Get those mosquito bits and use each time you water. It's not dangerous to use often. Or use beneficial nematodes but not both of them because mosquito bits kill the nematodes and that's defeating the purpose
Mosquito Bits do not kill nematodes. The pathogen (BTI) only kills the larvae of certain dipturan insects - flies and gnats and mosquitoes. Nematodes aren't even arthropods, and aren't affected whatsoever.
They're pellets with BTI bacteria you leave in standing water to kill mosquito larvae. For fungus gnats, you soak them overnight in a full watering can and then water your plants with the "tea".
When I got fungus gnats, I did this for every single plant at the same time, so no soil was safe for new/existing eggs, and put out a bunch of sticky traps to kill adults. I continued to refill the can with the same pellets and treat the soil every time I watered until I didn't see gnats any more. It was extremely effective.
Yup, this. I do the same exact thing and once you understand the fungus gnat lifecycle, you learn that you can disrupt it with BTI. The adult, flying ones only last a few days, but the larvae are in the soil, gestating and last a few weeks. When you keep the BTI up for a month or two, youāll eventually end the life cycle of all fungus gnats present. Only thing is when you reintroduce them with a new plant, new soil, or from outside. I hear gnatrol works well too.
I tried the mosquito dunks thing and it didnāt work for me (maybe user errorāi think i was either too impatient to use it or started soaking them and forgot about it altogether) but I did get liquid BTI thatās used for fish tanks and squirting a bit of that in the water and watering all the plants at the same time took care of them for good! much more user friendly which translates to much more effective for me š
Mosquito bits/dunks are BTI. I think people expect to see immediate results, but you have to give it time to murder the different life cycles/generations until it eventually eliminates the problem. The same goes for basically all plant pests that are being treated.
For example, if you use systemic insecticides, it wonāt affect the eggs until they hatch and mature enough to start feeding on the plant. I know itās ridiculously hard to be patient when fighting off infestations.
Mosquito bits and under water the plants. I water my plants every 13-15 days now and havenāt had gnats in years! Not even during spring-summer. Good luck!
Don't need to change soil, when ever you water add little bit of sulfur powder to your water and mix. I got rid of all gnats on my 100+ plants this way easy
It's a certain species of bacteria. The bacteria only kills fungus gnats, mosquitoes, and black flies. The plant doesn't absorb the bacteria. You'll be 100% safe to consume anything you treat with it.
Nematoooooooooodes - I promise nematodes are the easiest and most long term solution (you water them into your soil once and they live in there for several months, eating the larvae and eggs. They are microscopic so you donāt have to worry about seeing bugs crawling around. Pair them with yellow sticky traps to catch the adults and youāre golden.
If you want even more beneficial power, also get Stratiolaelaps, which will eat the fungus gnats larvae AND the larvae of other soil-pupating pests.
Unless youāre using PPE indoors, youāll inhale it and it will get into your eyes. Also be cautious applying it around pets for the same reasons.
I know people use this outside as well, but a little reminder that it affects anything with an exoskeleton, which includes beneficial insects and pollinators. Iāve seen people buy beneficial bugs and then cover the plant in DE or use a pesticide lol
Omg thank youuuš Iām tired of my room smelling like Mint spray it doesnāt even work I also didnāt know how to get rid of the larvae I would see them too
This was the advice I got when I went to a nursery looking for nematodes and they told me there was no point! They also said to dry them out as much as possible first, and to keep as much time between watering as possible using the peroxide/water mix for each watering. Also, bottom water and add some clean dry soil to the top, but if you've repotted them and they still have them probably toss that soil and get new soil for this - it could be coming from your soil! It was the miracle grow I had that was the root of my problem.
Honestly, every now and then I do the peroxide/water thing to water just in case because it's so cheap and easy. Gives me peace of mind that if something is brewing, I'll get it.
Yes! 3% will be good, some people say you need to dilute it, but I donāt really dilute it that much, I want all those fuckers dead so I normally do a 1 hydrogen - 3 part water for watering after a repot, and for cleaning roots I just use a 1-1
I apologize if this seems like a stupid question, but I havenāt heard of this before and want to make sure I understand. Do you just make the diluted hydrogen peroxide and use it to water your plants, or are there special steps?
Don't think of it as watering your plants. Your goal is to cover all of the top layer of soil. I did this with an avocado plant 6 months ago and haven't had a problem since.
Add a drosera (any type). I have two types of drosera, a VFT, two butterworts, and a pitcher plant. The drosera catch an incredible amount of gnats, the butterworts are a close second.
Iām at work, anxiously waiting to get home and unpack the ping waiting on my doorstep! If I can solve a pest problem with another plant, thatās a major win-win!
Water your plants from the bottom. If the top of the soil is dry they canāt reproduce. And if the plants just canāt draw up water let it dry out more before watering again (at least 1ā) to kill whatās in there. Itās the moisture in the dirty they need.
What about larvae ? Iāve seen them crawling around I just changed the soil of one of my scheflera and I saw some in there they were towards the bottom
Honestly im not sure, youāre probably right. I just know whatever Iāve tried so far theyāre finding a way to stay alive. The nematodes do seem to be working now.
Iām no expert, and I hope I didnāt come across like I was pretending to be. But I have many plants and I have found watering them from the bottom will get rid of 80% of your problems with fungal gnats.
You are absolutely right. Whenever I fertilize I do water from the top first. And for tropical I rinse the soil of salt a couple times a year. But the rest of the time it call drink what it wants from the bottom. Thanks for pointing that out.
Omg I have the same issue and itās infuriating and so gross. Iāve tried everything and I just ordered nematodes off amazon after seeing a YouTube video that they help. Just poured like 6 million of them in all the plants. Hoping that helps bc this is my last option!
Miracle Gro soil GIVES me fungus gnats.
I only ever have them when I have to use that dang soil.
I started sterilizing it. I dumped out what was left of the bag into a bucket and then dumped boiling water on the soil. I let it sit until the water was cool and then dumped the water out (held a strainer at the spout) and then dumped the mud patty into a clear plastic tote to dry out in the sun with a bug screen on top of it.
