Beneficial Predators

I have what I am almost sure are fungus gnats. Half of what I read says they don't bother plants, just eat rotting material in the soil, the other half say the larva will attack your roots. I try to let the soil dry out as much as possible, but it hits a point where the plant simply has to have more water, and the gnats never seem to take a hit from it.

I was curious if anyone here has used predators, such as Steinernema feltiae, Steinernema carpocapsae, or Hypoaspis miles to help control these gnats indoors? I'm thinking about ordering some, but would rather not spend $50-60 without an idea of how effective they will be. Also, I live in a hot dry climate, do you think they would survive shipping?

gobbly said:

I have what I am almost sure are fungus gnats. Half of what I read says they don't bother plants, just eat rotting material in the soil, the other half say the larva will attack your roots. I try to let the soil dry out as much as possible, but it hits a point where the plant simply has to have more water, and the gnats never seem to take a hit from it.

I was curious if anyone here has used predators, such as Steinernema feltiae, Steinernema carpocapsae, or Hypoaspis miles to help control these gnats indoors? I'm thinking about ordering some, but would rather not spend $50-60 without an idea of how effective they will be. Also, I live in a hot dry climate, do you think they would survive shipping?

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i haven't tried any benifical pest myself but have read alot of info and they say that ladybugs are good for eating other small bugs, they are available at most garden shops and some hydro shops.

gobbly said:

I have what I am almost sure are fungus gnats. Half of what I read says they don't bother plants, just eat rotting material in the soil, the other half say the larva will attack your roots. I try to let the soil dry out as much as possible, but it hits a point where the plant simply has to have more water, and the gnats never seem to take a hit from it.

I was curious if anyone here has used predators, such as Steinernema feltiae, Steinernema carpocapsae, or Hypoaspis miles to help control these gnats indoors? I'm thinking about ordering some, but would rather not spend $50-60 without an idea of how effective they will be. Also, I live in a hot dry climate, do you think they would survive shipping?

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with gnats all you have to do is put clean sand about 1-1.5 in thick ontop of the soil. they have a very short life and they cant lay there eggs in sand. the sand drys out too fast and kills the larva

good luck with your grow

oh, nice! Good info! Thanks!

gobbly said:

oh, nice! Good info! Thanks!

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no prob bud

Add a one inch of clean sand to the top of your soil works 100% of the time.

would perlite work in place of sand, or should it specifically be sand?

Ladybugs are good for aphids, but not gnats. I'm doing a greenhouse grow and I planted three orb weaver spiders in there, and they're keeping the bug population to a minimum with there webs. They occasionally build there webs in places I need to be,but they're always quick to rebuild in another spot. This one in the pic was the first and she was smaller than a pea when I first put her in their. The perfect predator that doesn't screw with the plants. Good luck to you, cheers.

Nematodes are preditor mites for your soil that eat the fungus nat larva.
Also try Diatomaceous earth. Just a little layer will cure allot of problems.
Also the sand idea dose work well...


Dice

what kind of sand? will greensand work?

Green sand , or just plain old play box sand... Id use a lite layer of green sand and a little better layer of play box sand. If your only going to use one kind of sand use the play box sand...


Dice

I have hypoaspis miles predator mites in my recycled soil. During the warm season gnats get in and lay eggs it is inevitable. The mites definitely feed on the larvae. I kill any adults or larvae that I see manually and between the two of us it is easy to stop the gnats.

That said, I did not pay for the Hypoaspis I either got them from a bag of FFOF or from a bag of promix that was left outside. The sand will help they won't prefer to lay eggs on it.

Ladybugs! Ladybugs! Ladybugs!

I use them indoors, with great precautions they can be the best friends in your garden!

This is how I am attempting to solve my gnat problem.

If you look closely you can see a gnat in each picture. Those are just Styrofoam plates on top that have been cut out with a razor blade. I'll probably include some sand or diatamaceous earth on top of the soil to be sure the little bastards can't lay their eggs.
I was also considering beneficial nematodes and Gnatrol (some kind of Bacillus bacterium) to be a hundred percent little gnat bastard free.

I had a praying mantis on my plant but a fucking spider ate it.. (found it in its web.)

i am using a small layer of Diatomaceous earth on my soil for my small fungas gnat population, combined with fly strips. i have not quite completely eliminated the problem, but their are no real signs of plant damage. Also, i just recently watered, eliminating my protection of DE, and small oval whiteish bugs came out of the soil, which io believe to be Hypoaspis miles, the soil dwelling preditor bug that eats fungas gnat larve. well hopefully anyways lol

carokann said:

what kind of sand? will greensand work?

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Greensand is not a good choice here... That'd be a lot of greensand, and you may end up burning your plant...

i have the same problem but in rockwool, i'm also looking into the predator mites check out www.naturescontrol.com. any suggestions on how i should handle this with rockwool? i've used azamax and go gnats but have 3 100 gal rez's + an 80 so its pricey!

Have any of you looked into carnivorous plants?
two particular genera of plants are the most effectively adapted to this
The Sundews (Drosera) would be my first choice.
this genera carries plants from around the world that come in many shapes and sizes.
These plants produce sticky nectar on the ends of tentacles that insects are attracted to.
The Rosetted Sundew and the Cape Sundew are my favorites (and most effective).
These plants are tropical and require no dormancy.
The Butterworts (Pinguicula) are also extremely well adapted to carnivorous living.
These plants produce big, rosetted death-trap leaves covered in sticky ooze.
The Pinguicula primuliflora are a good suggestion. My experience with these plants has been very forgiving.
Its a very hardy plant that produces incredible amounts of sticky nectar on it's leaves.
This plant does need a period of winter dormancy when you keep the soil very dry and in a cool place.
Make sure you research your particular plant extensively.
I love growing carnivorous plants along side my girls.
I hope I have been of some help.
DUBS

so can i use sand on rockwool?