Gnats

Fangthane

Fangthane

Well-Known Member
My take is that the Microbe-Lift BMC is probably the most effective. I've always just used hydrogen peroxide to deal with gnats, so I don't have first-hand experience. Just reading what others have recommended.
 
Agonixx

Agonixx

Well-Known Member
Fangthane said:
My take is that the Microbe-Lift BMC is probably the most effective. I've always just used hydrogen peroxide to deal with gnats, so I don't have first-hand experience. Just reading what others have recommended.
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Yeah,

I definitely want to go that route, I just have to wait for it in the mail !
 
Rozgreenburn

Rozgreenburn

Well-Known Member
Nothing works better than fresh EWC in my pot builds! I put enough soil in the bottom of the pot to cover the holes. Next I'll add 1 cup of EWC, and fill with super soil. I leave the soil 3/4" below the pot rim, add another cup of EWC and then cover that with 1/2" or so of mulch.
I keep yellow traps in all areas as an early warning system, but this method keeps them at an absolute minimum!

If the EWC isn't relatively fresh, it will be less effective. Raising my own composting worms has seriously raised the bar for me! The plants are happy and the bugs are not!
 
Agonixx

Agonixx

Well-Known Member
Rozgreenburn said:
Nothing works better than fresh EWC in my pot builds! I put enough soil in the bottom of the pot to cover the holes. Next I'll add 1 cup of EWC, and fill with super soil. I leave the soil 3/4" below the pot rim, add another cup of EWC and then cover that with 1/2" or so of mulch.
I keep yellow traps in all areas as an early warning system, but this method keeps them at an absolute minimum!

If the EWC isn't relatively fresh, it will be less effective. Raising my own composting worms has seriously raised the bar for me! The plants are happy and the bugs are not!
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Interesting, do you have any brands you recommend ?
 
Rozgreenburn

Rozgreenburn

Well-Known Member
Agonixx said:
Interesting, do you have any brands you recommend ?
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I had decent results with "Wiggle Worm", but I raise my own worms now and I have 7 worm bins at 12 gallons each. At any given time I'm sitting on 30 - 50 gallons of EWC, and I use it in my super soil as well as in my pot builds. If you have a bit of space you could run a few bins without much effort.

I won't grow without EWC, that's just me.
Good luck
 
DeadHeadX

DeadHeadX

Well-Known Member
DE doesn’t work once it gets wet. Can help keep down the adult population and help prevent future propagation, along with yellow traps. Those along with BTi, over repeated uses can get rid of them.

Nothing good about having gnats, but there are worse problems.
 
Agonixx

Agonixx

Well-Known Member
Rozgreenburn said:
I had decent results with "Wiggle Worm", but I raise my own worms now and I have 7 worm bins at 12 gallons each. At any given time I'm sitting on 30 - 50 gallons of EWC, and I use it in my super soil as well as in my pot builds. If you have a bit of space you could run a few bins without much effort.

I won't grow without EWC, that's just me.
Good luck
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Interesting ! I will look into this asap !
 
Agonixx

Agonixx

Well-Known Member
DeadHeadX said:
DE doesn’t work once it gets wet. Can help keep down the adult population and help prevent future propagation, along with yellow traps. Those along with BTi, over repeated uses can get rid of them.

Nothing good about having gnats, but there are worse problems.
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Awesome thanks again !
 
Agonixx

Agonixx

Well-Known Member
Random thought,

I can not water from the top with DE... how long should this sit on top for ? or maybe I could just spread around the edges and still continue to water not near it for a little wile ?

Water underneath then put the DE on if it does not need to be on long ?
 
DeadHeadX

DeadHeadX

Well-Known Member
Agonixx said:
Random thought,

I can not water from the top with DE... how long should this sit on top for ? or maybe I could just spread around the edges and still continue to water not near it for a little wile ?

Water underneath then put the DE on if it does not need to be on long ?
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In my limited experience, the DT needs to go on dry soil, or it will just absorb the moisture. My approach was to add new layers after waterings, and after the top layer had dried out. Ultimately, you’ve got to kill the larvae, and only the BTi will do that. Other stuff helps control the adult population. They flies don’t hurt the plants, but they lay lots of eggs.

Honestly, I’d move really fast on this one, as your are just shooting their first roots, and the larvae love that stuff.
 
Agonixx

Agonixx

Well-Known Member
DeadHeadX said:
In my limited experience, the DT needs to go on dry soil, or it will just absorb the moisture. My approach was to add new layers after waterings, and after the top layer had dried out. Ultimately, you’ve got to kill the larvae, and only the BTi will do that. Other stuff helps control the adult population. They flies don’t hurt the plants, but they lay lots of eggs.

Honestly, I’d move really fast on this one, as your are just shooting their first roots, and the larvae love that stuff.
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Roger, I just got some of those Mosquito bits waiting on the other stuff in the mail.

Now Ill follow the instructions on the bits to mix but should I water the whole gallon throughout the pot ?

Capture.PNG
 
DCcan

DCcan

Well-Known Member
Agonixx said:
Now Ill follow the instructions on the bits to mix but should I water the whole gallon throughout the pot ?
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Yup, every inch of the pot, then make sure you hit any houseplants you may have.
Do it for at least 4 wks, change out the yellow stickies and see if any new ones show up.
 
Agonixx

Agonixx

Well-Known Member
DCcan said:
Yup, every inch of the pot, then make sure you hit any houseplants you may have.
Do it for at least 4 wks, change out the yellow stickies and see if any new ones show up.
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I see lots of warnings on the bag, should be safe for my seedling ?

one time a week for 4 weeks ? ~ nothing in there to absorb the water is what worries me ~ just wet soil slowly drying out since there's not even a root system as of yet
 
DCcan

DCcan

Well-Known Member
Agonixx said:
I see lots of warnings on the bag, should be safe for my seedling ?

one time a week for 4 weeks ? ~ nothing in there to absorb the water is what worries me ~ just wet soil slowly drying out since there's not even a root system as of yet
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Well. cover the roots at least. I'd still fully cover the everything in the pot a couple times, or hit it with spinosad.
 
DeadHeadX

DeadHeadX

Well-Known Member
Agonixx said:
I see lots of warnings on the bag, should be safe for my seedling ?

one time a week for 4 weeks ? ~ nothing in there to absorb the water is what worries me ~ just wet soil slowly drying out since there's not even a root system as of yet
Click to expand...
That’s where the larvae live, which is why you need to soak the medium. It’s not ideal - seedlings don’t need that much water, but it’s necessary here. If they haven’t sprouted, or even if they have, add the water gently. But saturate the medium.
 
Agonixx

Agonixx

Well-Known Member
DeadHeadX said:
That’s where the larvae live, which is why you need to soak the medium. It’s not ideal - seedlings don’t need that much water, but it’s necessary here. If they haven’t sprouted, or even if they have, add the water gently. But saturate the medium.
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Roger that for sure, what do you recommend for the area where the seed is planted like the exact spot ? ( so it do not like un bury it and uproot it ... )
 
DeadHeadX

DeadHeadX

Well-Known Member
Agonixx said:
Roger that for sure, what do you recommend for the area where the seed is planted like the exact spot ? ( so it do not like un bury it and uproot it ... )
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I use a long plastic pipette for that purpose, dripping the water over and around where the seed is. Generally use that till they have a few leaves.
 
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