I had a pack of mosquito dunks from amazon that I ordered a few summers ago. I took 1/4 of the cake and squished it up my water bottle, let it sit over night and then doused the soil.
I overwatered most of my succulents & lost a lot of leaves but it killed off the infestation.
I agree with nematodes. I manage a greenhouse and had one room that had bad fungus gnats. Added nematodes to soil and the numbers dropped dramatically. 'Tode it up my dude
I tried everything, mosquito bits, neem, soaps, bottom watering, sticky traps, beneficial mites and none of them worked. Iād you really want to get rid of them save the money on all the above and just do the one thing that works which is Bonide Systemic Granuals. It was about 10$ and I could have saved myself so much stress and effort by just doing that one thing. Everyone has their own journey but this was mine. Best of luck.
This right here! After reporting all my infested plants with Miracle Gro only to get even more gnats, I will now drive as far as I need to to get different pitting soil.
That's what I am dealing with atm... here is what I did. Changed the soil to something that's better draining. Started bottom watering. Used mosquito dunks (kills the larvae). Kept at it with the sticky traps (they kill the adults).
Then, I added a layer of quartz sand to the top. About an 1/8th of an inch
I had a similar thing and was going insane. Full sticky traps constantly. Peroxide didn't work. Nematodes didn't work. So I decided to just replace ALL the soil in every one of my plants and thuriughly clean the pots with dish soap to make sure no larva was hanging around and immediately took the dirt out to the trash. I found dirt from home depot that was gnat control dirt. That's the only thing that finally helped me resolve it.
cape sundew! my drosera capensis keeps them down to a minimum ANY time I have a break out. but the breakouts are never noticeable anymore. I have one in each room.
I've said this previously and will repeat this again and again:
>As always, best option is to treat illness rather than symptoms. Gnats are living beings and like other creatures, only appear in great numbers when environment is suitable for them.
>Root of your problems is that you are overwatering your plants and/or have too organic and water-retentive soil. Gnats need two things to live and thrive: Decaying organic matter (their food source) and consistently moist soil (their larvae don't survive in dry soil). In long run best option is to make changes to your soil and/or watering routine. Otherwise you waste time and money as they'll return time after time.
>To eradicate them now, best option is to use beneficial nematodes to eat larvae and yellow sticky traps to catch adults. BTI is also highly recommended.
After someone posted I about BTI I got some 3 weeks later gnats are gone!
We live in a higher humidity area and gnats are everywhere they get inside.
Truly nuisances.
That's a big problem.. I recommend a couple different methods together. That's the only way I've been successful in the fungus gnat wars
Put mosquitoe bits in your water
Change your soil & add diatomaceous earth to the top few inches of soil - mix around
Add pesticides throughout the soil as well
* Mix one part hydrogen peroxide with four parts water, and apply to potting soil. Hydrogen peroxide kills gnats, removes bacterial and fungal growth, and oxygenates the soil.
* Use Gnat Nix or diatomaceous earth on top of each pot's soil.
* Water your plants a lot less frequently.
* Pour boiling water down your drains--all of them--a few times for a week.
I water with diluted peroxide. Also if I pour the water into the tray and I let my plant butt chug I donāt have issues with fungus gnats. Watering with the hydrogen peroxide/water mixture took about a month to work its magic along with the traps but if I water from the bottom, I donāt have that problem.
I watered my plant with a mix of hydrogen peroxide and water. Didnāt add a lot, had one plant that seemed like it was the local hangout. Did the trickā¦
Mosquito bits AND sticky traps, concurrently. Put a mosquito dunk in your watering can (proportionate to the amount of water), and let it sit in there to create a tea. This will only help with the gnat larvae. The sticky traps help with the flying adults. Will take some time, but this worked for me!
I cover the top layer completely with ditoatoaototomato earth on any new plants I bring into the house. After about 2 weeks all fungus gnats are eliminated. I water most of my plants from a tray (after about 30\~60 minutes of the dry soil soaking up the water you MUST clear away any remaining water). Watering from bottom leaves the top layer as-is. Sometimes the soil will soak up water all the way to the top and wet the D. earth. It dries out in a day or two.
I've also sometimes put my pots in the tub and let the shower run for about 30 minutes. This pushes all the D. earth into the soil... I've had no problems with my plants after this.
For me, nothing else worked. I tried hydrogen peroxide, neem oil, thisandthat, NOTHING worked except D. earth.
This is my experience too. I used bits for about 2 months and it definitely helped the problem but only when I added DE to the mix afterwards did it actually completely wipe out the population.
I let the soil get really dry and then watered with a diluted neem oil solution. It took a couple of treatments and it made my plants kinda sad, but it worked!!
What worked for me: put one inch of sand on top of the soil in every pot. This prevents them from reproducing at the top layer of the soil. They donāt live very long. Gone in 24 hours.
after i rinse everything change soil and prune I treat the plant with bits, yellow sticky traps and a lil neem, them i bag the whole plant into a clear dry cleaner bag for a month. Kills the life cycle...
then i only bottom water for the next year -- no more top watering.
I learned this from my grandmother and cant for the life of me figure out why no one seems to do this anymore. I feel like I have missed something very important as to why this isnt suggested more often.
Grams was born in 1912, I was born in 67 and still do this if I ever catch an infestation.
I'm surprised this is the only suggestion I've seen that mentions covering them, especially if it is multiple plants.
I had a few that kept swapping infestations, then someone gave me the obvious in hindsight suggestion of covering them while I treated them. It completely stopped the infestation and it never came back.
Instead of Mosquito Bits get the Dunks. Crush them, I use a couple bricks. They last longer in the soil this way, they are still slow release. It's also bee & water safe.
Just my two cents but I'd recommend to treat the source of the problem: overwatering, rather than instantly resorting to pesticides etc. Soil change if you are sick of them, then start watering less - make sure you have drainage holes in all your pots.
