Fungus Gnats
- Thread starter zshaw369
- Start date
chernobong
Active Member
tobacco tea read about it its killing all my pests organic also ,,,, im using it on one that is 4 th week flowering not hurting her a bit 
spider mites dead sprayed the top of the soil too theese pics are almost 2 dayz after treatment
chernobong
Active Member
I used american spirit ... No butts or additive tobacco
Nullis
Moderator
This topic has been done to death. From experience I can tell you that if you have an gnat infestation you need to take multiple steps in order to eradicate them completely. Fungus gnats have a 4 week life cycle; females lay hundreds of eggs in the soil, larvae live in the soil, pupate and then emerge as adults. In order to bring control you must take measures to kill not only the adults but also the eggs and/or larvae. Easiest measures you can take are using sticky traps (of all kinds) and vacuuming daily around the pots to rid yourself of as many adults as possible... then you'll need something else to kill the larvae. For that I would recommend Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis), sold at every home improvement store as Mosquito Dunks (Mosquito Bits and other Bti products are just less available). The Bti bacteria produces a toxin or larvacide that only kills a few species of insect larvae including fungus gnat and mosquito larvae. If you get the Dunks: break it in half, crush it up good or hit it with [an old] coffee grinder (that you wont use again for grinding any coffee), soak the powdered dunk in a gallon of water for 12-24 hours and then water your plants with it. Re-apply every other week.
Matt Rize
Hashmaster
What nullis said, plus another level.
buy some neem cake from www.neemresource.com and mix that into your potting soil. then use it to top dress every 4 weeks or so. that with sticky cards, lots of sticky cards, has been working well for me. of most importance is watering correctly. too much or too often means gnats will explode.
buy some neem cake from www.neemresource.com and mix that into your potting soil. then use it to top dress every 4 weeks or so. that with sticky cards, lots of sticky cards, has been working well for me. of most importance is watering correctly. too much or too often means gnats will explode.
Donnybrook
Well-Known Member
The safest & cheapest way to rid those pesky little feckers is go to the Dollar store & spend $2 on a plant mister & a bottle of 70 or 99 % Isopropyl Alcohol . Mix approx 25% ISO to 75% water , Shake & spray liberally on the soil & any gaps between the soil & pot . Watch those drunken little feckers turn into Organic Matter fer further plant enhancement . Do this 2 x daily for 2 - 3 days & yer good as gold .
I think the little feckers die Humanly with a good Alchool Buzz so I reckon this process is more than likely PETA Approved er soon , pending approval ,,,
I think the little feckers die Humanly with a good Alchool Buzz so I reckon this process is more than likely PETA Approved er soon , pending approval ,,,
Otokehort
Member
Put down your flame throwers and think about Bio control as a first step. Steinernema feltiae predatory nematodes applied as a drench is the basic approach we recommend .. let those guys eat up your fungus gnats that are being harbored in your roots.
Always check your roots if you have fungus gnats.. they could be compromising your entire crop by weakening your roots. We suggest steinernema be added to your media with each transplant.
If the infestation has reached a point of no return (bio's won't do it) and we recommend application of Spinosad applied in a drench . Spinosad is a broad spectrum insecticide made from specific soil microbes. Be casreful to follow instructions to avoid allowing your pests from building up a resistance. There is also a 4 hour minimum reentry interval after application ... protect yourself and stay out of the room for those 4 hours. In spite of that precaution, Spinosad products are gaining a reputation as an organic garden friendly tool.
We also successfully used Spinosad for a severe thrips outbreak at one of our clients ... their careful use saved their operation.
Availability and sources:
Spinosad is a patented product developed by Dow AgroSciences (Baker 1993; Boek et al. 1994). Several formulations are widely distributed.
OMRI Listed Products:
Non OMRI -Listed Products: Conserve® (Dow AgroSciences)
GF-120® Fruit Fly Bait (Dow AgroSciences)
Success® Naturalyte (Dow AgroSciences)
SpinTor® (Dow AgroSciences)
Tracer® (Dow AgroSciences)
Spinosad® Home and Garden (Dow AgroSciences)
Always check your roots if you have fungus gnats.. they could be compromising your entire crop by weakening your roots. We suggest steinernema be added to your media with each transplant.
If the infestation has reached a point of no return (bio's won't do it) and we recommend application of Spinosad applied in a drench . Spinosad is a broad spectrum insecticide made from specific soil microbes. Be casreful to follow instructions to avoid allowing your pests from building up a resistance. There is also a 4 hour minimum reentry interval after application ... protect yourself and stay out of the room for those 4 hours. In spite of that precaution, Spinosad products are gaining a reputation as an organic garden friendly tool.
We also successfully used Spinosad for a severe thrips outbreak at one of our clients ... their careful use saved their operation.
Availability and sources:
Spinosad is a patented product developed by Dow AgroSciences (Baker 1993; Boek et al. 1994). Several formulations are widely distributed.
