I guess these gnats had been a problem outdoors, but I didn't notice them until I brought the plants into my little GH!!
My DIT, Tracy said that she was able to get rid of hers with using a bowl of apple cider vinegar with dishwashing soap. I tried that but it didn't seem to do anything.
I also heard of putting sand on the surface of the containers...
Does anyone have any ideas? If I let the containers dry out, will that kill them?
I NEED HELP, PLEASE !!!
Gnats in the GH...any ideas?
Maybe they are white flies instead of the usual fungus gnats. They are very hard to get rid of.
I did a google search and came upon this site...
http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/spfiles/sp341c.pdf
Anyone ever use Gnatrol ? I would rather not use chemicals if there is another way to get rid of them...
Gnatrol is easy to use, just make sure you use it according to directions. I don't believe it is something you need to worry about with your own safety, but I'm saying that to get rid of the critters, follow directions closely. LOL! You could also use some of the sticky traps that are yellow. They will catch tons of them, but if you already have them, they won't get them all because they are probably reproducting as we type away here. Now, if you can come up with a way to get rid of white flies, I'd love to read about that too. I'll take fungus gnats anytime over whiteflies.
I got rid or my white fly problem by using enstar II & mavrik tanked mixed. Then waited a week and used enstar II and tame tank mixed. Enstar stops reproduction and mavrik and tame kill adults. Worked like a champ.
My problem is that my cuttings are all in the house and I can't use some of that stuff in here. I have both of those sprays, but hesitate to use it right now. Enstar makes me cough and I don't have a good mask. Thanks. Maybe someone knows of a good way to get them out of the house safely. LOL!
Shirley, how many cuttings and how large? This is how I bring mine in. I know you've been doing this MUCH longer than I. I put a little safer soap and luke warm water. Let them soak for however long (until I remember them). So far, so good.
You can try sprinkling diatomaceous earth on the soil surface.
picturelady, you will take care of gnats by letting the soil drying out.
Thanks Linda, mine were potted and rooted outside, so they are all in gallon pots.
thanks monika...I will let the soil dry out and see if that helps...I had a feeling that I was over-watering when they were outside...that seems to be an on-going problem I have.
Liz...After that I will try the diatomaceous earth on the soil surface...I hope these 2 things will help before I need to resort to chemicals.
mmmmmm Shirley, I can see how that would make a mess. Mud bath?
The apple cider vinegar with dish soap sounds like it could work, as I have noticed that if you leave a bowl of water, dead gnats are floating in it. It makes sense that they will be attracted to vinegar.( and drown!!) I'm going to try it!! I have them starting in the house already.Also had spider mites already. I hate bugs!!
Bonnie
Just a quick note. You should never spray anything without wearing a respirator. Many things can make you very sick. If it kills the little critters just imagine what it's doing to you when you breathe it in :(
Apple cider vinegar and water works for fruit flies too. Just put some in a small bowl and put a piece of perforated wax paper over. They get in and can't get out.
I was wondering about those things, I have never had the plants outside, they are mostly cuttings I recieved but these little gnats resemble fruit flies, I have been gently sprying with a spray called Bug Stop, kills a lot of them and doesn't seem to bother the plants.
The flies dont bother the plants but their larveas does. They eat the fine roots of a plant.
I had a bad problem with Fungus knats in my seedling area of my basement last winter. I asked Roger Swain (yes, the famous one - I met him at the flower show in February) what to do about them. He told me to buy some Mosquito Dunks (those donut shape things you put in standing water or ponds that kills the mosquito larvae but doesn't hurt any other living thing). He said to cut one in quarters and put one piece in a empty gallon and fill with water. Let it soak overnight and then water the plants with the water. The solutions kills the larvae but poses not threat whatsoever to the plants or anything else. I tried it and it worked beautifully.
Diane Krny
I had terrible ones last year. I got them in my Supersoil! They were hatching like crazy!
Susie told me to use the Mosquito Dunks that Diane just mentioned. It is the only thing that has the chemical that kills them. I did just what Diane said, I broke up a donut of it, soaked it overnight in water. Used a gloved hands to crumble it up more and them watered with the treated water. I found I had to do it several times to get totally rid of them.
Also use it on all your indoor plants, for eggs could be laid in all the plants and you may not just have seen them yet. They lay their eggs in the first 2 inches I believe which is why some say to top your plants off with 2 inches of sand to prevent them from laying their eggs.
A lot of great ideas here...I think I will try the mosquito donuts in water, too. I will look for them tomorrow...or maybe right now. I have had them indoors on my house plants before, and I could see that the roots were weak and thought it was from over-watering...but it was probably from them too.
I am using supersoil, too...so that may be the problem too and the MG moisture planing mix.
Thanks again, Margie
Margie, a girl at work last week asked me about these little flying things in her soil. She had just planted some plants up in a new bag of Supersoil. I had them last year from a new bag of Supersoil!
The eggs eat the organic matter in the soil. When the organic matter is gone, they eat the roots. On a seedling, that can kill them!