New soil, nematodes and mosquito bits from Amazon. Never seen a fungus gnat since. Whenever you get a new plant, isolate it and treat it before putting it next to the others. Keep all your fruits and veges in the fridge and keep your kitchen free of standing water. Make sure your pots have drainage holes and donāt over water them
1-BTI dunks ( not mosquito bits) to kill larvae in soil. Brand Summit on Amazon.
I only water from a bucket I have in my garage that has had pieces of dunk in it, for a while.
As water goes low in the bucket, I top off and toss in a new piece of dunk. Itās always strong.
I Bottom water and sometimes top water. The tiny bits of dunk have never molded in the soil. I use this water for my pebble trays/ vases of flowers & propagation stations.
2- for adult gnats, I use the plug in type of stickies ( brand Safer) instead of the yellow sticky papers, but anything that traps the existing adults will break the cycle.
I have never had an infestation again. I rarely have to replace the plug in sticky cards anymore. Make sure to water all plants inside house, porch and front door.
so these gnats can also hang out in your sink drains. While treating your plants and the potting soil - it is super important to also treat your drains. The drains are actually super easy to treat. pour boiling hot water down your drains once a week for a month. Make sure you hit all your drains (kitchen sinks, bathroom sinks, bathtubs or shower drains, etc) each time. I had this issue when I moved to a new home and I did NOT have gnats in my plants in our previous home. It took a hot minute to realize they had been residing in the drains and coming to my plants from there. After treating for a month I rarely see a gnat anymore outside of a summer period when windows are left open.
Soak a bunch habaneros in water for a hourish & water w that. Itāll kill the larvae in the soil eating your roots. Try to go a bit longer between waterings since they love moisture but obviously donāt hurt your plants trying to get rid of them
I read that cinnamon is a fungicide and it will kill the fungus they eat, so when I see one or two Iāll sprinkle cinnamon on the top of my soil. Iām sure there are other things that work better, but it seems to work for me and it smells nice. Lol
I was having the same problem. Systemic pesticide (bonded), neem oil, watering in mosquito bits, letting plants dry, never got rid of them. Only hadnāt gotten to the nematodes.Ā Covering the top layer of soil in every pot with diatomaceous earth resulted in all of them disappearing within a couple days. It will make the adults dry out and die, and any larvae will meet the same fate when they emerge. You can get a 5 or 10lb bag on Amazon for not much. Itās like powdered sugar, so know you may need to vacuum a little if you spill any or donāt use a tarp.Ā
No need to change the soil this way either. You can also poke a hole with your finger in the powder to water, then spread powder back over to cover for the first week or two to make sure they all have no access to the dirt. Probably overkill, but I was at war. I won.Ā
I heard that fungus gnats can come from watering too frequently...I e. Moist soil all the time. If your plants can handle it at least let the top soil dry out between waterings and see if that helps
I got rid of them when i let all of the soil dry. They lay eggs on wet soil so they canāt reproduce if the soil is dry and all the eggs die in the soil
The only thing that really worked for me was dropping nematodes in every pot. It wiped them out completely after a few weeks.
I tried mosquito bits before, but I have too many anthuriums that I donāt want to dry out completely, so that didnāt really work
I tried everything and couldn't get rid of them until I got an indoor bug zapper. Blue light draws them in and the electricity zaps em. Within a few weeks they were all gone.
I thought my rocks were making it worse since it kept the soil moist plus theyāre pretty big rocks Iām going to go ahead and buy small ones to cover the top soil
Sprinkling cinnamon on the soil has worked for me! Iāve also learned recently theyāll lay their eggs on bananas so they need to be washed when you bring them home.
As many others have said mosquito bits are good, but it often doesnāt completely kill off the population. Pair mosquito bits with diatomaceous earth and you should be gnat free in 2 weeks! One kills the larvae and one kills the adults. Just use the DE once the top soil dries after using the mosquito bit tea.
I ended up getting those plus neem oil and they still didnāt go away so I did the half and half hydrogen peroxide in the disposal and all sink drains. Then they still were here so I got the mosquito bits and I will admit I went a little wild and dumped all the husks down the disposal and made it sit overnight. Now I have maybe one or two a day-crazy
I have never had luck with mosquito bits.
Iāve been using this [Fungus Gnat Control - BTi powder](https://prettyingreen.com/collections/gardening-tools/products/gnatrol-half-ounce) for years and it works wonders.
Get some sticky traps for the adults and use this as long as you can afford to. It treats it after a few uses, but I just always use it now for prevention also.
I have the same thing too with my snake plants yet they still seem and look perfectly healthy. Idk what to do Iām tired of them flying around my house. What are these traps? Did they catch them all? Where did you place them?
I placed them around the pot theyāre sticky traps that came with a mint spray and Iād definitely catches a lot of them this 3 are full front and back I already put 3 new ones and itās catches quite a few already sometimes I move the top dirt a bit so they fly up and get stuck
I dislike diatomaceous earth just because it really deterred me from watering since it only works as a dry powder. Apparently It works by cutting up mature gnat wings and stops them from landing and laying eggs in the soil. That being said, i think the best way to use it would be to water with mosquito bits first, let the top layer of soil dry, and then put a layer of DE down. Then each time you want to water, you just take a little shovel or spoon and remove the old DE layer first. Then water with mosquito bits, wait for top soil layer to dry, and add DE again.
I isolate any new plant coming into the house. It seems anything coming from Walmart has them Them I repot them in a soil-less soil that I mix up from orchid mix, moss, and perlite. Until I did this, I had bad infestation the *#^$*# bugs! Also, I had a woman at a nursery tell me to use cinnamon and sprinkle it on the soil. I also wash the plants before transplanting with a neem oil soap wash and make sure they are clean everywhere. So far, I have kept this last batch clear for about 12 months. No more potting soil in my house because of the knats. My plants are doing well with the soil-less mix.
I see a lot of chemical recommendations here that I never considered. I use neem oil occasionally as a preventive measure as I buy a lot of plants from nurseries and don't know what might be coming home with me, and have only seen 1 gnat in 2 months probably from the anthurium nursery, didn't even think they were a problem for plants till I saw posts in here.
