mites and fungus gnats in early flowering!!! please help!!!

Dankfactory said:

I understood exactly what you were saying. Ladybugs, although cool in theory, are a band aid to the problem, and will barely put a dent in the population. The very nature of, well, Nature, doesnt necessarily coincide with fast, immediate results.
By the way, I would be highly skeptical that dish soap "doesnt harm ladybugs." Perhaps Im wrong, however theres a bunch of links supporting this position. One of many: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/soapy-water-hurt-ladybugs-104675.html
I guess Id be interested to hear/see the biological and physiological data to support this wild claim? What is the scientific process in which a dish soap affects only the problem insects system, and yet maintains the homeostasis of the insects of your liking?
(OP, obviously im not asking you this.)
If you truly want to preserve the well being of your ladybug population, I would at least suggest some further research before pouring some Dawn into a spray bottle.

By the way, if you do have aphids, you damn well better act fast dude. Its easy to bounce back from fungus gnats. Aphids? Entirely different story.

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jellero said:

i have two plants with fugnats and i see them flying around my head while watching tv, walking up the window and when i shake the pot a couple would fly out. sooo, yesterday i had an idea, i took some nylon screen and cut circles out a bit wider than the pot, cut halfway across the screen circles and slipped them over the plant stems. if there were any that wouldn't stay put i put a little potting soil on it to hold it down, gravel would be better or even stones. i have not seen one bug today and i used to see a dozen, plus a couple in the toilet in the morning. the adults only live a week so they are trapped inside and any eggs that hatch or feeding larvae will die as well locked inside the pot. the adults don't do the damage, it's the larvae and they will only be feeding for about a week and no females can get in to lay any more eggs. some do set up homes in drains so dump some boiling water down drains every few days, keep the grow area clean. i have transplanted three to bigger pots and didn't see any bugs in those so i think i may have control of things. in two weeks it will be summer and in the 80's here and the plants will go outside for the summer. try it out, i'd like to hear how it works for you. j

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