no problem, I just posted there for you, not certain I can totally be helpful regarding it
I don't think it's a phosphorus issue, those have too much nutes, i'm guessing.

greasemonkeymann said:

sure no problem, I just posted there for you, not certain I can totally be helpful regarding it
I don't think it's a phosphorus issue, those have too much nutes, i'm guessing.

Click to expand...

the one you posted on was some other guys post about phosphorus deficiency but looked like his plant had toxicity going on. the one with the pink haired bud that had leaves that looked like nitrogen overdose. mine is a few below that thread

Hey guys. I'm using Scientific Soils and so far I'm liking the results. I've had a small issues with some of the Micro nuts and a very lite Cal/Mag problem both have been taken care of. The soil has been tested for insects and has come up with nothing but i have these little fliers floating around. I thought they are gnats but now I'm thinking they might be fruit flies. If i spend about 10 mins I can usually kill about 5 of them and have maybe 2-3 left. How would go about getting rid of said fruit flies. Thanks in advance.