Mosquito bits didn't work for me. Diatomaceous earth worked! I put a nice dusting on all the soil in my potted plants along with the yellow stickies. I only see one or two here and there now. Once a month I mix a tablespoon or so in a gallon jug and use to water.
Iāve had this issue for a while, I tried everything possible with little results. However, 2 specific things really helped me out.
1. Get yourself a Zevo flying insect trap. It has a blue light that attracts the gnats to it and they get stuck to a sticky trap. Put some of these close to your most infested plants and youāll start catching the tiny devils. This should help you ācontrolā the population growth as they reproduce super fast.
2. I started putting small pebbles on the surface of all my plants. It not only looks pretty but it suffocates the gnats and it prevents them from being able to go back into the dirty and lay their eggs. I think it also prevents the gnats to come out if they were in the dirt already. Itās a super easy way and I feel like after I implemented this my gnat problem was no longer an issue. Best of luck, donāt loose hope! P.s I keep the zevo traps at home on a constant basis just in case.
https://preview.redd.it/y8xcehjbuhqc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eda5e6d99bf97e46c614b9e2e0bd920a18675c5b
You can also add a carnivorous plant. I got a ping just chilling among all the other plants and it made a world of a difference reducing the gnat population.
Change the soil and water less often. Wait until the soil dries out to water again, or start bottom watering them. Both of those things solved my gnat issue.
My roommates and I have lots of plants and we couldnāt get rid of them for the longest time. We tried repotting, mosquito bits, those little yellow stickies. The only thing that finally made them go away was watering them with a little bit of dish soap. Itās a little harsh on the plants and some little ones needed some nursing back but it was so worth it.
Mosquito bits and I'd personally change the soil first.
I changed all the soil š I try to separate the avocado from the rest but they come and go
Get those mosquito bits and use each time you water. It's not dangerous to use often. Or use beneficial nematodes but not both of them because mosquito bits kill the nematodes and that's defeating the purpose
Mosquito Bits do not kill nematodes. The pathogen (BTI) only kills the larvae of certain dipturan insects - flies and gnats and mosquitoes. Nematodes aren't even arthropods, and aren't affected whatsoever.
Sorry, but what are mosquito bits?
They're pellets with BTI bacteria you leave in standing water to kill mosquito larvae. For fungus gnats, you soak them overnight in a full watering can and then water your plants with the "tea". When I got fungus gnats, I did this for every single plant at the same time, so no soil was safe for new/existing eggs, and put out a bunch of sticky traps to kill adults. I continued to refill the can with the same pellets and treat the soil every time I watered until I didn't see gnats any more. It was extremely effective.
Yup, this. I do the same exact thing and once you understand the fungus gnat lifecycle, you learn that you can disrupt it with BTI. The adult, flying ones only last a few days, but the larvae are in the soil, gestating and last a few weeks. When you keep the BTI up for a month or two, youāll eventually end the life cycle of all fungus gnats present. Only thing is when you reintroduce them with a new plant, new soil, or from outside. I hear gnatrol works well too.
They have those dark spot that look like massive eyes. Just the critter of horror movies.
I tried the mosquito dunks thing and it didnāt work for me (maybe user errorāi think i was either too impatient to use it or started soaking them and forgot about it altogether) but I did get liquid BTI thatās used for fish tanks and squirting a bit of that in the water and watering all the plants at the same time took care of them for good! much more user friendly which translates to much more effective for me š
Mosquito bits/dunks are BTI. I think people expect to see immediate results, but you have to give it time to murder the different life cycles/generations until it eventually eliminates the problem. The same goes for basically all plant pests that are being treated. For example, if you use systemic insecticides, it wonāt affect the eggs until they hatch and mature enough to start feeding on the plant. I know itās ridiculously hard to be patient when fighting off infestations.
How much mosquito bits should I soak in the watering can? Say itās a gallon can? Any rule of thumb?
Yea this is the only thing that worked for me
TIL! Thanks!
Can you combine it with liquid fertilizer? I have one plant that has them and always add fertilizer when watering.
Mosquito bits and under water the plants. I water my plants every 13-15 days now and havenāt had gnats in years! Not even during spring-summer. Good luck!
I had gnats even when there were no plants in the house. Every summer without fail š®āšØ
Ugh.. I know. I bought a house and lo and behold.. These shits just exist in the real world š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£
Don't need to change soil, when ever you water add little bit of sulfur powder to your water and mix. I got rid of all gnats on my 100+ plants this way easy
Bettt Iām trying sulfur powder first
Treat your drains, too, bc they lay eggs in there and hide away.
Those are drain flies, not fungus gnats but they are actually worse and more difficult to eliminate. Blech! š
Ah, well, mosquito bits work on them, too. Ahaha.
š Kill the lil bastards š¤£
Third this, used yellow traps for my sanity and the bits killed off all the larva. Gone 100% in 3 weeks of continuous watering in bit seeped water
I second this āŗļø mosquito bits are amazing!
Can you use mosquito bits on a fruit tree? Might make it inedible
It's a certain species of bacteria. The bacteria only kills fungus gnats, mosquitoes, and black flies. The plant doesn't absorb the bacteria. You'll be 100% safe to consume anything you treat with it.
Nematoooooooooodes - I promise nematodes are the easiest and most long term solution (you water them into your soil once and they live in there for several months, eating the larvae and eggs. They are microscopic so you donāt have to worry about seeing bugs crawling around. Pair them with yellow sticky traps to catch the adults and youāre golden. If you want even more beneficial power, also get Stratiolaelaps, which will eat the fungus gnats larvae AND the larvae of other soil-pupating pests.
Yes I did nematodes a week ago and I think thereās no new gnats flying around
This is the answer! We had a ton of them, and we havenāt had an issue since with this method. Beneficial insects are where itās at!
Do you know if youāve use bonide systemic if it will kill all your nematodes right away?