HD has the dunks. They are on a card and may be hanging from the top hole of the card on the outside of a rack.
Kell...great, I will try at HD ! It will save me from running around looking for them.
I just came back here to see how much water to put it in...did you use just the 1/4 of a donut in a gallon like Diane does? I hope to get rid of them before putting out seedlings! It sounds like death to them!
About that. The stuff does not break up well. It stays on top. You need to crumble it and even then it stays on top. I let it sit at least over night, hoping the water would have the chemical thru it by then.
Margie, I haven't had a chance to read this entire thread, but I found out by accident that about an inch or two of red wine, in a clear glass, will catch your gnats. Please let me know if you find something that works better and, Good Luck!! I hate those gnats...
I used the donuts last year, still have some of them but when I found this, I grabbed it. It's already crumbled up. I keep the water in my gh in gal jugs so it's easy to add some to the jugs. Guess it also keeps mosquitoes from breeding in my water.
I also top-dress my pots with coarse sand. I read here last year that the gnats lay their eggs in the soil and that they don't like the sand and won't lay their eggs there. It breaks the breading cycle. Be sure to get it all the way to the side of the pot. I spotted gnats a few days ago, so I'm being more careful.
wow, Linda - I've never seen that - looks like the same stuff except crumbled already. Where did you find that? I would definitely grab that too if I ever saw it.
Margie - I was told to let the dunk piece sit in the water at least 24 hours and by then all the water has the mosquito killer stuff in it..it really does work well and I was reassured it is totally harmless to pets, humans and wildlife.
Diane
I put a few grains of mosquito bits in the cuttings that I'm rooting too.
Found it in Lowes, it was in the area where they had ant killer and mosquito spray.
I hope the Lowes near me has the granulated mosquito bits. I have used Gnatrol before but it's a liquid and it doesn't keep for very long. And soaking the "donuts" is not very convenient for watering houseplants. If I can find the granules I will try sprinkling them on the soil surface. BTW, Gnatrol and the mosquito dunks have the same active component, Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. israelensis - the larva ingest the bacteria and die. It's harmless to humans.
I hate fungus gnats. As Monika says, letting the soil dry out between waterings will cut down the population a lot. But that's not an option with seedlings and cuttings. I've tried the yellow sticky cards but I don't think they are very effective. It makes you feel better to see all the dead gnats stuck to the card but there always seem to be more where they came from! It is important to control the gnats as soon as you see them - don't ignore them or they will spread to every plant in your house (found that out the hard way the first year I had them).
Thank you everyone for responding...
I have my list of suggestions in hand and will be heading out to see what I can find to destroy them. I will let you know how I make out....already tried not watering as much, but then saw some droopy leaves from the GH heat, so had to...I will clear off old leaves and materials that have fallen on the containers too.
I really appreciate all of the suggestions and help! And may you be visited by only good bugs! :-)
Margie
Margie, if you can find the stuff Linda has, let me know!! I bet there will be tons of new stuff on the market since west Nile arrived.
here it is online http://www.mosquito-zapper.com/mosquito_bits.htm , http://www.pestproducts.com/mosquito_bits.htm#Ordering
edited to add a better price link http://www.duncraft.com/merchant.ihtml?pid=1217&lastcatid=4&step=4
This message was edited Nov 1, 2004 9:50 AM
kell I think I must have gotten mine in the soil I purchased as I had never had them befor, I don't have a Lows near me, can you get that from any other place, or maybe on the Net.
thanks MaVie, I will order some from them
u're very welcome. the last link i posted has the lower price and shipping cost.
Well...I went out yesterday, list in hand to find something for my gnat problem or should I say problem gnats! The only thing I found in a large hardware type store & in my local family owed nursery was the mosquito dunks. I have 1/4 of one soaking and will try it out after 24 hours.
Looks like the other suggestions are obtainable mostly on-line...so now I think I will stay with this treatment for a few times and give it a chance to work before I go any further...most of the treatments contain the same Bt that the donuts do...
I would like to hear the results people are having with : Gnatrol and the mosquito bits and any other treatments they are using! Thanks
what i do with plants indoors is cover the surface of the soil with some moss.. you know, the dry decorative kind. but when the surface is covered, it is hard to see if the soil is wet or not. incidently, i also have some sundews which are a carnivorous plant. it has a sticky dew on its leaves that bugs are attracted to so when they land on it, they're stuck and then the plant absorbs the bug as a nutrient. it's not such a large enough plant that it is an effective way to control gnats but it doesn't hurt. however, when my sundews are indoors they attract other pests like white flies and aphids (which feed on the sundew instead of the other way around). once you get it under control by killing all the gnats and the larve, it usually doesn't become a problem anymore. it's when the plants are first brought inside that it is a problem.
I went to Lowes yesterday and bought these two organic products, since they didn't have the mosquito dunks: I don't have the gnats yet, but its inevitable, and I thought I'd try the powder on the soil as a preventative...
Kaufmann, the product that you bought looks interesting. Please let me know how well it works.