okay currently have fungus gnats running rampant through my house i’ve tried 2 different insecticides with no improvement i need to know if what i think will help actually will i’m planning to give all my plants 100% new soil add sand on top along with diatomaceous earth and try a new gnat killer given to me by my local nursery also wondering if maybe rocks at the bottom of the planters would help too?? i dont know i go out of town at the end of the month and am lowkey panicking 😅
Rocks not on the bottom but on the top. Also this is old school but i swear it works. Get a plastic cup , put old fruit in it then put plastic wrap on top with a rubberband to seal the top. Poke little holes with a toothpick through the plastic wrap and set then near the gnats. When the cup is pretty full grab another piece of plastic wrap and put it on top of the cup and make a mad dash out to the dumpster or garbage. Repeat until you don't see them anymore. Also bottom water for awhile.
0 J'aime see that’s the thing is i have always bottom watered so at this point im thinking its a soil issue and its the wrong kind and it’s holding to much moisture for to long maybe??
0 J'aimeHydrogen peroxide and water mix can help killing eggs. The thing is with that is that you cannot overdo it. I would get some mosquito bits and let it soak in water then give anytime you water your plant(s). This should help killing eggs and the adults. I wish you the best of luck 🫡
0 J'aimeYou should also get yellow sticky traps! It helps attract the adults
0 J'aime i think that’s what my nursery gave me if i remember correctly and i have the yellow traps i just can’t seem to get them under control at all i set a plant down a little to had yesterday and i swear i saw 20 fly out ive already lost 2 plants cause of them
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I use Summit Mosquito Bits for fungus gnats, and found that was the most effective. You have to make a “tea” out of it, where you boil some water, let it cool to a warm temperature, then place the bits in a tea bag or something similar to a tea bag and pour the hot water into a container or bottle (I reuse juice bottles to make it easy to store it), then add the mosquito bit tea bags in to let the water turn into a mosquito bit tea. Once the tea is made (there’s also instructions for all of this in the back of the mosquito bit bag), pour it into a watering can or water bottles, then use it to water your plants until you run out of tea. It’ll kill the larvae the gnats lay, but you’ll have to repeat this every 2 weeks until you stop seeing adults flying around. For the adults, I would recommend the diamatecous earth you mentioned. Some folks use sand, but I personally haven’t had to after using the mosquito bits. In terms of a long-term solution, bottom-watering your plants (if you’re new to that, look up “how to bottom water a plant” on YouTube), allowing the soil to dry out between waterings, and making sure the soil in well-draining to begin with should help reduce the frequency of fungus gnats in general. Sticky traps are also great for the adults. The other nice perk to the mosquito bits is that they’re safe to use around pets, and can be used to kill mosquitoes as well, so you can add them to soil or make the same tea and water your garden with it to stop mosquitoes from coming into your house or setting up camp in your garden. Hope this helps 🌱
Changing soil can help get rid of most of the larvae in the soil and the eggs on the top soil. Soil change can remove the root rot that follows the wet soil the gnats thrive in. Everything else you mentioned will only prevent or slow the soil from drying out and prolong the infestation. Again, fungus gnats need consistently wet soil to thrive. Also, rocks on top of the soil slows the soil from drying out benefiting the gnats. Try Mosquito Bits or the liquid equivalent, BMC Lift, with water to kill the larvae inside the soil. This stops the life cycle. Yellow sticky traps catch the adults until the infestation clears up. Let the soil dry down more between watering. This means checking the moisture content of the soil with a wooden meat skewer or chop sticks. Don’t follow strict watering schedules without verifying the plant actually needs water. 🪴🍀
1 j'aime thank you for the feedback i really appreciate it! i’m gonna try replacing the soil and also get some mosquito bits to make the ‘tea’ for watering and top with diatomaceous earth some people on another forum said that’ll help with the adults? or is the yellow sticky traps and the plug in ones my only defense with those?
1 j'aime I would not use the diatomaceous earth (DE). It’s used in pool fillers to strain algae and debris. It acts like sand and can slow the soil drying out. It doesn’t kill the adults who lay their eggs on top of the soil. Use the yellow sticky traps or plug in bug traps to catch the adults.
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I switched to this microbiolift, a couple of drops in a gallon water jug, and use it every watering. Killed off 80% of the gnats in weeks. And been using it for a few months now, no gnats, expect an occasional one from outside. And I have 400+ plants.... so a few 😆 its made for mosquitos in fish ponds, same ingredients as in mosquito bits, but less fuss and works way better
