Fungus Gnats

TJ_BASS

TJ_BASS

Well-Known Member
Hey I spotted a couple fungus gnats around my seedlings. Can any of you guys recommend a way to help stop and prevent them?
I’m thinking of grabbing beneficial nematodes to stop the larvae but what can I use to stop the adult gnats?
Also can the gnats damage my seedlings they just breached the soil not to long ago please help!
 
H

hamstring

Member
I'm new to indoor my self but diatomaceous earth will kill them on the surface but not there eggs below the surface. There is quite a few products that will work in the soil.

My understanding is your soil may be a bit to wet. Try drying it out. For me its a bit tougher because I use blumats to water so I do not have a dry period. Someone with more experience will jump on I'm sure. I had them too but not enough to bother the yeild/harvest. Good to get them under control though.
Good Luck
 
spliffendz

spliffendz

Well-Known Member
Sticky traps, potato slice on top of soil to attract the larvae and then remove slice, apple cider vinegar in a cup with a drop of soap, slap the pots and squish what flies out, vaseline on edges of pot,

They killed a lot of my seedlings I assume by eating the roots but I'm no scientist, also heard they can spread disease to plants.

If the seedlings are small, put them in a ziplocker, this will trap the gnats when they fly out, then you can see them and squish them through the baggie

gnat lives matter - not
 
TJ_BASS

TJ_BASS

Well-Known Member
I did kind of keep the seedlings a little moist, I put a fan on them to dry a little quicker.
And thanks guy I’ll definitely try some of these methods.
 
PadawanWarrior

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
TJ_BASS said:
Can you explain to me how this would kill them off?
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EWC should have some hypoaspis miles predatory mites. Fungus gnats are their favorite food. I top dressed my original FFOF with Wiggle Worm EWC my first round. I haven't seen a gnat in over a year and a half now and I've been using the same soil, it's just been turned into no-till.

@Renfro always has good advice too.
 
I

inth3shadowz

Well-Known Member
PadawanWarrior said:
EWC should have some hypoaspis miles predatory mites. Fungus gnats are their favorite food. I top dressed my original FFOF with Wiggle Worm EWC my first round. I haven't seen a gnat in over a year and a half now and I've been using the same soil, it's just been turned into no-till.

@Renfro always has good advice too.
Click to expand...
Interesting, I keep seeing a few gnats still flying around. I have some EWC in a bag I bought. Will this cause a nute burn if I already fed with liquid nutes?
 
PadawanWarrior

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
inth3shadowz said:
Interesting, I keep seeing a few gnats still flying around. I have some EWC in a bag I bought. Will this cause a nute burn if I already fed with liquid nutes?
Click to expand...
EWC are really mild. You won't burn anything. Top dress away. A 2" layer would be good if you have the space in the pot.

Then throw a couple yellow sticky traps in there to catch the fliers.
 
PadawanWarrior

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
There's also nematodes, bacteria and other good shit in EWC. The vermicompost that I use now from Build a Soil also has rove beetles and springtails in it.

This is a good link about organic ways to get rid of them.
www.kisorganics.com

How To Deal With Fungus Gnats Organically

Fungus gnats (Ofelia and Bradysia species) are tiny flies similar to mosquitoes in appearance, though smaller at only 1/16th to 1/8th of an inch long. You may notice fungus gnats when you disturbing the soil or flying around near your lights. Females lay eggs in the soil and the larvae have a...
www.kisorganics.com www.kisorganics.com
 
I

inth3shadowz

Well-Known Member
spliffendz said:
I'm trying the potato thing out of curiosity, will get back to you when potatoes start growing
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So, I just wanted to come back to this thread and say, the only way I was able to see a decrease in the gnats was to actually top layer with about an inch of sand. I've only seen 1 since. Before, I could hit the pot and theyd fly out. Im hoping slowly they'll suffocate and die! lol
 
PadawanWarrior

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
inth3shadowz said:
So, I just wanted to come back to this thread and say, the only way I was able to see a decrease in the gnats was to actually top layer with about an inch of sand. I've only seen 1 since. Before, I could hit the pot and theyd fly out. Im hoping slowly they'll suffocate and die! lol
Click to expand...
Did you try the EWC thing?
 
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