Roots Organic Soil (Free Gnat Larva Included!!)

Yeah so the guy at the local grow store asked me why I've been back and forth with chemicals to rid of gnats. Told him the soil I used, he said that he believes Fungus Gnat Larva was in the soil this summer. Does anyone use this soil and have gnats or have heard anything to this nature? I want to choke those mother fuckers, this is some nasty shit, he said they found worms in the soil too. I don't know why I diverted from Fox Farm just to save a couple bucks. Fuck my life.

.... my RO 707 mix was fine the only bag of FFOF i ever bought this year WAS INFESTED with gnat larva and tiny crawlers

you learned your lesson, now move on and apply that to future grows ::

i've dealt with gnats in every soil i've ever bought including ff. one of the easiest ways to get rid of them is to get some sand and cover the soil with a 1/4 inch of it and let the soil get a little dryer between waterings. don't be scared of breaking out a can of raid house and garden spray to help kill the little bastards, unless your deep in flowering. they're a pain but nothing that you can't get rid of. good luck.

jesus of Cannabis said:

you learned your lesson, now move on and apply that to future grows ::

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unsure where your going with that, but thats for input :/

kevin said:

i've dealt with gnats in every soil i've ever bought including ff. one of the easiest ways to get rid of them is to get some sand and cover the soil with a 1/4 inch of it and let the soil get a little dryer between waterings. don't be scared of breaking out a can of raid house and garden spray to help kill the little bastards, unless your deep in flowering. they're a pain but nothing that you can't get rid of. good luck.

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This makes less oxygen for roots.

I think it's more of how they store it once recieved, check the bags before you buy for rips and holes. If it's stored outside or near a door.
gnats also like warm places. so a store that keeps it's soil indoors in a cool place and bags aren't broke, less likely to have gnats.

yah when i was talkin at the dude at the hydro shop he said that alot of the soils he would get from time to time had gnats or some other bugs and in all cases it was how they were shipoped to them acouple of bags had small holes some were stored outside in the sun specially the bails of promix were

VICTORYGARDENSHYDRO said:

I think it's more of how they store it once recieved, check the bags before you buy for rips and holes. If it's stored outside or near a door.
gnats also like warm places. so a store that keeps it's soil indoors in a cool place and bags aren't broke, less likely to have gnats.

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Yeah no doubt, I am going to transplant my plants from 1 gal to 3 gal, I have a new bag of the soil, can I flush it with mite rid or something before I use it? Is there a way to treat soil before you use it? Thanks for input everyone!

I always get my pro-mix from a local garden shop. They keep the bails under the eve of a building next to their greenhouse no probs but I know gnats! Keep them away from me! I'll kill em I will!

Stalwart said:

I always get my pro-mix from a local garden shop. They keep the bails under the eve of a building next to their greenhouse no probs but I know gnats! Keep them away from me! I'll kill em I will!

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Yeah those rat bastards have got me looking at hydro equipment right now.. Fucking soil pests!

do you have a way to talk to the owner about checking on the bags for infestations then sending the supply back? the guy at my shop said he sends em right back if their infested ( at least i think he does i havent had a problem yet only wiht 1 bag of the FFOF and that was in my dirt mixing room so i had no infests

monterey's insect spray with spinosad, all organic works awesome.

I learned to never buy soil when i bought a bag of black gold that was stored outside. gnats like crazy. now i only buy soil from the hydro store that stores it inside from they moment they get the shippment (good selection too) . Some pretty cool guys work there, i got my bubba and jillybean clones from them they asked to see my paperwork first of course.

ive used black gold for years i dont know about you, but it has never given me a soil problem

303 said:

Yeah no doubt, I am going to transplant my plants from 1 gal to 3 gal, I have a new bag of the soil, can I flush it with mite rid or something before I use it? Is there a way to treat soil before you use it? Thanks for input everyone!

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Bake it in an oven at 80C for an hour. That will get rid of any eggs and grubs. Also kill any weed seeds.

I haven´t tried this one, but have also read to moisten it and microwave until it steams.

Spanishfly said:

Bake it in an oven at 80C for an hour. That will get rid of any eggs and grubs. Also kill any weed seeds.

I haven´t tried this one, but have also read to moisten it and microwave until it steams.

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Seriously?

Trouble with cannabis grow rooms is they are filled with young kids who have never grown anything else.

Sterilising soil is done by gardeners all over - YES SERIOUSLY, 303 - it works well. Good luck.

I got them fuckers too .Gonna switch to something else when I repot for flowering .

Spanishfly said:

Bake it in an oven at 80C for an hour. That will get rid of any eggs and grubs. Also kill any weed seeds.

I haven´t tried this one, but have also read to moisten it and microwave until it steams.

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never tried the microwave. the oven is the way to go, make sure the windows are open and the fans are blowing.

i just read about mixing some alfalfa hay in with your soil about a month before you use it, the nitrogen that the hay puts off is soppose to be hot enough to kill the bugs, i'm trying this right now but can't tell you if it works or not yet. just 2 days in and the soil is still infested. i'm trying this in some of my home mix that i have for my vegtable garden that got contaminated by some fried meat getting mixed in.