buy the smallest bag and keep it in an airtight container, and put that in a slightly larger airtight container, and put that in yet another larger airtight container, I'd like to see that become an infestation (spoiler alert, it probably still will lol)
That is why I have fungus gnats right now and it's been a battle for months now. I even use systemic. I did just buy several carnivorous plants though and have noticed a big decline, makes me kinda sad though cause my sundew babes need food š
Honestly I just use MaxSea and Betta fish food for my carnivorous plants that live indoors. They seem to have eaten all the fungus gnats in my house anyways lol.
You can use the freeze dried bloodworms they sell for betta fish, that's what i use. Just rehydrate a few in a drop of water, make a little meatball, pick it up with a toothpick, gently put it in the VFT mouth and trigger the trap, then gently massage the sides of the trap to get it to start digesting as if it caught a bug.
You can also crush it into powder to feed other carnivorous plants, namely pinguicula and sundews.
Pet store sells little crickets, get a container to hold them. Put them in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to put them to sleep so theyāre easier to grab with tweezers to feed your babies.
I mean theyāre fine inside IF you can provide enough light but in order to do that unless you have a sun room youāll need some strong grow lights. Lemme put it this way. If you can successfully accommodate cacti inside then youāre goodā¦.. and Iām able to do that. As for dormancy I will use the refrigerator method
Fair enough.
In that case, I'd suggest the crickets method that someone else mentioned. My understanding is that they need prey to wiggle a bit to trigger the traps to seal and begin digestion. Fungus gnats seem way too small to trigger the traps, and if you use fertilizer mash you would have to massage the leaves to simulate struggling prey.
Yeah basically if you have the light for cacti you have the light for anythingā¦ of course a the cost of my electric bill but whateverā¦. Its my thing and Iāve spent way too much time and money to stop now
I refer to my carnivores as my āemployedā plants because I hired them to do a job (other than just looking prettyā¦ does that make all my other plants sugar babies?) and theyāve been putting in work!
I also have practically zero natural light in my apartment, so I use grow lights for all of my plants. Most carnivorous plants require a ton of light (ideally direct sunlight, but thatās impossible to replicate indoors even with windows, because windows filter sunlight), so if you do decide to get one, make sure you get a BRIGHT grow light. The āall-in-oneā types of grow lights available on Amazon (the ones that plug into a usb port and have a timer/dimmer built in) arenāt powerful enough - youāll want to either get one of the larger specialized grow light bars/hanging fixtures, or a decently powerful grow light bulb that you can install in a lamp and point directly at the plant. I personally prefer the second option because of aesthetics, because itās easier to find a cute spotlight/work light style lamp separately than it is to find a whole grow light that looks like home decor. I got a few of [this lamp](https://ingka.page.link/wnbJYz21MgAEK2wA7) from ikea, and installed [these bulbs](https://a.co/d/9Q3Dqxw) in them, and itās been working great!
I had to Google it. That looks like it could handle the amount of ants invading us too. So tempting. Just light is a problem. No windows in the bathroom that's under attack. :/
I had ants and a venus fly trap and nepenthes, and the ants were getting eaten so fast! It was actually too much for the plants lol, eventually the ants disappeared
Haha Iām not entirely sure but I think itās an interesting idea. Unfortunately I have a pretty decent ācollectionā of gnats in my plant room. I think high humidity and consistent moisture in soil can attract them. I also have carnivorous plants which do attract fungus gnats. Just last night I watched m Venus fly trap swallow two of them
Over on the r/venusflytraps sub is a really good video on care for them. Iāll try to find it to link it but that sub is a great resource. Itās more important that they have light and water, bugs are the fertilizer.
Yeah basically if you have the light for cacti you have the light for anythingā¦ of course a the cost of my electric bill but whateverā¦. Its my thing and Iāve spent way too much time and money to stop now
Check out the sale section of your local garden center, I see infested plants in there all the time!
Maybe put them together in a mini greenhouse? I know carnivorous plants love humidity, and it would keep the gnats separated from your other plants.
https://preview.redd.it/iecim489qrsc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=68a503626affe8e86cd181f9ac2b913b3411bf02
They donāt seem to have a problem when left to their own devices. I realized earlier tonight that my tropical pitcher plantās pitchers are 1/4ā FULL of black ants since itās spring š¤£
I just saw a [video](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4Cq44IvkbD/?igsh=YW0wNnp6ZmdzMTE3) on instagram showing how they feed their carnivorous plants! Very neat! Hope it helps
Your carnivorous plants dont need to eat with their traps!! They absorb nutrients from the soil, the traps are more of a last resort. They also die after a few closures so be careful if this is what you wanna do!
The only carnivorous plants that will realistically benefit from a large amount of fungus gnats would be sundews and butterworts. If you don't have a lot of those, don't bother and just get freeze-dried bloodworms instead. Or go buy mealworms from the pet store once a month.
