Fungus gnats, infested!!PLEASE HELP

I'm two maybe 3 to 4 weeks away from harvest and I have major fungus gnat infestation causing visible damage to my plants and my buds. what can I do to quickly get rid of these pest without harming my girls. I'd like to get rid of the pests and give them at least another 2 weeks to repair themselves!

Hey buddy get a fan to blow over your plants & improve air circulation, you can also get those yellow sticky cards to catch them. More importantly though don't over water as this only encourages those flying pests. Good luck

He said it. Keep the fan lvl with your medium. Your soil needs to be dry on the top while you have them, but the medium itself does not need to be dry. Just the top inch to inch and half. If all else fails, and you have an enclosed enviorment. Ladybugs. They will eat the shit out of them and will not leave an area as long as there's food. The gnats will be the only food source they have. You can buy these locally at garden stores or online. You could obviously go outside and get some as well.
Good Luck.

Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bacillus thuringiensis serotype israelensis (Bti) is a group of bacteria used as biological control agents for larvae stages of certaindipterans. Bti produces toxins which are effective in killing various species of mosquitoes, fungus gnats, and blackflies, while having almost no effect on other organisms. Indeed, this is one of the major advantages of B. thuringiensis products in general is that they are thought to affect few nontarget species.

Bti strains possess the pBtoxis plasmid which encodes numerous Cry and Cyt toxins, including Cry4, Cry10, Cry11, Cyt1, and Cyt2. The crystal aggregation which these toxins form contains at least four major toxic components, but the extent to which each Cry and Cyt protein is represented is not known and likely to vary with strain and formulation. Both Cry and Cyt proteins are pore-forming toxins; theylyse midgut epithelial cells by inserting into the target cell membrane and forming pores.[1]

Commercial formulations include "Mosquito Dunks"/"Mosquito Bits". It is also available in bulk liquid or granular formulations for commercial and public agency use.

Ty bug eye but I'm less than 3 weeks (by my estimate)outside of harvest so I would prefer not to put any additives chemical or spray wise on them.very early on in my grow right before switching to 12/12 I had a small spider mite infestation. I treated for 2 weeks with organocide every 3 to 4 days.It was after that treatment that I noticed the fungus gnats. I also let loose 1500 ladybugs in my 5X5X7 grow room, after 3 weeks of diligent cleaning and spraying I eliminated the spider mites, but I have only been able to keep the fungus gnats in check.surprisingly the organocide I used for the mites seemed to make the gnats worse,probably the fish oil in it! and I think it's mostly because of the lady bugs that are in there that kept the gnat numbers down.they were doing beautiful,just very slow growth.but really no actual damage. like I said I'm about 2 to 3 weeks away from peak maturity and I think the infestation is getting out of hand because instead of maturing from the bottom of the colas to the top I'm noticing yellow pigmentation in my leave veins,tips of my leaves and also tips of the calyxes.They seem to be maturing from the top of the buds instead of the bottom,which leads me to believe its a defciency.with all the research I've done all of the symptoms I'm seeing are tell tale signs of root damage from the fungus gnats. I have not seen a single spider mite or remanence of spider mite damage in over a month and I did not really notice the fungus gnats because the lady bugs were keeping them at bay,but I did have very slowed growth. now as they're reaching their peak maturity the slow growth has turned into actual damage and they're not absorbing their nutrients properly and I've had a buildup of molasses because my ladies haven't been feeding properly due to the damaged roots. so I took them all into the shower last night I cut screens the size of my pots with a hole for the stalk and covered the whole top layer of soil with the screens trapping all the adults under and I weighted it down with gravel and playground sand as recommended by somebody else, and flushed them completely to remove all the molasses build up that hasn't been being absorbed properly due to the root damage. I'm hoping the drenching profusely,drowned most of them and the screen and gravel will now trap the adults under the soil so they are unable to emerge and reproduce.this is not my first grow and my nutrient treatment has always served me well but I assume due to the fungus gnats and their damage to the roots is why I've had a buildup of unabsorbed nutrients. I needed to flush them out anyway just wasn't planning on doing this early. I'm also curious if a 3% peroxide mixture at this stage just to kill off any remaining will harm my flowers? this way they can spend the next 3 weeks healing and actually maturing instead of regressing, which is what they have been doing.

