Fungus gnats can be quite the annoying little buggers. This episode is all about what NOT to do when you get them. Hope it helps!
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44 Comments
I watched one of Mark Robers videos about bed bugs. The Entomologists he talked to mentioned that digamous earth sticks to insects and causes them to dehydrate and die. That is why it doesn't work when it gets wet, and you constantly have to re-apply it as a light dust. If it doesn't stick to them then it won't kill them.
Could you please link to the control video in the comments, pretty please?
My cats are entertained by the fungus gnats. Swatting away 😺
I chose carnivorous plants to control fungus gnats. I got a couple nepenthes pitcher plants and a couple drosera sundew plants. I haven't had an issue since
How about nematodes?
I used Cinnamon in an attempt to dry out a problem with my (overwatered) wet & humid greenhouse full of plants. I sprinkled a bit of cinnamon in certain pots and the very next day the flying gnats were gone but so was ALL humidity.
Cinnamon has great applications when used with care. Fortunately, the baby plants didn’t suffer, but what a lesson.
Completely agree on the futility of DE and cinnamon with fungus gnats.
Sticky traps can help keep adults from being a nuisance but don't fix the issue.
Great video!
Edit: forgot to mention… I stopped using sticky traps because they started nabbing useful insects like lady bugs and jumping spiders. I love my jumping spider army out in my porch greenhouse. Little army of Henrys.
Hey Luke, Gently Bend the stake part of the sticky trap back. There is a tab without sticky on it to get the paper off.
👎No on cinnamon ✅ Yes on neem oil ✅Yes on yellow sticky traps ✅Yes on coating the top soil with vermiculite 👍Thank you!
Thumbs-up
I've had success using DE. I mix it into the top 1" of the soil and it seems to have done the trick for killing the larvae in the soil.
Neem oil didn't work. Yellow sticky traps didn't work. Hydrogen peroxide and water didn't work. Plastic wrap over the soil worked temporarily. Coating the soil didn't work. And yes, these were fungus gnats. Nothing worked. Zipping the pot in a ziploc bag worked as long as the bag remained on the pot, but it took time for the gnats to die and larva to starve. Unfortunately, once the bag was removed months later, they came back.
In the end, my tomato plant never got past the flowering stage and went straight into the trash.
Neem oil is not the only way to address the problem. I use mosquito bits in the soil and water with a solution of the mosquito bits in water. It is very effective. Thanks for the valuable info. Luke.
Hey Luke I'm wondering what your thoughts are on the new GMO purple tomato from Norfolk plant sciences. They just started selling the seeds on their website to home gardeners. This is a first time that has happened.
Thank you. Definitely don’t use the yellow sticky traps outside. They attract and kill bees.
Great info! Years ago, I heard about the cinnamon thing for gnats; I tried it, didn't work. Now, I use about a 1/2 inch layer of sand on the surface of all my houseplant's soil and it has worked perfectly. When I bring new houseplants home, I layer them with the sand and I never have issues with fungus gnats from bringing in new plants.
When I plant seeds for starts that will go into my garden, I make sure to first sterilize my growing medium. I do this by either pouring boiling water over it and putting a lid on it until it cools down or I bake it in a large pan in my oven at 200ºF for 15 minutes, then let it cool in the closed oven. These methods have worked perfectly for keeping fungus gnats out of my house.
Im glad my hydrogen peroxide way wasnt in this video, i honestly think it works really well. It seems to have another benefit of aeration of the soil because as hydrogen peroxide breaks down it creates water and oxygen. The soil poofs up after treatment and isnt compacted. Maybe placebo 🤷♂️
I have used only yellow sticky traps and letting top layer of soil dry and worked great… have not had any in a long time…
What about nemotodes?
You forgot to tell people to use mosquito bits. The ONLY thing that saved my plants. Soak the bits in water, strain bits out and then water. Water this way for 2 weeks. Fungus nats gone!!!
