help! fungus gnats!

I have about 16 indoor plants. a few weeks ago a few fungus gnats started floating around. now it is a infestation. I put sticky fly traps all over my apartment and 15-20 new flies are trapped each day. plants are doing well with new leaves the the flies are not localized to any particular plant. I read online and found out that trapping the adult flies do not solve the problem. Here are the posible proposed solutions:
1. watering plant with alcohol: this is a disaster. tried on 2 of my plants and the leaves immediately curled up. i had to throw those plants away.
2. sticky traps: works really well. does not solve the problem. and the fly carcases are disgusting.
3. potatoe wedges in the soil to trap larvae: started this monday. although the process seems too slow while flies buzz around my head.
4. stop watering: my hands are itching but i swear i haven't watered for 2 weeks. i am afraid my plants might dry out 1st before the bugs die. recently i started repotting using soil mixed w/ perlite & charcoal. most of my plants are not ready for repotting and i don't want to disturb them
5. put a layer of sand on top of the soil: really want to avoid this because i don't want to confuse my cat
6. put out a bowl of wine or apple vinegar: works ok but the fly trap work better. still only traps adults and do not kill larvae
7. put a layer of coconut husk on top of soil: some people say it works/some people say no?
8. water with water soaked mosquito dunk which contains bacillus thuringiensis. does anyone know what proportion?

i am getting really desperate! does layering with coconut husk help? how about mosquito dunk? any other solutions?

thank you!

Yellow sticky traps are good for the adults (and gross or not you do need to do something about the adults--while they don't harm the plants, as long as you have adults they're going to lay eggs and make more gnats). The mosquito dunks should take care of the larvae--the stuff in the dunks isn't harmful to plants so I'd use a decent amount but I don't know that the exact proportion matters.

That's great advice. I, too, am embroiled in a huge battle with these nasty things. I hate them. What about hydrogen peroxide/water mixture? Is that effective on the larvae? I heard something about it, but I have not tried it as of yet.

I've seen some people post that the peroxide works on the larvae--never tried it myself though.

I used the peroxide and water method. Had to water a few times for full effect but does work. 1/2 cup to 1 gallon water or for real bad cases 1 cup to 1 gallon water. Never hurt my plants.

Thanks, Tish. I was using too weak of a solution! I'll try it with your suggested dilution and see if that works for me! Thanks again!

One quarter of a mosquito dunk in your watering can. One HALF of one in a 30-50 gallon rain barrel. Sticky traps for the adults.

We also have had moderate success watering with a brewed tea of cinnamon sticks and chamomile.

I get them every spring. Spray the entire top of the soil with Schultz Houseplant and Garden Insect Killer until it is just barely damp every day for 7-10 days. They look for anywhere even slightly damp, so make sure you spray all your plants (even if you don't see any bugs) and have no standing water in the trays/saucers under the plants. It also helps to keep any fruit in the fridge and put any "moist" garbage like peels/rinds in a bag in the freezer until trash day if you don't have a garbage disposal or compost pile.

I usually only have problems with fungus gnats in the spring when I start my zinnia seeds but I use the hydrogen peroxide mix. I'm not sure if it actually works on the larvae or if it "disinfects" the soil to help prevent fungus growth- but I like it. I always use a weaker solution first though to see how the plant reacts.
The sticky cards do work on adult gnats and if you catch them early enough they can't lay any more eggs.
I would go ahead and try using sand on the top layer- then try one of the methods of keeping the cats out. I've read other posts that mentioned using pine cones or the plastic carpet rugs upside down. The spikes on the rugs or the roughness of the cones discourages the cats from 'visiting'. I've had fungus gnats; a couple cats may be easier to keep out of the plants.
The first year I had them I didn't know what to do and I got a little heavy on the insecticide. I tried to prevent them from spreading to my houseplants. It took really strong doses to kill the larvae and I tried an insecticide dip. They suffered severly from it; most of them survived but only about half the leaves were left.
If you are "itching" to water after only 2 weeks, that may be the problem. Most fungus prefers moist conditions to grow - also providing ample food/ breeding conditions for fungus gnats. More houseplants are lost from overwatering than anything else. Do you have a water gage? They are fairly cheap and it really helps to get over the anxiety that your plants aren't well-watered. You'll find most of the time that they are actually fine. You can also try testing the soil by sticking your fingers in about an 1" deep to test the moisture, but I don't really like sticking my fingers in all my plants. (I have approx. 60-70 houseplants plus a 4' cactus garden). I see you live in CA and it's April; I don't know the temps in CA but I'm assuming you don't have the heat cranked up to like 90 or anything and the soil isn't drying out that quickly.
The only success I've had with alcohol is when dealing with mealybugs.

i use a product called hype-o which is a predatory mite which eats the eggs in the soil go to the web site buglady.ca for more info it's a fantasticproduct worksgreat

I have been using a systemic insect killer from Bayer with good results, just put on once. I am a 'lazy' gardener!

I've had problems in the past too and have tried many ways. I agree with katchie in trying a predatory insect. I however use beneficial nematodes and will swear by them. They are sold under the name "Scanmask" and work soooo well. You just sprinkle some (they come in a medium) and water them into the soil. It will take about a week or two but they will eat all of the larvae. And just keep using the sticky traps until they are gone. Mosquito dunks did nothing for me and letting the soil dry out does not work either since I've found them in my succulent pots before. Fungus gnats seem to be incredibly resilient. Sometimes I get them when I purchase new plants and have to quarantine these until the gnats are gone. It's annoying but not as annoying as those gnats! I hope you have success in getting rid of them.