--- title: "How in the world do I keep getting fungus gnats??? I water my plants…" description: "How in the world do I keep getting fungus gnats??? I water my plants once a week, and only if the soil is dry which happens pretty quickly because I have my…" url: "https://getplanta.com/community/lKxUkhzRR_aIJD7o1QvtwQ/ghH0j6AMfFFN2a0dWe8eCb" community: "Pests, diseases and problems" author: "MegaGayLordofPlants" published: "2026-05-28T15:17:21.414943Z" language: "en" image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v2/cloudinary/global_data/communities/pestsDiseasesAndProblems.jpg" --- [Community](https://getplanta.com/community.md) / [Pests, diseases and problems](https://getplanta.com/community/lKxUkhzRR_aIJD7o1QvtwQ.md) # How in the world do I keep getting fungus gnats??? I water my plants… _Posted by MegaGayLordofPlants on 2026-05-28_ How in the world do I keep getting fungus gnats??? I water my plants once a week, and only if the soil is dry which happens pretty quickly because I have my plants mostly in direct to indirect bright sunlight. I’ve dried all my plants out for at least a month to the point i accidentally killed off a few of my plants. It’s been a month of me returning to my regular watering schedule and yet again I’m dealing with them. Would switching to bottom watering help after replacing all my soil? :( ## 13 comments ### That\_Planter commented on 2026-05-28 Repot and or replace soil and or bottom water and you can do a potato trap - slice a potato and when gnats get on it just toss it they like potato. ### Jen commented on 2026-05-28 They don't like hydrogen peroxide, so you can make a mixture to water the plants with and it won't harm them. It just gives them extra oxygen. It will however, kill the eggs down where the roots are, which is the issue. Then you can make a spray with the hydrogen peroxide to spray the adults or you can do like I do , and just vacuum those suckers up lol. #### ABagel replied on 2026-05-28 What’s the ratio of hydrogen peroxide to water? ### Rachel commented on 2026-05-28 Mosquito bits tea. I use it religiously. No fungus gnats. ### Springvision commented on 2026-05-28 I use Happy Happy Houseplant's fungus gnat death drops every watering, along with yellow sticky traps. I had a horrible infestation, but finally after a few months of continuous use to break the cycle, I am gnat free. ### LM commented on 2026-05-28 I had the same issue and this worked. Put mosquito bits in your watering can let soak for 30 min then water. It kills the gnat larvae and get the yellow sticky traps for the adults. Keep using the mosquito bits until they are gone. It won’t hurt your plants. There are measurements on the bag of mosquito bits! Good luck! ### Erika commented on 2026-05-28 The best thing I have found for fungus gnats is using a product called mosquito bits. There are little granules that you soak in water and then you spray that water on the soil and the leaves of the plant. It does not harm the plant and it kills and deters the fungus gnats. I also keep little sticky traps in my plants, and that seems to catch the bugs that fly around. It is very hard to get rid of fungus gnats and once you have one of them, you have all of them. (Ignore the one sticky trap that looks like it has fluffy hair on it, my cat decided to jump up on the table and got some of herself stuck to the sticky trap lol) ![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/R_qhi1w2kIKYdkZqrQCfvsAw4iAHI0qTGc8VAQfz8js/Ig8OT-1nSrejPaJ8is8FWA.webp?size=large) ### Oleander Mom commented on 2026-05-28 I got an infestation about 18 months ago. Took me about 6 months to totally get rid of them. I tried it all. I would look seriously at any plants that don’t have great drainage first. I had one that was the big breeder they loved. It went outside. It was in a big ceramic pot. Gnats love those. I tried every suggestion. Just do the mosquito bits tea every watering until they are gone. Keep the yellow sticky tabs in them to monitor how many you are catching. I also had a Zevo trap going all the time to monitor the amount. If you can put some plants outside, do that to reduce the amount that you are clearing up inside. ### Dondoo52 commented on 2026-05-29 If you add mosquito bits to your watering container be sure not to leave them bc they will mold if left longer than stated 😖. I also used systemic granules which knocked them all out! ![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/0yu1hcgdvrpbEzNfd-P-aauuwlVhDLE4RlHG4Kt0X1k/Aqwp1uJbRUypqjAqAKBFjw.webp?size=large) ### ST commented on 2026-05-29 I had to repot every plant and bleached/washed all my pots. Also, I vow to never buy miracle grow soil again, because I think that’s how I brought them home! ### ZucchiniZaddy commented on 2026-05-29 cut up mosquito dunks and soak them in water and get fly traps the yellow sticky ones, you can’t get rid of them if there are still adults to lay eggs [More comments](https://getplanta.com/community/lKxUkhzRR_aIJD7o1QvtwQ/ghH0j6AMfFFN2a0dWe8eCb.md?cursor=GPHDv-AGtBhQb3N0cy5HZXRBbGwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADZKnUwZ2DhGA) --- _Source: the Planta community (https://getplanta.com). Reading is open to everyone. To post, comment and like, get the Planta app: https://getplanta.com/download_