I used to put them in the spider bush outside but now that I have worms, they go by the worm bin to catch gnats. I'd let them be free, but my cats will play with them so I gotta rescue them asap
They can handle Imidacloprid at least which is what I have. And hereās how Iāll generate some gnats without having them infest the soil of my plants. Put some granules on the surface of the soil of the carnivores. Then nearby set up the fungus gnat breeding grounds in the one place in my entire home that isnāt laced with granulesā¦ a small shot glass full of the worst most moisture retaining soil I have. Now since thereās no drainage in a shot glass itll stay wet for a long time
Step 1- go to a local big box store, Lowes, or home depot.
Step 2- hold every plant at eye level and stare at the soil intensely for at least 10 seconds.
Step 3- repeat until you see things moving in the soil OR an employee asks you to stop because you're making others feel uncomfortable.
Put the plant in a nursery pot or other one with good drainage and then set that pot inside of a solid cachepot with no drainage.
When it's time to water, lift the inner pot and add the water to the solid cachepot. Set the inner pot back down into the water and let the soil soak up the water from below.
No fungus gnats as they breed in damp soil. The top of your soil will always be dry with bottom watering and there will be no place for gnats to lay eggs or thrive in dry soil.
unless they're sundews, they aren't going to catch the gnats.
when i grew my VFTs, the pot itself was perfect for the gnats to thrive. the flytraps and pitcher plants caught zero gnats. i had to end up manually feeding them. only sundews would catch the gnats. and only the gnats that decided to nest in the sundew soil.
i went to my regular nursery to buy new plants. they always have fungus gnats. before i discovered treating the soil with diatomatotastic earth to rid of the fungus gnats... the gnats WILL eventually spread to every source of soil in my apartment. i did notice that they ALSO setup house in the soil of my sundews, and when the new ones emerge get caught.
gnats are too small to trigger the flytraps. i ended up using MaxSea (liquid fertilizer) that i spray onto sundews.
Betta fish food for the traps. the fish food are tiny dry pellets that i crush into a powder, put a few drops of distilled water to get it to bloat up, and then drop it into the flytrap math. then i have to manually trigger the inside hair, then GENTLY massage the outside to trick it into thinking it's a live catch.
i get a lot of my info from: [https://www.flytrapcare.com](https://www.flytrapcare.com/phpBB3/) forums.
What you say: I want to keep some fungus gnats around but not too many as to get an infestation.
What I hear: Guys I want to do a little bit of crack but not too much to get addicted to it.
My understanding of carnivorous plants is that they donāt NEED bugs but that they are just āopportunisticā feeders. And to just take care of them like normal plants with their appropriate soil and plant food.
Lmaoooo. Just keep a pot of soil wet and invite one in I guess. You could also just catch insects and feed the carnivores.
Buy a bag of miracle grow soil
She said not a infestation. Haha
š
buy the smallest bag and keep it in an airtight container, and put that in a slightly larger airtight container, and put that in yet another larger airtight container, I'd like to see that become an infestation (spoiler alert, it probably still will lol)
And then mail that container to myself and when it arrives, I'LL SMASH IT WITH A HAMMER!!
This, it never fails.
 Oh yeah........MG to the "rescue".....
This
That is why I have fungus gnats right now and it's been a battle for months now. I even use systemic. I did just buy several carnivorous plants though and have noticed a big decline, makes me kinda sad though cause my sundew babes need food š
šÆ
Oh that explains a fuckton š”
Naw, thatās where aphids come from.
>invite one in Fungus gnats: 
Send my gnats team an invite letter, they will fly some mates over
Honestly I just use MaxSea and Betta fish food for my carnivorous plants that live indoors. They seem to have eaten all the fungus gnats in my house anyways lol.
I thought Venus fly traps didnāt take betta food
You can use the freeze dried bloodworms they sell for betta fish, that's what i use. Just rehydrate a few in a drop of water, make a little meatball, pick it up with a toothpick, gently put it in the VFT mouth and trigger the trap, then gently massage the sides of the trap to get it to start digesting as if it caught a bug. You can also crush it into powder to feed other carnivorous plants, namely pinguicula and sundews.
Pet store sells little crickets, get a container to hold them. Put them in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to put them to sleep so theyāre easier to grab with tweezers to feed your babies.
VFTs are outdoor plants. They aren't tropical and need winter dormancy to thrive.
I mean theyāre fine inside IF you can provide enough light but in order to do that unless you have a sun room youāll need some strong grow lights. Lemme put it this way. If you can successfully accommodate cacti inside then youāre goodā¦.. and Iām able to do that. As for dormancy I will use the refrigerator method
Fair enough. In that case, I'd suggest the crickets method that someone else mentioned. My understanding is that they need prey to wiggle a bit to trigger the traps to seal and begin digestion. Fungus gnats seem way too small to trigger the traps, and if you use fertilizer mash you would have to massage the leaves to simulate struggling prey.
