Fungus gnat experiment #569

[Blue brother]

So many gnat problems atm, can't understand it, both on here and in my circle of grower friends.
Soooo arriving tomorrow I have.... drumroll please

pyrethrum 5ec
Tanlin drops
Nematodes
Monterey insect spray concentrate
MORE sticky traps
MORE Castile soap
MORE neem oil.

I got hit pretty hard in my flower room however in 70l pots with healthy root systems the plants haven't missed a beat, my veg room is another story, I had 2l pots with the next generation of La bomba, all but wiped out ), my mothers in 11l pots aren't much better, both have serious problems, they aren't drinking, I've got some necrosis on both and serious deficiencies on the mothers, it was so bad honest I felt mega ashamed when I opened the veg tent and was swarmed.

I managed to get them pretty much gone with a combo of a big dry back followed by a neem and Castile soap drench and covered the tops of the pots with diatomaceous earth, almost 2 weeks gnat free then bang, all at once, INFESTED!

years ago I had a bad problem in rock wool and I just ran bleach in the reservoir for a week and eradicated them, pretty hard to overwater rock wool aslong as the solution is oxygenated so I was able to flush the rootzone completely 10+ times a day with bleach, shame I can't do that now (living soil) certainly do miss not having to worry about sterilising my soil with bleach when shit like this happens

 

[DeadHeadX]

Crap I was hoping that would work. Bti aint killing them enough but its better than nothing. And I got PM Im having so much fun right now!

I think bti might have a short shelf life. I’m also battling them, and my most recent order just doesn’t seem to be doing anything. I’ve theorized lately that maybe the stuff is just old and spent.

 

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I had an infestation like you would read about in the bible and this granular BTi did a very effective job of getting them in line. Did it kill them 100%?, no but it got them to a would see one now and again level.

This product is 37% Bti versus Biolift BMC's 8%.

Not saying it will work for you but knowing the frustration you're feeling I thought I would risk a snarky reply and mention it.

1/4 POUND Organic Gnatrol Fungus Gnat Larvicide 4 Oz. Makes 20-60 Gallons

BioGnat Pack with Gnatrol WDG 1/4 POUND Gnatrol Organic Fungus Gnat Larvicide 4 oz. 2 scoops 1 Teaspoon and, 1/4 Teaspoon for convenient measuring of Gnatrol. Instructional guide and safety sheet. 1 complementary sticky trap. Makes 20-60 Gallons of drench water treatment. Different Sizes...

biognat.com

Good luck

 

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I think bti might have a short shelf life. I’m also battling them, and my most recent order just doesn’t seem to be doing anything. I’ve theorized lately that maybe the stuff is just old and spent.

A couple of years I think and the liquid is shorter than the dry.

 

[medidedicated]

I think bti might have a short shelf life. I’m also battling them, and my most recent order just doesn’t seem to be doing anything. I’ve theorized lately that maybe the stuff is just old and spent.

Yea idk but Im giving up in the bti. I got it from chewy theyre a good company vs amazon. Im taking OP’s route and using panty hose tied with garden elastic bands and gonna buy the sticky trap adhesive comes in a jar gonna dip the tied part in adhesive. Just add adhesive where I think they might get in.

Should work or help a lot, whatever the sticky traps touch, the gnats get stuck on. They just dont always loure them to it but ya if I put it where I want it might work.

 

[medidedicated]

I know it can have short life span in the water as short as 24hrs and its just a pain thats not working. I tried using bti only no chlorene and the gnats got out of control, another bad rootball. It was supposed to start working by now but it was clearly getting worse. Screw bti its just not working nothing does.

OPs approach was a great idea hope it works. Really the gnats are as bad a problem as mold that I also have.

 

[Samwiseman420]

I know it can have short life span in the water as short as 24hrs and its just a pain thats not working. I tried using bti only no chlorene and the gnats got out of control, another bad rootball. It was supposed to start working by now but it was clearly getting worse. Screw bti its just not working nothing does.

