Fungus Gnats

StellerKeller

Active Member
Fungus gnats? Big deal. They eat fungus and they may eat tiny root hairs. But they only go down a couple of inches.

I get them all the time. Everyone of my house plants (except the cacti) has gotten them at one point or another. Never had one die from fungus gnats. Trick is to control them.

1. Make sure soil fills up the pot. If you have more than a 1/2 inch lip it is a playground for the happy hoppers.
2. Let the soil dry out. Dry soil means the root eating larva dry out (and die).
3. After watering have a fan blow across the soil for 24 hours. Fungus gnats aren't good fliers, so they just blow away. And the fan helps dry the top of the soil (see #2).
4. Keep the grow area clean. No rotting vegetation, no damp soil under trash.
5. Stop panicking. Never heard of a plant dying from fungus gnats. sometimes the cure is worse than the problem.
 
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