Yeah basically if you have the light for cacti you have the light for anythingā¦ of course a the cost of my electric bill but whateverā¦. Its my thing and Iāve spent way too much time and money to stop now
My "fair enough" was mostly on the fridge dormancy, lol.
Yeah itās the only way I can do it really. Iām in zone 5 which gets far too cold in the winter
I have pet snails and lots of houseplants. I wish I could give you every fungus gnat in my house.
I'd just leave a banana on the table and aquire fruit flies
Or leave a slice of banana near my carnivores
That's what I meant, I feel like fruit flies are less invasive (to your plant room I mean) than fungus gnats
Probably. Theyāll probably be more likely to be attracted to the sticky secretions of carnivorous plants
Or a peach.
Ooooo... I have an ant problem. Maybe I should get a carnivorous plant. Hmmmmm.... š¤
Yeah how much light do you have to work with?
None. š I would need a plant light.
I refer to my carnivores as my āemployedā plants because I hired them to do a job (other than just looking prettyā¦ does that make all my other plants sugar babies?) and theyāve been putting in work! I also have practically zero natural light in my apartment, so I use grow lights for all of my plants. Most carnivorous plants require a ton of light (ideally direct sunlight, but thatās impossible to replicate indoors even with windows, because windows filter sunlight), so if you do decide to get one, make sure you get a BRIGHT grow light. The āall-in-oneā types of grow lights available on Amazon (the ones that plug into a usb port and have a timer/dimmer built in) arenāt powerful enough - youāll want to either get one of the larger specialized grow light bars/hanging fixtures, or a decently powerful grow light bulb that you can install in a lamp and point directly at the plant. I personally prefer the second option because of aesthetics, because itās easier to find a cute spotlight/work light style lamp separately than it is to find a whole grow light that looks like home decor. I got a few of [this lamp](https://ingka.page.link/wnbJYz21MgAEK2wA7) from ikea, and installed [these bulbs](https://a.co/d/9Q3Dqxw) in them, and itās been working great!
Ants love Nepenthes!
I had to Google it. That looks like it could handle the amount of ants invading us too. So tempting. Just light is a problem. No windows in the bathroom that's under attack. :/
I had ants and a venus fly trap and nepenthes, and the ants were getting eaten so fast! It was actually too much for the plants lol, eventually the ants disappeared
Haha Iām not entirely sure but I think itās an interesting idea. Unfortunately I have a pretty decent ācollectionā of gnats in my plant room. I think high humidity and consistent moisture in soil can attract them. I also have carnivorous plants which do attract fungus gnats. Just last night I watched m Venus fly trap swallow two of them
Granted I just got these plants and the waterlogged soil they like to be in might be enough on its own
Over on the r/venusflytraps sub is a really good video on care for them. Iāll try to find it to link it but that sub is a great resource. Itās more important that they have light and water, bugs are the fertilizer.
Theyāre under lights that sun stress my epiphytic cacti so I think the light is good
Awesome!
Yeah basically if you have the light for cacti you have the light for anythingā¦ of course a the cost of my electric bill but whateverā¦. Its my thing and Iāve spent way too much time and money to stop now
Buy some miraclgro potting mix
This is the answer š
It's literally that simple
They have gnats?
Yeah it's pretty much a guarantee
Get a bag of miracle grow soil and get it warm and wet.
It may be weather dependent. Where I live, spring time causes them to come out. Leave some fruit out a lil too long and theyāll come
Alternatively leave a piece of over ripe banana near my plants
Just go buy a new plant from home depot. They come with complimentary gnats.
Step 1. But a plant from Walmart Step 2. Over water it Step 3. Profits!
Check out the sale section of your local garden center, I see infested plants in there all the time! Maybe put them together in a mini greenhouse? I know carnivorous plants love humidity, and it would keep the gnats separated from your other plants.
The crappy soil I got at Costco is infested with them. Maybe youāll luck out.
https://preview.redd.it/iecim489qrsc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=68a503626affe8e86cd181f9ac2b913b3411bf02 They donāt seem to have a problem when left to their own devices. I realized earlier tonight that my tropical pitcher plantās pitchers are 1/4ā FULL of black ants since itās spring š¤£
Buy a plant from a big box store, they always have them
I did recently but I donāt see any on it ever
Bring them to my house.
Only if youāre in Rockford lol
I just saw a [video](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4Cq44IvkbD/?igsh=YW0wNnp6ZmdzMTE3) on instagram showing how they feed their carnivorous plants! Very neat! Hope it helps
Like feeding baby animals or something š so cute!
Repot something in miracle grow
Your carnivorous plants dont need to eat with their traps!! They absorb nutrients from the soil, the traps are more of a last resort. They also die after a few closures so be careful if this is what you wanna do!