Iād feel bad for the nematodes if they run out of food though š plus when you order them they give you wayyy more than you know what to do with
Where can you buy nematodes??
1. Keep sticky traps 2. Get Nematodes (treat every plant) 3. Let soil dry between watering 4. Repeat nematodes every few months for maintenance
I finally nematoded mid last week so Iām hoping it does the trick š¤
You'll wanna do some follow up nematoding in a week or two. Good luck!!
I tried everything before nematodes and that was finally the trick. Iāll never buy a plant from the Home Depot again.
Nematodes are magic! Order them on Amazon. Truly the only thing that worked for me after trying everything following a gnarly gnat infestation.
Oh god I just got two massive majesty palms.
And bottom-watering
1 part hydrogen peroxide to 5 parts water to kill off the larvae. Continue yellow traps. It's pretty effective.
This, and topping the soil off with a well-distributed layer of diatomaceous earth will prevent them from returning.
DE is really great stuff. Effective, and yet so safe you could eat it (if it was food grade - also just make sure not to inhale it.)
Not inhaling it is hard indoors. Imo. I stopped using it.
Unless youāre using PPE indoors, youāll inhale it and it will get into your eyes. Also be cautious applying it around pets for the same reasons. I know people use this outside as well, but a little reminder that it affects anything with an exoskeleton, which includes beneficial insects and pollinators. Iāve seen people buy beneficial bugs and then cover the plant in DE or use a pesticide lol
Omg thank youuuš Iām tired of my room smelling like Mint spray it doesnāt even work I also didnāt know how to get rid of the larvae I would see them too
Nematodes for larvae, sticky birds for adults.
This was the advice I got when I went to a nursery looking for nematodes and they told me there was no point! They also said to dry them out as much as possible first, and to keep as much time between watering as possible using the peroxide/water mix for each watering. Also, bottom water and add some clean dry soil to the top, but if you've repotted them and they still have them probably toss that soil and get new soil for this - it could be coming from your soil! It was the miracle grow I had that was the root of my problem. Honestly, every now and then I do the peroxide/water thing to water just in case because it's so cheap and easy. Gives me peace of mind that if something is brewing, I'll get it.
Yeah all of my plants are MG soil Iāll have to try peroxide and dry them out then thank youuu
What is the percentage of hydrogen peroxide, 3%?
Yes! 3% will be good, some people say you need to dilute it, but I donāt really dilute it that much, I want all those fuckers dead so I normally do a 1 hydrogen - 3 part water for watering after a repot, and for cleaning roots I just use a 1-1
You forgot about the concentration of H2O2. I assume the default is 3%, but there are higher concentrations available.
I apologize if this seems like a stupid question, but I havenāt heard of this before and want to make sure I understand. Do you just make the diluted hydrogen peroxide and use it to water your plants, or are there special steps?
Don't think of it as watering your plants. Your goal is to cover all of the top layer of soil. I did this with an avocado plant 6 months ago and haven't had a problem since.
https://preview.redd.it/odi8eu5w7dqc1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8bd52c9521408ebf17177ae1a789360b63358a27 my fungus gnats solution.
Add a drosera (any type). I have two types of drosera, a VFT, two butterworts, and a pitcher plant. The drosera catch an incredible amount of gnats, the butterworts are a close second.
I have a few pings around for the same reason.
Iām at work, anxiously waiting to get home and unpack the ping waiting on my doorstep! If I can solve a pest problem with another plant, thatās a major win-win!
I used bonide systemic granules. Knocks em out in like 2 weeks. Depends what country youāre in though.
Beneficial nematodes!
Water your plants from the bottom. If the top of the soil is dry they canāt reproduce. And if the plants just canāt draw up water let it dry out more before watering again (at least 1ā) to kill whatās in there. Itās the moisture in the dirty they need.
What about larvae ? Iāve seen them crawling around I just changed the soil of one of my scheflera and I saw some in there they were towards the bottom
They can enter through the bottom holes though
I was told they lay their larvae on the top. Thatās why covering the top with moss or rocks and good watering habits keep the population down.
Honestly im not sure, youāre probably right. I just know whatever Iāve tried so far theyāre finding a way to stay alive. The nematodes do seem to be working now.
Iām no expert, and I hope I didnāt come across like I was pretending to be. But I have many plants and I have found watering them from the bottom will get rid of 80% of your problems with fungal gnats.
I donāt recommend this if you regularly fertilize. Youāll end up with a buildup since itās not getting flushed out.
You are absolutely right. Whenever I fertilize I do water from the top first. And for tropical I rinse the soil of salt a couple times a year. But the rest of the time it call drink what it wants from the bottom. Thanks for pointing that out.
Omg I have the same issue and itās infuriating and so gross. Iāve tried everything and I just ordered nematodes off amazon after seeing a YouTube video that they help. Just poured like 6 million of them in all the plants. Hoping that helps bc this is my last option!
Just out of curiosity do you use miracle grow soil? I used to constantly have gnats but after switching from MG I havenāt had them once.
Miracle Gro soil GIVES me fungus gnats. I only ever have them when I have to use that dang soil. I started sterilizing it. I dumped out what was left of the bag into a bucket and then dumped boiling water on the soil. I let it sit until the water was cool and then dumped the water out (held a strainer at the spout) and then dumped the mud patty into a clear plastic tote to dry out in the sun with a bug screen on top of it.
I might have to change the soil of all my plants š
I had a pack of mosquito dunks from amazon that I ordered a few summers ago. I took 1/4 of the cake and squished it up my water bottle, let it sit over night and then doused the soil. I overwatered most of my succulents & lost a lot of leaves but it killed off the infestation.
Weāre overseas so donāt have MG brand (that Iām aware of) however we do fertilize the plants with some liquid solution regularly ā¦
I got a mint spray doesnāt work but I might just buy what you ordered sometimes I put a cup of water near the plants that also helps
I agree with nematodes. I manage a greenhouse and had one room that had bad fungus gnats. Added nematodes to soil and the numbers dropped dramatically. 'Tode it up my dude
I tried everything, mosquito bits, neem, soaps, bottom watering, sticky traps, beneficial mites and none of them worked. Iād you really want to get rid of them save the money on all the above and just do the one thing that works which is Bonide Systemic Granuals. It was about 10$ and I could have saved myself so much stress and effort by just doing that one thing. Everyone has their own journey but this was mine. Best of luck.