Louisville79 said:

Ty bug eye but I'm less than 3 weeks (by my estimate)outside of harvest so I would prefer not to put any additives chemical or spray wise on them.very early on in my grow right before switching to 12/12 I had a small spider mite infestation. I treated for 2 weeks with organocide every 3 to 4 days.It was after that treatment that I noticed the fungus gnats. I also let loose 1500 ladybugs in my 5X5X7 grow room, after 3 weeks of diligent cleaning and spraying I eliminated the spider mites, but I have only been able to keep the fungus gnats in check.surprisingly the organocide I used for the mites seemed to make the gnats worse,probably the fish oil in it! and I think it's mostly because of the lady bugs that are in there that kept the gnat numbers down.they were doing beautiful,just very slow growth.but really no actual damage. like I said I'm about 2 to 3 weeks away from peak maturity and I think the infestation is getting out of hand because instead of maturing from the bottom of the colas to the top I'm noticing yellow pigmentation in my leave veins,tips of my leaves and also tips of the calyxes.They seem to be maturing from the top of the buds instead of the bottom,which leads me to believe its a defciency.with all the research I've done all of the symptoms I'm seeing are tell tale signs of root damage from the fungus gnats. I have not seen a single spider mite or remanence of spider mite damage in over a month and I did not really notice the fungus gnats because the lady bugs were keeping them at bay,but I did have very slowed growth. now as they're reaching their peak maturity the slow growth has turned into actual damage and they're not absorbing their nutrients properly and I've had a buildup of molasses because my ladies haven't been feeding properly due to the damaged roots. so I took them all into the shower last night I cut screens the size of my pots with a hole for the stalk and covered the whole top layer of soil with the screens trapping all the adults under and I weighted it down with gravel and playground sand as recommended by somebody else, and flushed them completely to remove all the molasses build up that hasn't been being absorbed properly due to the root damage. I'm hoping the drenching profusely,drowned most of them and the screen and gravel will now trap the adults under the soil so they are unable to emerge and reproduce.this is not my first grow and my nutrient treatment has always served me well but I assume due to the fungus gnats and their damage to the roots is why I've had a buildup of unabsorbed nutrients. I needed to flush them out anyway just wasn't planning on doing this early. I'm also curious if a 3% peroxide mixture at this stage just to kill off any remaining will harm my flowers? this way they can spend the next 3 weeks healing and actually maturing instead of regressing, which is what they have been doing.

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BT isn't a spray application or a synthetic chemical. Perfectly safe for late flower as a soil drench. Good luck!

Ty,the screens gravel and sand are making it impossible or at least nearly impossible for the gnats to get in and out of the soil in order to lay their eggs and as they are struggling it gives the ladybugs a much better chance to eat them now I'm curious if flooding them with water consecutively filling and draining, filling and draining etc... during the flush yesterday would have drowned some of them? is that a possibility, do the larvae and pupae dround if submerged in water longer than 60 seconds.I took them all into my shower and flood them repeatedly yesterday and I did this after putting the screen and gravel and sand down this way they could not escape fast enough is it possible that they drowned and that I killed and washed most of them out enough that my plants can recuperate during the next 3 weeks? anybody that can give me some advice on this would be really appreciated. I am only trying to get them back to being healthy just for the next 3 weeks and I'd like to know if what I've done already will be good enough without having to invest more money and also if the peroxide treatment will work?I already have peroxide and if I dilute it with water enough,will it kill off the rest of them? I have fans blowing directly on my medium now and I'm going to leave them that way for the next 3 to 4 days to completely dry out the medium, by that time I will only have about 2 weeks left and I was curious if I should hit them with a 3% peroxide water ratio during my next flush in 5 days after the medium has had time to dry out? like I said I really appreciate the advice so far, its just I don't travel easily,and I have a full schedule and I don't drive.I already have the peroxide.I already made a trip to get the materials that I previously mentioned and it took me about 5 days to find a ride and the time to do that!Is the peroxide harmful? I've heard that it kills the larvae and helps the roots at the same time! I'm just curious if I've heard right, and if it can be done this close to harvest?

well there's 3 things that can get rid of gnats, if you use them together you can get rid of them completely.
1) make a trap using elastic wrap and a container, add some apple vinegar with a couple drops of soap. and put it in your infested area, this should trap a couple in there.
2) buy the yellow stickies for gnats, they sell them at most stores. you can make this by using construction paper and vaseline, or elmers glue. cut squares of yellow construction paper and cover the on one side with the vaseline/glue. place them near your soil and underneath your plants.
3) get rid of couple inches of your topsoil in your plants.replace it with some new soil if needed and cover it with sand.

i have gnat problems once in a while as soon as i see one, i set out traps and they clear out for a while.

I picked up the sand but its calcareous it bubbles when I add a drop of vinegar is this going to harm my flowering plants. I added the drop of vinegar before putting it on top of my soil I read somewhere else that is how you check to see if its calcareous but cannot find any other information besides that one post saying calcareous sand is bad to add to soil

I put an inch of sand on top of the soil. Make sure they can't get to the soil.

My method is pretty easy especially when using smart pots. Get cheap clean dish towels or rags and cover all surface soil. Make sure the fabric is a breathable one so you are not suffocating your roots hence why smart pots are helpful also. Remove rags to water and have enough to replace one set when washing the other rags. It is important that all soil is covered. Your second layer of defense is to pour some red wine into a glass jar around halfway full (they love red wine). Rub petroleum jelly around the lip of jar and top half of the inside of the jar. This should take care of them. Do multiple jars if needed.
Sand is a pain in the rear as it turns into a makeshift cement and cuts down ari exposure to topsoil. You can also combine methods and add traps, neem, and other things. Multiple attack angles it helpful, but I try to stay all natural. Hope this helps. Let us know.