OMRI Listed Products:
Conserve® Fire Ant Bait (Dow AgroSciences)
Entrust® , (Dow AgroSciences)
Justice® Fire Ant Bait(Dow AgroSciences)
GF-120 NF Naturalyte® Fruit Fly Bait (Dow AgroSciences)
References to OMRI listed products in this Guide are based on the June 2004 edition of the OMRI Brand Name List. Please consult www.omri.org for changes and updates in the brand name product listings.Entrust® , (Dow AgroSciences)
Justice® Fire Ant Bait(Dow AgroSciences)
GF-120 NF Naturalyte® Fruit Fly Bait (Dow AgroSciences)
Non OMRI -Listed Products: Conserve® (Dow AgroSciences)
GF-120® Fruit Fly Bait (Dow AgroSciences)
Success® Naturalyte (Dow AgroSciences)
SpinTor® (Dow AgroSciences)
Tracer® (Dow AgroSciences)
Spinosad® Home and Garden (Dow AgroSciences)
Wolverine97
Well-Known Member
Also, nematodes.
wopnasty
Active Member
I think I purchased soil that had some larva in it. It was kept outside and soon after it came home I was infested. I did a soil transplant, gnat/aphid sticky traps, and Neem spray once a week. so far so good. a good fan that moves back n forth is also good as it helps stop them from landing on plants.
Wolverine97
Well-Known Member
That's not enough... I'm tellin ya mang. Listen to the guys above, myself included.
Rrog
Well-Known Member
I just bought Rootz which I assumed had eggs. I did the Nematode route with one batch and the dunks+Nematodes on the second batch. So far nothing from either. I have read in at least two lab studies that if the dunks are used in conjunction with Nematodes, you'll get better results that using either separately. The bacteria in dunks won't reproduce, and the nematodes will. However the bacteria in dunks keep the nematodes from reproducing well. Per the papers I read online.
SirLancelot
Active Member
AND after you do all of that put a layer of sand ontop of the soil to stop them from coming back and layin more eggs. I had them for about 3 weeks, I would spray every 3-4 days. They'd be gone at first then slowley come back in numbers so I did a bunch of shit and put sand ontop and it's worked like a charm.
Wolverine97
Well-Known Member
Oh oh oh, aaand... diatomaceous earth works well as a top dressing also. Cuts the bastards open and they dry out.
Nullis
Moderator
Hey Rize, and anyone else who might be interested...
For quite a while now I've been letting these Hypo-defenders roam freely throughout my container plants and soil recycling tote. They're some variety of Hypoaspis mite, which for those who don't know is a kind of micro-arthropod that you can just see with the naked eye. They're tan-orange colored and quite distinguished. These little mites like to eat gnat eggs, larval and/or pupal stages as well as the pupae of various other species of pest insect. They should also be able to survive off of detritus, or dead vegetation.
I've heard of other people allegedly having difficulties maintaining an adequate environment for some Hypoaspis sp. but these guys that I have crawling around seem damn-near impervious to the varying conditions I have put them under. They have lasted through heat and humidity, and still did just fine when I lowered temps to around 66. They went through drought conditions when I let the pots dry out quite thoroughly, and even kept breeding and surviving in my soil recycling tote; where it can get bone dry with ambient temps upwards of 85 degrees.
I am very curious as to how my mites would fare far away from home, or if they'd even survive being air-mailed. With a good food source like fungus gnat larvae or some other soil-dwelling pest insect they should really boom. So if Mr. Rize or any of the other living organics growers here are interested in making arrangements on a small shipment of my Hypo-defenders, feel free the message me.
All I know is that I only notice a few fungus gnats here and there at this point; and usually only hovering around fresh transplants in containers when I forget to apply the mites to them. Other benefits off the top of my head are that they shred organic matter in general, opening it up for microbial decay- and as a consequence carve out passageways through which air and water will flow. They will also port bacteria and fungal spores around like taxi's.
elduece
Active Member
I had those last year that came from "infected" bell pepper container plants bought from Publix. Anyways in a few days they were found in all the planters I had outside. Looking at them made my hair itch on my head! The soil surfaces was swarming with red mites I thought. They were all over the fricken place! I tried to kill them at first and they wouldn't die. They don't even break any pace with alcohol sprayed on contact on a 108F day with the glaring sunlight on bare black soil. After much readings and seeing no harm to plants I took a gamble and left them alone. In a week most bugs hostile to plants and soil were no longer found anywhere except those hypoaspis and mosquitoes. I mean they were no leaf hoppers, leaf miners, gnats aphids, flies and no azamax was used for the remaining summer.
All in all, I think they can survive being in a shipped environment.
aodhan911
Member
i had a problem with gnat which i battled for a year...put a layer of horticultural sand perlite or vermiculite about 1 to two inches on the top of each pot (combats laying of eggs)....litter your room with sticky fly traps around de base of de plants also...then use GNAT OFF (Bacillus thuringiensis)...a bacterial ORGANIC larvaecide...use gnat off every 5ish days to combat newly hatched larvae...try also to do your propagation in an isolated area from your vegging room....seedlings n clones most succeptable...
this worked for me n i'm now under control...
Aod.
this worked for me n i'm now under control...
Aod.
Colorado Grown
Member
Hi guys,
I have had good luck with fresh lemongrass tea for gnats.Three stalks chopped up, boil in large pot of water for 2 min then turn heat to low, steep for 1/2 hour. Water should look like pee. Strain out leaves, put some in a spray bottle to mist plants and topsoil then save some to water with. I mix about 2 cups into 1 gal water.
I have had good luck with fresh lemongrass tea for gnats.Three stalks chopped up, boil in large pot of water for 2 min then turn heat to low, steep for 1/2 hour. Water should look like pee. Strain out leaves, put some in a spray bottle to mist plants and topsoil then save some to water with. I mix about 2 cups into 1 gal water.