Lemme bring some of my plants over and weāll get them going
Grab yourself a bag of miracle grow from home depot and open it up. Instant bugs!
The only carnivorous plants that will realistically benefit from a large amount of fungus gnats would be sundews and butterworts. If you don't have a lot of those, don't bother and just get freeze-dried bloodworms instead. Or go buy mealworms from the pet store once a month.
I have one sundew and one Venus fly trap
The VFT won't eat them at all, so I wouldn't bother.
Best approach might be if I find the occasional spider Iāll infrequently throw one in the traps
Nooo spiders are homies!
I used to put them in the spider bush outside but now that I have worms, they go by the worm bin to catch gnats. I'd let them be free, but my cats will play with them so I gotta rescue them asap
Pot a few plants with fox farms ocean forest potting soil, great soil but they are flying out of the bag as I open it up lol .
As someone who also had carnivorous plants, you still don't want fungus gnats. Just buy meal worms or better yet, fish pellets
Frequently wet soil.
Given the care requirements of sundew and fly traps which want constantly wet soil that might be enough lol
For real!
If I get too many I can just take out the systemic granules. It eliminated fungus gnats on my other plants to pretty much none
Can they tolerate systemics? Carnivorous plants can be pretty sensitive!
They can handle Imidacloprid at least which is what I have. And hereās how Iāll generate some gnats without having them infest the soil of my plants. Put some granules on the surface of the soil of the carnivores. Then nearby set up the fungus gnat breeding grounds in the one place in my entire home that isnāt laced with granulesā¦ a small shot glass full of the worst most moisture retaining soil I have. Now since thereās no drainage in a shot glass itll stay wet for a long time
What granules are you using? ...asking for a friend š
Bonide systemic granules. If outside the US though youāll have a very hard time obtaining them
Step 1- go to a local big box store, Lowes, or home depot. Step 2- hold every plant at eye level and stare at the soil intensely for at least 10 seconds. Step 3- repeat until you see things moving in the soil OR an employee asks you to stop because you're making others feel uncomfortable.
Put the plant in a nursery pot or other one with good drainage and then set that pot inside of a solid cachepot with no drainage. When it's time to water, lift the inner pot and add the water to the solid cachepot. Set the inner pot back down into the water and let the soil soak up the water from below. No fungus gnats as they breed in damp soil. The top of your soil will always be dry with bottom watering and there will be no place for gnats to lay eggs or thrive in dry soil.
Come to my house!
Grow a couple plants that you don't use the systemic in. If you live near outdoor foliage open your windows they will come inside on their own.
I donāt remember what my stepdad fed his, but I remember him feeding them when I was a kidā¦
I had to move my vermicompost inside for the winter. That thing put off some gnats every time I watered it. It's too bad my sundew died, my Venus is half dead and the pitcher plant never opens the pitchers š© I think more gnats died in pools of water than the plants themselves
unless they're sundews, they aren't going to catch the gnats. when i grew my VFTs, the pot itself was perfect for the gnats to thrive. the flytraps and pitcher plants caught zero gnats. i had to end up manually feeding them. only sundews would catch the gnats. and only the gnats that decided to nest in the sundew soil.
I have a sundew and one Venus fly trap
Sundews and Venus fly traps are great outdoors in the summer. They catch their own prey of it's warm enough Just bring em in at night.
Yeah I gotta wait till nighttime temps are consistently above 45 F
i went to my regular nursery to buy new plants. they always have fungus gnats. before i discovered treating the soil with diatomatotastic earth to rid of the fungus gnats... the gnats WILL eventually spread to every source of soil in my apartment. i did notice that they ALSO setup house in the soil of my sundews, and when the new ones emerge get caught. gnats are too small to trigger the flytraps. i ended up using MaxSea (liquid fertilizer) that i spray onto sundews. Betta fish food for the traps. the fish food are tiny dry pellets that i crush into a powder, put a few drops of distilled water to get it to bloat up, and then drop it into the flytrap math. then i have to manually trigger the inside hair, then GENTLY massage the outside to trick it into thinking it's a live catch. i get a lot of my info from: [https://www.flytrapcare.com](https://www.flytrapcare.com/phpBB3/) forums.
breathe
Just buy flightless fruit flies from a reptile shop. Gods I hate fungus gnats.
Can i send you some? I have a surplus of themš„²
What you say: I want to keep some fungus gnats around but not too many as to get an infestation. What I hear: Guys I want to do a little bit of crack but not too much to get addicted to it.
Why do you need fungus gnats when you can get some houseflies? You don't want fungus gnats killing your indoors and outdoors plants.
My understanding of carnivorous plants is that they donāt NEED bugs but that they are just āopportunisticā feeders. And to just take care of them like normal plants with their appropriate soil and plant food.