How bad are fungus gnats?

For my current cycle, I bought some of those sticky traps that you can stick into your soil. I always get fungus gnats when I use fresh bagged coco, so this time I did a neem soil drench with the usual 5 ml neem oil/liter, then I stuck one of those traps in each pot. After a few days I only saw gnats on one of the traps, so I treated that pot again and they've been gone since. Those traps are kind of an awesome way to see which pots are infected, so you can target them for additional treatments.

Beneficial nematodes is by far my favorite!

Rurumo said:

For my current cycle, I bought some of those sticky traps that you can stick into your soil. I always get fungus gnats when I use fresh bagged coco, so this time I did a neem soil drench with the usual 5 ml neem oil/liter, then I stuck one of those traps in each pot. After a few days I only saw gnats on one of the traps, so I treated that pot again and they've been gone since. Those traps are kind of an awesome way to see which pots are infected, so you can target them for additional treatments.

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Which traps exactly do you use Rurumo?

DrDukePHD said:

Which traps exactly do you use Rurumo?

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Hey! Anything yellow.. lol.

The gnats wont harm the plants its their larva in the root zone that will cause issues..

Get them under control asap. The larve est your roots and the plant will wilt and suffer.
A multi faceted attack is best.

1) Zevo flying insect traps around the house- not in your room.
2) 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide in a gallon of water and dump so the entire top is saturated- no need to drain to waste
3) After the peroxide ( which also helps with root rot) mosquito bits 1/4 cup soaked per gallon of water and dump to get top saturation and a bit more- you can also top dress with some.
4) The yellow stickys - I only use the stickies around my house plants.
5) Treat every house plant with the mosquito bit water 3-4 weeks in a row.

Repeat the mosquito bits a couple times- if you use the peroxide solution again you need to repeat the mosquito bits after as the peroxide will also kill the beneficial bacteria in the soil/ medium.
Don’t take any pest for granted- they work 24/7 breeding and eating.

xtsho said:

If you're doing a living soil you might want to think about using a little neem meal added on top. It's an organic pesticide and fertilizer all in one. It does have an NPK of around 6-1-2 so you need think about that before dumping a bunch on. But a small amount is fine to use and helps with the control of fungus gnats.

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I second that motion! Watched a well-made YouTube vid by a long-time vegetable Gardner who grows in living soil, which is a fungus gnat's paradise, who swears by Neem Cake. It comes in pelletized form and he soaks it, makes a tea and waters his soil with it. He swears that after hundreds of grows, he has NEVER had a fungus gnat problem thanks to Neem Cake.

If you have a few no problem.but ifyou have millions they suck the life out of the plant. And they breed fast if left uncontroled

DrDukePHD said:

Which traps exactly do you use Rurumo?

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Sorry I missed this...I got a pack of a whole bunch on amazon, I like the big sheets for hanging from the top of the tent and I have small ones that I stick in each pot-They dont really stay in place well, so I tape them to the inside of the pot lip, in a spot where they don't interfere with watering. Its interesting, once you start paying attention, how a single pot might be the entire source of the infection, but we don't even realize it. I've had a much easier time controlling them since I started using the traps in each pot-not for control, just to find where they are reproducing.

Mosquito dunks AKA
Bacillus Thuringiensis.
This is another variant of the BT I've used to control Caterpillars outside for the last 10 years.

Found with the Citronella Candles in the outside garden section.
Crush up a dunk and sprinkle a pinch under each plant then water it in. Works for about 30 days.
A couple of Yellow sticky traps will nab the adult Fungal Gnats.

BNW

Rurumo said:

Sorry I missed this...I got a pack of a whole bunch on amazon, I like the big sheets for hanging from the top of the tent and I have small ones that I stick in each pot-They dont really stay in place well, so I tape them to the inside of the pot lip, in a spot where they don't interfere with watering. Its interesting, once you start paying attention, how a single pot might be the entire source of the infection, but we don't even realize it. I've had a much easier time controlling them since I started using the traps in each pot-not for control, just to find where they are reproducing.

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I like using these for sticky traps. I use the yellow ones.

Kushash said:

I like using these for sticky traps. I use the yellow ones.
View attachment 5245199

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I actually love this idea! Thanks

BrassNwood said:

Mosquito dunks AKA
Bacillus Thuringiensis.
This is another variant of the BT I've used to control Caterpillars outside for the last 10 years.
View attachment 5245181
Found with the Citronella Candles in the outside garden section.
Crush up a dunk and sprinkle a pinch under each plant then water it in. Works for about 30 days.
A couple of Yellow sticky traps will nab the adult Fungal Gnats.

BNW

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I throw these over my fence into my neighbors backyard pond...at night...100% necessary

Rurumo said:

I actually love this idea! Thanks

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Yea it would be easier to keep those standing in soil. The other ones have such short posts.

The larvae damage roots. They can slow growth and reduce yields if left untreated. What you need is to keep Bacillus thuringiensis alive in your soil or coco. This can be found in microbial products like Great White and many more. You can also get a product like Mosiquto Bits which is just BT.