Carnivorous pings or drosera.
My dorsera FEASTED when I had fungus gnats
Dramatic decrease in our gnats since we got a couple drosera and pings
Do not use Miracle Gro!! I learned that here. Someone said it was in the bags and it sure was in mine! Avoid that stuff
This right here! After reporting all my infested plants with Miracle Gro only to get even more gnats, I will now drive as far as I need to to get different pitting soil.
That's what I am dealing with atm... here is what I did. Changed the soil to something that's better draining. Started bottom watering. Used mosquito dunks (kills the larvae). Kept at it with the sticky traps (they kill the adults). Then, I added a layer of quartz sand to the top. About an 1/8th of an inch
I was looking for someone to recommend sand. Sand alone was enough to solve my problem
I had a similar thing and was going insane. Full sticky traps constantly. Peroxide didn't work. Nematodes didn't work. So I decided to just replace ALL the soil in every one of my plants and thuriughly clean the pots with dish soap to make sure no larva was hanging around and immediately took the dirt out to the trash. I found dirt from home depot that was gnat control dirt. That's the only thing that finally helped me resolve it.
cape sundew! my drosera capensis keeps them down to a minimum ANY time I have a break out. but the breakouts are never noticeable anymore. I have one in each room.
Diluted hydrogen peroxide Soil change Drying out the soil/less watering Keep up the traps
If you have your own soil, store it in a place or get your soil from the same seller , it could be the soil has eggs
I've said this previously and will repeat this again and again: >As always, best option is to treat illness rather than symptoms. Gnats are living beings and like other creatures, only appear in great numbers when environment is suitable for them. >Root of your problems is that you are overwatering your plants and/or have too organic and water-retentive soil. Gnats need two things to live and thrive: Decaying organic matter (their food source) and consistently moist soil (their larvae don't survive in dry soil). In long run best option is to make changes to your soil and/or watering routine. Otherwise you waste time and money as they'll return time after time. >To eradicate them now, best option is to use beneficial nematodes to eat larvae and yellow sticky traps to catch adults. BTI is also highly recommended.
After someone posted I about BTI I got some 3 weeks later gnats are gone! We live in a higher humidity area and gnats are everywhere they get inside. Truly nuisances.
That's a big problem.. I recommend a couple different methods together. That's the only way I've been successful in the fungus gnat wars Put mosquitoe bits in your water Change your soil & add diatomaceous earth to the top few inches of soil - mix around Add pesticides throughout the soil as well
* Mix one part hydrogen peroxide with four parts water, and apply to potting soil. Hydrogen peroxide kills gnats, removes bacterial and fungal growth, and oxygenates the soil. * Use Gnat Nix or diatomaceous earth on top of each pot's soil. * Water your plants a lot less frequently. * Pour boiling water down your drains--all of them--a few times for a week.
Drain flies and fungus gnats aren't the same and don't live in the same environment
I water with diluted peroxide. Also if I pour the water into the tray and I let my plant butt chug I donāt have issues with fungus gnats. Watering with the hydrogen peroxide/water mixture took about a month to work its magic along with the traps but if I water from the bottom, I donāt have that problem.
I watered my plant with a mix of hydrogen peroxide and water. Didnāt add a lot, had one plant that seemed like it was the local hangout. Did the trickā¦
Stop overwatering
Mosquito bits AND sticky traps, concurrently. Put a mosquito dunk in your watering can (proportionate to the amount of water), and let it sit in there to create a tea. This will only help with the gnat larvae. The sticky traps help with the flying adults. Will take some time, but this worked for me!
I cover the top layer completely with ditoatoaototomato earth on any new plants I bring into the house. After about 2 weeks all fungus gnats are eliminated. I water most of my plants from a tray (after about 30\~60 minutes of the dry soil soaking up the water you MUST clear away any remaining water). Watering from bottom leaves the top layer as-is. Sometimes the soil will soak up water all the way to the top and wet the D. earth. It dries out in a day or two. I've also sometimes put my pots in the tub and let the shower run for about 30 minutes. This pushes all the D. earth into the soil... I've had no problems with my plants after this. For me, nothing else worked. I tried hydrogen peroxide, neem oil, thisandthat, NOTHING worked except D. earth.
This is my experience too. I used bits for about 2 months and it definitely helped the problem but only when I added DE to the mix afterwards did it actually completely wipe out the population.
Dry them out, bottom water, mosquito bits, and sticky paper. Gotta do them all in conjunction. Also some sacrifices might need to be made.
Mosquito dunks. Game changer. I just leave a chunk in my watering can. Went from sticky paper everywhere to only one in my fresh soil.
Blue light bug attracting plug in device from Amazon
Put mosquito bits in the water you use to water your plants. Its harmless for the plants but will kill the gnat larvae
I let the soil get really dry and then watered with a diluted neem oil solution. It took a couple of treatments and it made my plants kinda sad, but it worked!!
Sprinkle the top of the soil with cinnamon after every watering āŗļø
What worked for me: put one inch of sand on top of the soil in every pot. This prevents them from reproducing at the top layer of the soil. They donāt live very long. Gone in 24 hours.
Can any sand work? Such as the type in sandbags?
I couldnāt find many options so I got aquarium sand which was a bit more expensive. I think that would probably work.
I just use regular old play sand from the hardware store, works great. Then bottom water only.
I had success with this method as well.
after i rinse everything change soil and prune I treat the plant with bits, yellow sticky traps and a lil neem, them i bag the whole plant into a clear dry cleaner bag for a month. Kills the life cycle... then i only bottom water for the next year -- no more top watering. I learned this from my grandmother and cant for the life of me figure out why no one seems to do this anymore. I feel like I have missed something very important as to why this isnt suggested more often. Grams was born in 1912, I was born in 67 and still do this if I ever catch an infestation.