OPs approach was a great idea hope it works. Really the gnats are as bad a problem as mold that I also have.

I use paint strainer bags. They have there own elastic band on top but I still wrap the bags with large rubber bands to keep them nice and tight. I've found 1, 2 and 5 gallon sizes on Amazon.

So far the small bubble hash squares are working great on my 1/2 gallon pots. Nothing getting thru those screens. Not even baby thrips.

 

[medidedicated]

The idea worked better than I thought, easy to apply. Inspired by this thread. Gnat problem, check. Hope I can say the same for PM.

 

[BrassNwood]

Home depot stocks Mosquito Bits and Dunks (BTI) Crush a dunk to powder and sprinkle a pinch or 2 under each plant. Last a month so repeat as needed. Only kills the Larva so use a sticky hanging trap to nab the adults.
Water less.

 

[Samwiseman420]

Here are the babies I planted last week. They are now 2 weeks old. There are a few flyers here and there but NOTHING at all on the bottoms and I found 2 or 3 crawling on the top of the soil which were all top sprayed asap.



There are no larvae on the leaves and I am totally clean there. The spraying and protective meshes are doing their jobs.

Here are the ones going into flower next week. I transplanted and topped these last week. Mesh bag working great. Newly hatched bugs from the soil are caught inside the bag and sprayed before feed time as well as any on top.



Again a few crawling on top of soil but dead in a second from spray. No larvae found on the leaves and no spots that look like leaves have been eaten. I think I can call this a win so far but it's only a battle. The war will continue with EVERY new bag of soil I bring into the grow.

The whole lineup of protection is as follows:

1) Mesh bags for paint cans - 2 gallon size. Less than $1 a bag.
2) rubber bands to make a sure tight fit around the mesh bags. 100 for $2
3) 110 micron 4.5 x 4.5 squares for the 1/2 gallon pots. I cut these myself from a sheet. Very cheap. $10 for a 3' x 7' sheet.
4) Athena IPM - sucks on the leaves but "good" for the soil. Very expensive @ $135 a gallon. I believe I may try Lost Coast for the soil later on.
5) Capt. Jacks Dead Bug Brew - awesome on leaves for thrips. Seems like it hurts the gnats as well. $32 for a quart and worth it.

I hope I have proven here that most problems with bugs indoors may actually be the soil. Either alive and ready to fly around or eggs waiting to hatch. I think we have to be resilient EVERY fucking grow and use some sort of protection from the soil itself. Especially from store bought bags like I have to use.

Once I transplant the next tent it will be the last ones without protection getting completed. I'll keep this updated on how they are going throughout the grow

 

[Star Dog]

I'm a little concerned about re potting a plant last week then finding two fresh gnats in it today?

I looked inside the bag of coco but I couldn't see anything flying, I'll check it closer later.

Tbf it's the only two I've seen between 6 pots in almost 2 weeks however I've seen 3 in the bag I sealed up 1st a month+ back so that's got me on edge.

Let's see what happens surely that's the end of them now?

 

[CarolinaPotheadsNew]

Pantyhose? Maybe

I was getting ready to try that after using BTi ,peroxide dousing and even 1/2" sand on top. My wife already donated a pair lol. What actually killed just the gnats( the sand about smothered the roots too) was something @Buddzbudha recommended me. Spray the top inch or two of soil and I bet the access holes too every day or 2. After a week my gnat problem was gone. I was using fabric pots mostly. I have 2 5g that will get the pantyhose this time around the bottom just in case.

 

[1212ham]

I was getting ready to try that after using BTi ,peroxide dousing and even 1/2" sand on top. My wife already donated a pair lol. What actually killed just the gnats( the sand about smothered the roots too) was something @Buddzbudha recommended me. Spray the top inch or two of soil and I bet the access holes too every day or 2. After a week my gnat problem was gone. I was using fabric pots mostly. I have 2 5g that will get the pantyhose this time around the bottom just in case.

Spray with BTI? Interesting, are there advantages over watering with it?

