Fungus gnats are such a pest and very annoying. They are also easily controlled. In this episode I will show you some simple and easy ways to stop them dead in their tracks.
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36 Comments
Diamatious earth is good to add to top, kills them, and fly strips
It took me awhile to realize I was over watering but once I provided more ground mulch to retain water and stopped watering as often the gnats went away. But thank you for these extra measures.
What about a shallow dish with water and a little bit of soap? I put it out and within a few days are full of drowned gnats. When the water evaporates I just refill with water since the soap is still in there.
Thank you Luke! Blessings 🙏💞
I've heat-sterilized every bit of soil & repotted all house plants at the same time as I was bringing in the garden plants to overwinterize them last fall.
BUT fungus gnats found their way in via FIREWOOD! (We heat with a wood-burner stove). I was so upset as the sterilizing the soil was so much time & money for my entire grow room, which includes several shelves of Hydroponics as well.
So, I ended up adding a total of 4 inches of sand (added an inch at a time until I stopped seeing gnats hovering over the soil.
I sprayed NEEM OIL DAILY.
I water only from the bottom except my fabric grow bags of potatoes.
》》I found an awesome solution for grow bags: top the soil with sand (of course), but insert a long oil funnel (I bought 5 for $5), deep into the grow bag, then slowly pull it out a bit, but just a little, as you're watering. After all the water is gone, I repeat it until the outside of the bag is moist. I only water these growing potatoes 1x a week. I even cover the open end of the funnel with plastic wrap when I'm not watering.
I also use those yellow sticky plastic things to nab adult gnats.
Now I've gotten control of those critters again.
Plan moving forward is fogging the room the firewood is stored (laundry room), when i bring it inside every month. Also this spring, we're planning a small greenhouse & a mini tall tunnel, so my grow room will be outside.
Thanks again Luke!!!
I use sticky traps to see if i have them. I use. Mosquito bits. What do you think?
Close. It is called an ovapositer
How much will could I bake at once? Could I do a baking pot of soil or does it need to be spread thinly on a baking sheet? Also does the soil for potting up need to be sanitized too?
Great video gnats every gardener or houseplant keeper pest.
TIP. Purchase coarse vermiculite and use a coffee grinder to make fine. Coarse is always cheaper. (Learned that tip from Nicole on YouTube Flower hill farm)
Always bottom water and allow top soil dry between watering, too. When watering, make misquito tea watering. Neem is only good if your using true cold pressed neem oil which you typically can't purchase in stores. The rusted garden has cold pressed neem.
Luke, you should have mentioned BTI, bacillus thuringiensis israelensis, mosquito dunk or bits. It doesn't smell like neem oil will and it is the ONLY thing I personally have found to be 100% effective. The sand on the soil definitely helps prevent them but so does bottom watering and also not overwattering. I put the dunk, usually broken into quarters, in a gallon of water let sit a couple hours and use it to water from the top where the larva predominately are located. I can refill the bottle many times before it starts breaking down and needs a new one. I have not had any problems since I've been using it. I also sterilize my soil using the boiling water rehydration method you suggested. Between those two things no gnats here! BTW, tried neem, stunk up the house and really didn't work that great, for me anyway.
I got myself a butterwort, a carnivorous plant. It eats them, yeah. Pretty cool. Also they recommend Neem cake solution to water plants. Safe and effective.
Great video!! Thanks 😊
Luke, wouldn't the boiling water kill the good microbes in the potting soil too?. If so, do we need to reconstitute with worm castings and other soil amenders after?. Thanks
Great video
Thank you for all the information. I’ve used other products which did not help. I will try each of your suggestions right away
It was finally dry soil on top, combined with bottom watering for me (houseplants after transplant starts finished). If it happens again, like the idea of not letting eggs hatch perhaps with neem oil, but maybe my favorite wood food oil, Conrads.
all tricks work, the easiest most reliable way is to cover the pot with material, old shirt, sheet, any thing, this prevents the gnats from getting in and, more importantly out.
4:45 The word you are looking for is ovipositor.
Bottom watering can help in the battle with fungus gnats
Ive heard that the mosquito pucks can also do the trick, now I know this isnt the organic method, but can anyone speak to this?
Perfect timing!
Just 10 days ago I planted my Hosta seeds. They were topped with the fine vermculite, watered in and put on a heat mat. The flats had the clear covers on them. Three days later I checked on them and they were crawling with fungus gnats. I put two yellow sticky traps with each flat and returned the plastic covers. The sticky traps are now full of the critters, but I still see some jumping around in there. Next up, the mosquito bits if I can find them!
a lot of people are allergic to Neem oil.
Make sure you get neem oil with azadaractin otherwise you are wasting your money and time. Most neem oils have the azadaractin removed.
If you don't mention mosquito bits/dunks, this video is useless
Luke, To water with the Neem water, do you have to water the soil surface? I'm thinking bottom watering won't be effective. Is that correct?
I use perlite on top of all my seedlings and indoor plants, stopped the problem.
Thank you for this! I am struggling with fungus gnats and needed some ways to fight them.
Does it work to take topsoil from top of potted plants. If so how much?
Great informative video. Thanks
After repeated infestation with fungus gnats in my orchids, I bake all potting soil and orchid bark that I bring into my house.
Orchids in bark are especially hard to treat. The gnats can live in all of the gaps between the bark pieces and don’t have to come to the surface. Gnatrol, together with sticky traps, kept the numbers low but to eliminate them all, I had to treat with an insecticide, too.
I've baked soil before and will never do it again. The smell is disgusting, and I don't want that smell in my oven or house. Sticky tape works great for gnats.
Overwatering is a problem because of poorly draining soil. Try tapla's 5-1-1 mix. It's a DIY soil mix that is far better draining and lasts longer than peat-based mixes
Timely video!!!
I microwave my soil when i get new stuff, if i still notice some in my plant a diluted hydrogen peroxide water mix works well
I've had fungus gnats kill so many of my plants over the years and never knew what they were for the longest time, then I couldn't find a good way to get rid of them. Last time I got them from an herb plant i bought at the grocery store (i thought it being in the store it would be clean). I really appreciate this video Luke! Many Blessings from Deborah in West Virginia!