Fungus gnats question?

Poopstick09

Member
So I've already got 3 big girls going in my flower room. They are healthy and beautiful. I've also got 2 Kalashnikova's that I've had vegging for 6 weeks now. Unfortunately the Kalashnikova's have gotten a pretty bad fungus gnat problem which I can't seem to successfully kick. The question is should I throw these in the flower room or not? I've already noticed pistils on 1 of the 2 Kalashnikova's. I am more concerned with the health of my other 3 girls being at risk. I did have a small fungus gnat problem with the 3 earlier but it seemed to dissipate during the flowering stage. Any ideas with what I should do?
 

wannabe grower

Well-Known Member
You try Neem Oil on the vegging plants? It should knock out the gnats and their larva in the medium. Then you can move to the flower room.
 

Jack Harer

Well-Known Member
Mosquito dunks. Break them up and water them into the soil. Put an inch or so of sand over the top of the soil to keep the larvae from emerging and the adults from laying eggs. I had 'em really bad one time, and never did get completely rid or them. They're more a nuisance than anything. I'm told they devastate young roots, but my clones didn't seem to be affected.
 

Poopstick09

Member
I've already neemed them but didn't keep up as well as I should have no doubt. I've read about the sand so I guess I might have to try that next. I suppose I'll continue neeming in the process but obviously I need to do something to kill the larvae. I will make sure to do that before I send them in the flower room. Thanks for the advice!
 

Poopstick09

Member
How long will it take to get rid of them completely? Also will the sand have any effect on any other aspect of my grow? Will nutrients still get through okay etc?
 

althor

Well-Known Member
I was getting soil that had gnats in it. Starting using a different soil because of it, but man it was some good soil.
Anyway, what I would do is squirt some dishwashing liquid in a cup, spray water in it to foam it really good, then fill it with vinegar (strong) until the foam rises above the rim of the cup. The vinegar attracts them like rotten fruit, they land on the foam and cant get out. Worked really well for me.
 

Gastanker

Well-Known Member
Sand takes a single breeding cycle. Essentially adult gnats can't get to the soil to lay eggs and the young gnats can't penetrate the sand to get to the surface

Sand is the most pourous part of soil so your nutrients, water and air will have no problem penetrating it.
 

mrmadcow

Well-Known Member
my local organic MG soil is loaded w/ knats. a few pieces of mosquito dunks in a cup of water works great !


 
I ordered some on ebay yesterday. I already have them in the house, just a matter of time before they find my nice warm plants. I hate the little bastards...
 

mysunnyboy

Well-Known Member
use those hanging fly strips as well, they really help alot and they are easy to find. i used perlite on top of my soil and it worked just fine. i had gnats from my soil that got out of hand in just a couple of days. good luck :weed:
 

slonez47

Active Member
I just put ice water into a spray bottle and hit the little bastads with that. Kills them on contact. I've seen a couple, but I do that and they're manageable.
 

slonez47

Active Member
Hey Jack. Here's a couple of new pics. Trichs are packing on nicely. I had two of the same shot. That's how happy I am with the progress.:joint::hump:
 

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hoss12781

Well-Known Member
I've done fly strips - better to target the larve before they become fungus gnats. This can be accomplished by adding a layer of perlite to the top of your medium. It chops the larve up as they attempt to crawl out of the medium and hopefully gives them a slow and painful death.

It isn't the miracle grow (FF ocean forest or a plethera of others are way better for mj cultivation if you have not tried them) that has the gnats in it to begin with. Most professional potting soil is heat treated by the factory to prevent this. The gnats and other pests get into the soil at home depot (or wherever you bought your gear) when the soil was laid to rest in a warehouse and subject to whatever pests were able to get at it while it sat there.

I used to use MG back in the day. If you haven't tried alternatives give 'em a whirl you can achieve better results with others. I personally love FF Ocean Forest and Pro Mix Soil (mixed together).
 
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