gnats!

[foozay]

So i have a problem,the past 3 days i have been battling gnats and gnat babies,they seem to be coming 4rm the soil. how can i kill these lil s.o.b's?

 

[racerboy71]

i am not sure of killing them.. but if you get some clean sand.. not some from a beach or the backyard, but maybe some new stuff from like a pool store or maybe a kid store, and put about an inch or so on the top of your soil.. this will prevent these pesty suckers from having easy access to your moist warm soil, which is what they enjoy... once you get rid of what the enoy, they should find another place to abide..
i know that they sell a product called gnatrol, but i have never used it myself.. i would try the sand first before i went with any kind of chemicals.. maybe a few fly strips would help too..
best of luck...

 

[bigwity]

just to add if you can only get sand from your yard microwave it b4 u use it and it will be ok to

 

[jordisgarden]

i have the same issue and the dryer i let the soil get the less an environment they had to thrive. let the soil dry out. also i leave a cup of beer to kill off the adults. if worst come to worst you can cover the soil with 2 inches of sand and thatll take em out completely. good luk

 

[nomaninsf]

Use Azatrol, sold a lot of times under the name Azamax. Dilute following the instructions. Give your plants a spraying and also water your soil, rockwool, coco, etc. with the solution. You can add it to your regular nutrient solution, no problem. Repeat this step 1 or 2 more times over the next week and a half. It will get rid of nearly every pest you will encounter in an indoor garden. It's great to always have some of this on hand. I've used it on gnats, thrips, and root aphids. I've never had this product fail me.

 

[nomaninsf]

p.s. Azamax is OMRI approved so it's non harmful and can even be used on edible plants the day of harvest. Screw the sand. Kill them at the source. The reason for the second and possible third treatment (if it's a really bad infestation) is to kill the eggs, larvae, and pupa that may still be residing in the soil.

 

[Wavels]

IMO DE is the best and easiest way to kill and control fungus gnats...




Diatomaceous (die-uh-toe-may-shus) Earth, isn't dirt or earth, not even colored like it. It consists of the broken up shells of tiny critters, called diatoms, that lived long ago and died in groups so massive that they can, today, be mined and bull-dozed.

"DE", as diatomaceous earth is abbreviated, has the neat quality of killing insects (insectaside, as some say) It's perfect for natural insect control. (Unfortunately, it kills good ones, like bees and ladybugs, too, so its use shouldn't be indiscriminate.) It is 100% ecologically safe to the environment and non-poisonous to man and beast. In fact, if you've eaten anything made with flour (like Bisquick), you've eaten DE. It's used in commercial grain storage as a means of natural, poison-free, insect control. So, how does it control insects, or kill insects, and what's it doing on this website? (Continues below....)http://www.internet-grocer.net/diatome.htm​

 

[NickNasty]

p.s. Azamax is OMRI approved so it's non harmful and can even be used on edible plants the day of harvest. Screw the sand. Kill them at the source. The reason for the second and possible third treatment (if it's a really bad infestation) is to kill the eggs, larvae, and pupa that may still be residing in the soil.

Will this kill off all the good stuff like mycorrhizal fungi and endo & ecto bacteria or it ok when your growing a organic garden.?

Edit : same question to you wavels

 

[Wavels]

^^^^
I do not think DE would cause any harm to beneficial microbes or fungi.

 

[nomaninsf]

Will this kill off all the good stuff like mycorrhizal fungi and endo & ecto bacteria or it ok when your growing a organic garden.?

Edit : same question to you wavels

Beneficial fungi and bacteria shouldn't be affected. Azamax is "Benign to beneficials & non target
organisms". That comes straight from the manufacturer.

It kills "all worms, grasshoppers, beetles, weevils, leaf miners, mealy bugs, aphids, thrips, whiteflies, leafhoppers, lace bugs, mites, fungus gnats, saw flies, crickets, scales, shore flies, and phorid flies."

It won't kill beneficial insects like "lady bugs, lace wings, parasitoids bees."

 

[growone]

i see some mention of sand and the Diatomaceous earth, they're both supposed to be pretty good
i've had good luck with pebbles, just small rocks on the top of the soil
same idea as sand, but i found it easier to water with the small stones