My basement spiders take care of them pretty good.
I use Carnivorous Plants. Sundews are the best!
sticky traps are great to identify gnats as a problem so good to have around indoor plants all the time IMO. helps prevent infestations the earlier you detect them.
Nice channel, very informative. Quick question: is there a best time of the year to order seeds or does it depend on the crop?
I had a good bit of succulents die or change color because of diatomaceous earth. I just got a systemic but i cant NOT get rid of scale or mealybug on my jade!
DE is just as useful as perlite or vermiculite when used in the same way to prevent adults access to soil. If you buy DE go to a livestock feed store to save big $ as it is sold in bulk.
Going forward I’m addressing the issue by heating soil in a sealed aluminum roaster in a grill.
Had it with trying to get rid of gnats. Once they take a hold in a large amount of flats they are impossible to get rid of. Tried everything and last year I had a lot of flats and you can’t get them all. Did the BT bits in soil, sticky traps and drench for several weeks, vacuumed, peroxide, cinnamon, Neem, insecticidal soap and diatomaceous earth does not work when wet. Name a method I’m sure I tried it as the gnats/aphids were bad. We never have aphids inside or outside. The only thing that appeared to get rid of gnats and aphids was horticultural oil, but by then I was taking them out to harden off.
Didn’t have them until started lettuce inside this season. They come from compost or just potting soil in general. I think today the lettuce gets kicked out and will start over with my new method of sterile soil.
Never had such problems until last year.
Also the new air root pruning pots give them more places to hide besides all the vegetation I had. I can’t dry out seedlings, tiny petunias don’t like it.
😎 i thought you were my buddy 😊
Cinnamon seemed to be the only thing that slowed them down for me. I have tried covering the soil with an inch of sand, Neem cake tea, Mosquito dunk tea, Sticky Traps, Letting soil dry out, None of that worked.
Need oil is a banned toxic pesticide in Canada
Luke, here's the 3 things you shouldn't do to avoid fungus gnats:
Don't use soil that retains too much water
Don't overwater
Don't mess around with neem oil drenches or anything else other than Bti. Mosquito Dunks, Mosquito Bits, or Gnatrol. You mentioned how fast they reproduce, so don't screw around. Get the magic bullet.
Sometimes knowing what NOT to do is just as important as knowing WHAT to do.
Thank you, Luke!
Another good video. I’m going to try my bug zapper light just because it’s sitting in the room being stored anyway. I use neem oil but might try cinnamon. I’ll put it on my upper lip to mask the smell of neem oil inside. 😀.
Nice one once again Luke, are there any homemade solutions you can use instead of neem oil?
I'm not sure what fungus knats are. I had little critters that left what looked like mini spider webs on the underside of my Serrano peppers that destroyed them. The next time I planted, I used a solution of hydrogen peroxide and water that I sprayed on the top and bottom of the leaves, which seemed to kill the pests and not bother the plants. I used a teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide per cup of water in a 32 ounce spray bottle that you can get for a few dollars. The online recipes I think were much stronger but you don't want to overdue it on your plants. Plus I sprayed the top of the soil too because I didn't know if they were there too. Another nice video Luke. We have to keep growing. Bless you and yours from the Lord and God.
Mosquito bits are all you need. She, effective and no hassle. It's the only prong you'll ever need
I use boiling water on my soil before using it which helps control them.
Neem is bad for humans.
Fungus gnats are attracted to water damp soil. If you put a layer of sand on the surface and bury a water bottle spout into the earth and cover it with netting or fiber fill, the gnats can’t get to it and there is no food
Plus I use yellow glue traps and they work well too to catch a few still flying around
I have used mosquito bites. Dissolved into the water that I then used to water all my plants. After using the treated water for a couple weeks, adult gnats were gone. I used the sticky traps to make sure they were gone. Haven’t had an issue since.
i had goodluck with pumice stone on the soil surface
What about watering with mosquito bits?
Awesome! Blessings!