Fucking amateur hour answers. Don't waste your time and money with this other shit. Just get some predator nematodes, they should readily available this time of year locally wherever you are at. They will be eradicated and never seen again with regular maintenance after the first root drench. You'll thank me really.

Didn't think my answer was amateur but did forget to mention predators. Hence my combining other methods comment. Good luck in any method you try.

Hazydat620 said:

Fucking amateur hour answers. Don't waste your time and money with this other shit. Just get some predator nematodes, they should readily available this time of year locally wherever you are at. They will be eradicated and never seen again with regular maintenance after the first root drench. You'll thank me really.

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we're all friends here, no need to act like a douche man. if you have another method of getting rid of gnats, say it... but not like that. it can be difficult to get a hold of predatory nematodes, sometimes even a little expensive but a good way to get rid of them cause they mostly feast on the larvae.

I already got the sand and used it my problem is, its calcareous sand. which means when I added a drop of vinegar to it, and it fizzled. they say that calcareous sand is bad and will cause high pH and possible nutrient lockout if I water them pouring the water through the sand which is now the top inch of my soil! I'm not having any drainage issues or having the sand turn to cement because I allowed my soil to completely dry out before adding the sand last week and the sand was also completely dry.things have been fine for the past 5 days,I can tell because,A)I haven't seen a single gnat since adding it,and,B)when my medium is dry and receiving airration,my room gets extra aromatic[good aromalol]my room has smelled beautiful again now for the first time in weeks!when I first noticed the fungus gnats and the damage they caused, my aroma completely disappeared for almost 3 weeks! But now its back and my girls are starting to thrive again and are starting to hit that peak maturity,amber trich spot.what my concern was, is the sand going to raise my ph now that ive given them theyre final flush yesterday?it's the first and only time ill be passing water through the calcareous sand before harvest.I am only 7 days from harvest and I only watered once yesterday. it was my final flush. I was only worried about watering but didn't get responses in time on my other post and went ahead and watered anyway. distilled water pH balance at 5.8 using a 1/4 cup of plain sugar and 8 ounces of 3%h2o2 mixed into 2 gallons of water. this will be the last time I water them before chopping in 6 days. I'm planning on taking two of them and making them mothers. so I would like to know if what I did will be harmful for what I plan to do,and also if It'll be ok for the next 6 days before chopping them in case having watered them through the calcareous sand will cause nute lockout and if that will do any harm to my harvest? again I haven't seen a single gnat in a week now and they have finally resumed they're maturing! I did the final flush last night and I run my lights from 6 p.m. till 6a.m. so I haven't been able to go in and look at them but I can smell them ! Only 6 days left,and I won't be watering again? will I be okay?

Louisville79 said:

I already got the sand and used it my problem is, its calcareous sand. which means when I added a drop of vinegar to it, and it fizzled. they say that calcareous sand is bad and will cause high pH and possible nutrient lockout if I water them pouring the water through the sand which is now the top inch of my soil! I'm not having any drainage issues or having the sand turn to cement because I allowed my soil to completely dry out before adding the sand last week and the sand was also completely dry.things have been fine for the past 5 days,I can tell because,A)I haven't seen a single gnat since adding it,and,B)when my medium is dry and receiving airration,my room gets extra aromatic[good aromalol]my room has smelled beautiful again now for the first time in weeks!when I first noticed the fungus gnats and the damage they caused, my aroma completely disappeared for almost 3 weeks! But now its back and my girls are starting to thrive again and are starting to hit that peak maturity,amber trich spot.what my concern was, is the sand going to raise my ph now that ive given them theyre final flush yesterday?it's the first and only time ill be passing water through the calcareous sand before harvest.I am only 7 days from harvest and I only watered once yesterday. it was my final flush. I was only worried about watering but didn't get responses in time on my other post and went ahead and watered anyway. distilled water pH balance at 5.8 using a 1/4 cup of plain sugar and 8 ounces of 3%h2o2 mixed into 2 gallons of water. this will be the last time I water them before chopping in 6 days. I'm planning on taking two of them and making them mothers. so I would like to know if what I did will be harmful for what I plan to do,and also if It'll be ok for the next 6 days before chopping them in case having watered them through the calcareous sand will cause nute lockout and if that will do any harm to my harvest? again I haven't seen a single gnat in a week now and they have finally resumed they're maturing! I did the final flush last night and I run my lights from 6 p.m. till 6a.m. so I haven't been able to go in and look at them but I can smell them ! Only 6 days left,and I won't be watering again? will I be okay?

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nice man! yeah sand usually gets rid of them in like 1-2 days. it prevents them from digging up into/out of the soil. goodluck man, stay lifted