---
title: "i became so frustrated with fungus gnats and found out dish soap…"
description: "i became so frustrated with fungus gnats and found out dish soap kills them instantly… i watered some plants with soapy water and i would spray it on the…"
url: "https://getplanta.com/community/lZ7uAE3pQ86jnFGxrCwLrg/649f84c5e54f9bf4de09a1c0"
community: "Anything about plants"
author: "saul"
published: "2023-07-01T01:43:33.361Z"
language: "en"
image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v2/cloudinary/global_data/communities/everythingHousePlants.jpg"
---

[Community](https://getplanta.com/community.md) / [Anything about plants](https://getplanta.com/community/lZ7uAE3pQ86jnFGxrCwLrg.md)

# i became so frustrated with fungus gnats and found out dish soap…

_Posted by saul on 2023-07-01_

i became so frustrated with fungus gnats and found out dish soap kills them instantly… i watered some plants with soapy water and i would spray it on the medium AND the foliage…. and it obviously turned out to be really bad so i ended up killing 80% of my plant collection🫥🫥🫥🫥😩😩😩😩😩😩

## 8 comments

### Danika commented on 2023-07-01

Maybe your ratio of soap to water was way off. Heres what the mix ratio should be:

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/z8NlNnzN2bCQiikKWmC4jfK47VZM9QjYJXPHMlEmazc/70832f448c9a4f5ab1b662b00400e207.webp?size=large)

#### saul replied on 2023-07-01

omggg it was wayyyy offf🥴🥴i had 60% dish soap the rest water. thank you for this!!!!🫶🏼

#### Danika replied on 2023-07-02

Cool, yeah, this recipe will kill all pests, spider-mites, thrips, mealy bugs, etc etc… and not harm your plants.  
But also, fungus gnats are only a thing if there is A) organic matter in your soil (which can be solved by choosing non-organic substrates such as Letchuza Pon, Leca, or certain Aroid mixes (coco coir based) or indoor non-organic soils like Miricle grow makes one).  
B)if there is rot present in the soil, which is caused by overwatering, which is caused by not enough light.

### Jill commented on 2023-07-01

I’m struggling with the same problem and did a post here just a few days ago. Instead of putting dish soap on the plant or in the soil, I have a mixture of dish soap and vinegar in a small dish near the plant. It’s worked some, but the sticky traps right into the plant dirt was most effective.

#### saul replied on 2023-07-01

yess! sticky traps are the way to go, instead of dish soap u should try castille soap, hydrogen peroxide, and neem oil, mix it with water and use as a mist. i spray the soil and foliage, its much safer

### Lazy Gardener commented on 2023-07-01

I have found that placing small ramekins of oil around the plants works too.

### Bogusia commented on 2023-07-01

Sprinkle ground cinnamon around the plant it works for me well

### Liz commented on 2023-07-02

Katchy Duo traps on Amazon. Only thing that saved me.

---

_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_