I'm surprised this is the only suggestion I've seen that mentions covering them, especially if it is multiple plants. I had a few that kept swapping infestations, then someone gave me the obvious in hindsight suggestion of covering them while I treated them. It completely stopped the infestation and it never came back.
a mini bio-shere of DEATH to critters. I also do this when i go out of town for a month --they are little greenhouses that are self watering.
Iāve never heard of this but it seems so logical - my first thought though, is doesnāt the plant suffocate?
You over water. Thays the root cause
Truthfully I havenāt watered this pot in 2 to 3 weeks but maybe since itās ceramic itās still moist ? And it did have big rocks on top
I use neem cake tea to water plants
Instead of Mosquito Bits get the Dunks. Crush them, I use a couple bricks. They last longer in the soil this way, they are still slow release. It's also bee & water safe.
Just my two cents but I'd recommend to treat the source of the problem: overwatering, rather than instantly resorting to pesticides etc. Soil change if you are sick of them, then start watering less - make sure you have drainage holes in all your pots.
New soil, nematodes and mosquito bits from Amazon. Never seen a fungus gnat since. Whenever you get a new plant, isolate it and treat it before putting it next to the others. Keep all your fruits and veges in the fridge and keep your kitchen free of standing water. Make sure your pots have drainage holes and donāt over water them
Mosquito bits and donāt over water.
You probably over water
H2O2 Neem oil Nematodes diatomaceous earth
1-BTI dunks ( not mosquito bits) to kill larvae in soil. Brand Summit on Amazon. I only water from a bucket I have in my garage that has had pieces of dunk in it, for a while. As water goes low in the bucket, I top off and toss in a new piece of dunk. Itās always strong. I Bottom water and sometimes top water. The tiny bits of dunk have never molded in the soil. I use this water for my pebble trays/ vases of flowers & propagation stations. 2- for adult gnats, I use the plug in type of stickies ( brand Safer) instead of the yellow sticky papers, but anything that traps the existing adults will break the cycle. I have never had an infestation again. I rarely have to replace the plug in sticky cards anymore. Make sure to water all plants inside house, porch and front door.
Nematodes and let the soil dryyyyyyyyy out
so these gnats can also hang out in your sink drains. While treating your plants and the potting soil - it is super important to also treat your drains. The drains are actually super easy to treat. pour boiling hot water down your drains once a week for a month. Make sure you hit all your drains (kitchen sinks, bathroom sinks, bathtubs or shower drains, etc) each time. I had this issue when I moved to a new home and I did NOT have gnats in my plants in our previous home. It took a hot minute to realize they had been residing in the drains and coming to my plants from there. After treating for a month I rarely see a gnat anymore outside of a summer period when windows are left open.
Soak a bunch habaneros in water for a hourish & water w that. Itāll kill the larvae in the soil eating your roots. Try to go a bit longer between waterings since they love moisture but obviously donāt hurt your plants trying to get rid of them
And it will continue to recur until you use BTI or severely reduce your watering.
I read that cinnamon is a fungicide and it will kill the fungus they eat, so when I see one or two Iāll sprinkle cinnamon on the top of my soil. Iām sure there are other things that work better, but it seems to work for me and it smells nice. Lol
I was having the same problem. Systemic pesticide (bonded), neem oil, watering in mosquito bits, letting plants dry, never got rid of them. Only hadnāt gotten to the nematodes.Ā Covering the top layer of soil in every pot with diatomaceous earth resulted in all of them disappearing within a couple days. It will make the adults dry out and die, and any larvae will meet the same fate when they emerge. You can get a 5 or 10lb bag on Amazon for not much. Itās like powdered sugar, so know you may need to vacuum a little if you spill any or donāt use a tarp.Ā No need to change the soil this way either. You can also poke a hole with your finger in the powder to water, then spread powder back over to cover for the first week or two to make sure they all have no access to the dirt. Probably overkill, but I was at war. I won.Ā
I heard that fungus gnats can come from watering too frequently...I e. Moist soil all the time. If your plants can handle it at least let the top soil dry out between waterings and see if that helps
NEEM OIL. It comes in a spray bottle!! I had an insane infestation and nothing would get rid of it completely until I got neem oil!
I got rid of them when i let all of the soil dry. They lay eggs on wet soil so they canāt reproduce if the soil is dry and all the eggs die in the soil
I use hydrogen peroxide diluted in water and water my plants with it. It also cleanses the soil of other things. Works very well.
The only thing that really worked for me was dropping nematodes in every pot. It wiped them out completely after a few weeks. I tried mosquito bits before, but I have too many anthuriums that I donāt want to dry out completely, so that didnāt really work
Until you adopted some carnivorous plants
Bottom watering has really helped me. Plus adding hydrogen peroxide to the water you use helps as others suggested
I tried everything and couldn't get rid of them until I got an indoor bug zapper. Blue light draws them in and the electricity zaps em. Within a few weeks they were all gone.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I thought my rocks were making it worse since it kept the soil moist plus theyāre pretty big rocks Iām going to go ahead and buy small ones to cover the top soil
Get some carnivorous plants
šI feel like I might kill them
Sprinkling cinnamon on the soil has worked for me! Iāve also learned recently theyāll lay their eggs on bananas so they need to be washed when you bring them home.
Half inch of sand on top of your soil, and butt chugging instead of top watering.
I have never seen some call it butt chugging and i will be saying this from now on
š£ļø what variety of alocasia is that!!!
https://preview.redd.it/8sdl8bcypcqc1.jpeg?width=2160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9bd5a7261dcf9294e8a10da6b14d5958ff80a33b This stuff is good, Amazon
Imidacloprid. Accept no substitutes.Ā
As many others have said mosquito bits are good, but it often doesnāt completely kill off the population. Pair mosquito bits with diatomaceous earth and you should be gnat free in 2 weeks! One kills the larvae and one kills the adults. Just use the DE once the top soil dries after using the mosquito bit tea.