 

[CarolinaPotheadsNew]

Spray with BTI? Interesting, are there advantages over watering with it?

My phone deleted some important text. You spray with the peroxide solution not BTi. I was stoned and didn't proofread. Sorry. Use the standard 1 part H2O to 4 parts water. With the BTi, I ground up Mosquito dunks in the blender. I poured the powder in a gallon jug and filled with water. Let sit overnight and water. It helps, but, the peroxide spray was the knockout.

 

[CarolinaPotheadsNew]

Here are the babies I planted last week. They are now 2 weeks old. There are a few flyers here and there but NOTHING at all on the bottoms and I found 2 or 3 crawling on the top of the soil which were all top sprayed asap.

View attachment 5438306

There are no larvae on the leaves and I am totally clean there. The spraying and protective meshes are doing their jobs.

Here are the ones going into flower next week. I transplanted and topped these last week. Mesh bag working great. Newly hatched bugs from the soil are caught inside the bag and sprayed before feed time as well as any on top.

View attachment 5438309

Again a few crawling on top of soil but dead in a second from spray. No larvae found on the leaves and no spots that look like leaves have been eaten. I think I can call this a win so far but it's only a battle. The war will continue with EVERY new bag of soil I bring into the grow.

The whole lineup of protection is as follows:

1) Mesh bags for paint cans - 2 gallon size. Less than $1 a bag.
2) rubber bands to make a sure tight fit around the mesh bags. 100 for $2
3) 110 micron 4.5 x 4.5 squares for the 1/2 gallon pots. I cut these myself from a sheet. Very cheap. $10 for a 3' x 7' sheet.
4) Athena IPM - sucks on the leaves but "good" for the soil. Very expensive @ $135 a gallon. I believe I may try Lost Coast for the soil later on.
5) Capt. Jacks Dead Bug Brew - awesome on leaves for thrips. Seems like it hurts the gnats as well. $32 for a quart and worth it.

I hope I have proven here that most problems with bugs indoors may actually be the soil. Either alive and ready to fly around or eggs waiting to hatch. I think we have to be resilient EVERY fucking grow and use some sort of protection from the soil itself. Especially from store bought bags like I have to use.

Once I transplant the next tent it will be the last ones without protection getting completed. I'll keep this updated on how they are going throughout the grow

Do you ever heat sterilize your soil? I've had so many times that the FFOF was the only thing in the house with gnats that I now pour it in a turkey cooking pot and bake in the oven at 250 for 45 minutes. It seems to help. This way I just have to prevent invasion and not worry about gnat eggs already in the soil. I have a small 6 plant grow. This works for me but a large grow would be difficult I know.

 

[CarolinaPotheadsNew]

The idea worked better than I thought, easy to apply. Inspired by this thread. Gnat problem, check. Hope I can say the same for PM.

It seemed like it would work to me. Glad it's working for you.

 

[Drop That Sound]

 

[Samwiseman420]

Do you ever heat sterilize your soil? I've had so many times that the FFOF was the only thing in the house with gnats that I now pour it in a turkey cooking pot and bake in the oven at 250 for 45 minutes. It seems to help. This way I just have to prevent invasion and not worry about gnat eggs already in the soil. I have a small 6 plant grow. This works for me but a large grow would be difficult I know.

I have a big grow. I need a lot of soil. If I had to "cook" all my bags of soil I would never get my other work done

 

[CarolinaPotheadsNew]

View attachment 5438535

Those must be the ones growing around the shroom mycelium lol

 

[CarolinaPotheadsNew]

I have a big grow. I need a lot of soil. If I had to "cook" all my bags of soil I would never get my other work done

I figured you probably had too big a grow. But, I felt I needed to say it just in case it was possible and to those reading the thread. I also believe the bags of soil to be suspect. My tiny grow is alot easier to modify, yet, they still fkd up the last couple grows. FFOF is pretty notorious for gnats apparently. Those little fkrs will keep a man chasing his tail. That's for sure.