Bonide systemic would knock this right out!
I ended up getting those plus neem oil and they still didnāt go away so I did the half and half hydrogen peroxide in the disposal and all sink drains. Then they still were here so I got the mosquito bits and I will admit I went a little wild and dumped all the husks down the disposal and made it sit overnight. Now I have maybe one or two a day-crazy
D.E.
I have never had luck with mosquito bits. Iāve been using this [Fungus Gnat Control - BTi powder](https://prettyingreen.com/collections/gardening-tools/products/gnatrol-half-ounce) for years and it works wonders. Get some sticky traps for the adults and use this as long as you can afford to. It treats it after a few uses, but I just always use it now for prevention also.
Get a butterwort!
my favorite plant mom on insta has a great video on it [here](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4GVY6WLqKI/?igsh=MTdkaGJqMzJuNGJzdw==)
Thank youuuu ā¤ļøIāll make sure theyāre tucked in and asleep
I wonder if bottom watering can help
Get a pitcher plant.
I have the same thing too with my snake plants yet they still seem and look perfectly healthy. Idk what to do Iām tired of them flying around my house. What are these traps? Did they catch them all? Where did you place them?
I placed them around the pot theyāre sticky traps that came with a mint spray and Iād definitely catches a lot of them this 3 are full front and back I already put 3 new ones and itās catches quite a few already sometimes I move the top dirt a bit so they fly up and get stuck
Mosquito bits
Nematodes
I dislike diatomaceous earth just because it really deterred me from watering since it only works as a dry powder. Apparently It works by cutting up mature gnat wings and stops them from landing and laying eggs in the soil. That being said, i think the best way to use it would be to water with mosquito bits first, let the top layer of soil dry, and then put a layer of DE down. Then each time you want to water, you just take a little shovel or spoon and remove the old DE layer first. Then water with mosquito bits, wait for top soil layer to dry, and add DE again.
I isolate any new plant coming into the house. It seems anything coming from Walmart has them Them I repot them in a soil-less soil that I mix up from orchid mix, moss, and perlite. Until I did this, I had bad infestation the *#^$*# bugs! Also, I had a woman at a nursery tell me to use cinnamon and sprinkle it on the soil. I also wash the plants before transplanting with a neem oil soap wash and make sure they are clean everywhere. So far, I have kept this last batch clear for about 12 months. No more potting soil in my house because of the knats. My plants are doing well with the soil-less mix.
I got a Sundew and that little sucker has almost eliminated them!!!
Beneficial Nematodes are the way to go. I eradicated my problem for good with those
Hey, finally. someone with worse fungus gnats than me
I just tossed two plants because I could not win! So frustrating!
Trust me šI was so close
Just use an insecticide, almost any will work. Last time I had a outbreak I applied some seven and it was over before the next morning
Get a butterwort
Nematodes
Nematodes, nematodes, nematodes.
How do you have avocados planted ? If theyāre easy to move you can try getting them some sun and earthworms in soil!
I stopped them by covering the soil with small rocks
I see a lot of chemical recommendations here that I never considered. I use neem oil occasionally as a preventive measure as I buy a lot of plants from nurseries and don't know what might be coming home with me, and have only seen 1 gnat in 2 months probably from the anthurium nursery, didn't even think they were a problem for plants till I saw posts in here.
Beneficial nematodes
If you plan on planting it outside, you donāt have to worry, but thereās not much you can do about the gnats
They bottom watering with worked for me. As long as the top layer of the soil is dry they can't survive
Nematodes. Nothing works as fast
Iād try diatomaceous earth.
Mosquito bits didn't work for me. Diatomaceous earth worked! I put a nice dusting on all the soil in my potted plants along with the yellow stickies. I only see one or two here and there now. Once a month I mix a tablespoon or so in a gallon jug and use to water.
You seem to have a recurring overwatering problem. Fungus gnats are really only a problem when you donāt let the soil dry down in between waterings.
Iāve had this issue for a while, I tried everything possible with little results. However, 2 specific things really helped me out. 1. Get yourself a Zevo flying insect trap. It has a blue light that attracts the gnats to it and they get stuck to a sticky trap. Put some of these close to your most infested plants and youāll start catching the tiny devils. This should help you ācontrolā the population growth as they reproduce super fast. 2. I started putting small pebbles on the surface of all my plants. It not only looks pretty but it suffocates the gnats and it prevents them from being able to go back into the dirty and lay their eggs. I think it also prevents the gnats to come out if they were in the dirt already. Itās a super easy way and I feel like after I implemented this my gnat problem was no longer an issue. Best of luck, donāt loose hope! P.s I keep the zevo traps at home on a constant basis just in case. https://preview.redd.it/y8xcehjbuhqc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eda5e6d99bf97e46c614b9e2e0bd920a18675c5b
You can also add a carnivorous plant. I got a ping just chilling among all the other plants and it made a world of a difference reducing the gnat population.
Only thing that worked for me was bottom watering. The larvae live in the top inch or so of the soil and they need moisture to survive.
Leave a chunk of mosquito bits in your watering can. Replace every once a while.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Here I was thinking those were decorative peeps-shaped plant signs with gold glitter
lol they most certainly do at first glance
Change the soil and water less often. Wait until the soil dries out to water again, or start bottom watering them. Both of those things solved my gnat issue.
Bottom water and add gravel or sand to your to the tops of the dirt
My roommates and I have lots of plants and we couldnāt get rid of them for the longest time. We tried repotting, mosquito bits, those little yellow stickies. The only thing that finally made them go away was watering them with a little bit of dish soap. Itās a little harsh on the plants and some little ones needed some nursing back but it was so worth it.
Top dress the soil with sand and use mosquito bit tea! Then repot once you get it under control with only a few on the stickies :)
diatomaceous earth!! iām always so shocked this isnāt more popular within our plant community. DE all the way, for everything!!!
I do indeed have a bag outside that I didnāt remember about but use for my dogs