Fungus gnats

BigTexan

Well-Known Member
Well since my sister decided to over water my plants they all have fungus gnat larvae and a few adults. i have been using cinnamon but it doesnt seem to be super effective. ive been told a good effective way to kill the larvae and eggs is a H202 Wash after letting the soil dry out. is a hydrogen wash safe for weed plants? i was told 1 part hydrogen to 4-5 parts water.
 

BeastGrow

Well-Known Member
i'm probably giving myself cancer but i been spraying around the plants and spraying the top layer of soil with a malathion spray.. it really keeps the fungus gnats under control. i use a mini bug fogger/mister to lightly distribute it. i only spray about 1 quart of spray over a span of about a week.. if you miss a spot they will continue to return until you get rid of any sources of fungus and moisture... gotta really clean up as well as let your soil dry out. spraying will keep the numbers down. that malathion spray is dirt cheap if you buy in the concentrate form.. like 8 bucks for a concentrate that will last over 100 gallons worth of spray.


another good option is Diatamaceous earth.. kills fungus gnats as well as most other insects that come into contact with it. it mostly works when dry. it is organic and it basically pierces exoskeleton which drains the bug of liquid.. killing it within minutes. dusting soil every day and the floor every day.. stuff is pretty cheap.
 

az2000

Well-Known Member
is a hydrogen wash safe for weed plants? i was told 1 part hydrogen to 4-5 parts water.
Yes, it's safe for the plant. But, it's a disinfectant, which isn't good for microbes in the soil. The stuff you buy at the store is 3%. Mixing 1 part to 5 parts is 0.5%. I germinate (soak) in that. It has a little fizz/bubble action.

Mosquito dunks (2" diameter round donuts) are supposed to work well. It's a non-toxic bacterial harmful to larvae.

I've read that panty hose covering the bottom of a container (drain holes) and diatomacious earth dressed on the top is effective control. The de cuts them up as they get into the soil to lay eggs. I found a bag at Home Depot or Lowes, but haven't tried it yet.

I use the yellow fly-trap sticky thing. That seems to keep them under control. I still have some occasionally, but no population explosions since I started using the sticky stuff (either the strip of sticky tape, or the folding card <<link. I like the latter better.).
 

DemonTrich

Well-Known Member
captian jacks dead bug (spinosad). I had a huge issue with fruit flies. 2 applications (soil drench) 2 weeks apart and problem solved. haven't seen one of those little fuggers in over a year. they came in the "out door" soil my wife bought to use in her indoor plants.
 

BeastGrow

Well-Known Member
MALATHION !!!!! Whoa dude,,,,that's seriously BAD stuff to use on any plant that your going to consume in any way!!!!

Fungus gnats,,,,,BTI or BT mosquito dunks. Here.
http://4hydroponics.com/microbe-lift-bmc-2-oz

http://4hydroponics.com/mosquito-dunks-package-of-6

like i said spraying around the plants and only lightly spraying the surface of the soil. It is safe to use on the plant up to 2-3 times per year as well as up until 2 weeks prior to harvest. if you want to be ultra safe give the plants a foliar of just plain water after the gnats are dead.

I'm using it 50% diluted too
 
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BigTexan

Well-Known Member
I had a problem with gnats early in my plant. I bought a product called gnat nix. It's all organic doesn't hurt your plant and can be used when ever. Worked like a charm and cheap too. Get it
I heard this was the most effective long lasting solution and its like 20$ for a huge bag. i might run up to the grow store and see if they have any. I did talk to a few growers who showed me how to properly wash with hydrogen so far it looks like it has worked but it doesnt kill the adults. i have sticky pads everywhere i never grow without them. so now i need to control the adults. i dont see many flying around but all it takes is one horny gnat to do it all again.
 

ayr0n

Well-Known Member
Layer of perlite or sand on top of soil, DE, dunks, let soil dry out real nice, potato and remove w/ larvae, n sticky traps. GG
 

FrozenChozen

Well-Known Member
Well since my sister decided to over water my plants they all have fungus gnat larvae and a few adults. i have been using cinnamon but it doesnt seem to be super effective. ive been told a good effective way to kill the larvae and eggs is a H202 Wash after letting the soil dry out. is a hydrogen wash safe for weed plants? i was told 1 part hydrogen to 4-5 parts water.
I'm on my third application of GNAT-TROL, that's all I have used and its working GREAT! I would say that in another 1 or 2 applications, they should be gone...
H2O2 should be just fine all the way through flower... I watched someone dump a 24oz. bottle of the 3% stuff right into a 5 gal. dwc bucket with no ill effects.
I have also heard of people using 0000 steel wool rolled out over the top of the soil, and I heard that about 2 inches of fine sand on top of your medium will keep them from being able to burrow/ lay eggs...
 

BigTexan

Well-Known Member
What would be the best way to water now? go ahead and water/feed over the pellets or feed from the tray now? or does it matter?
 

BigTexan

Well-Known Member
well it only did a few pots lol i was told i could use silica sand so i went and bought 2 100 pound bags to finish the rest i need a lot and that stuff isnt worth the money in large quantity. guy at the store said silica sand will work the best and its the cheapest its only 6$ for a 100 pound bag. took a whole bag plus another 50 pounds or so. i would have spent too much money on that stuff.
 

BigTexan

Well-Known Member
after getting the rest of my pots filled. all the gnats and fungus gnats are crawling all over the floor no where to go. RIP bitches. sticky pads will need replacing in the morning lol
 

BigTexan

Well-Known Member
i was advised to purchase some lady bugs for my garden to get rid of everything and have a year round pest controller. i currently have 2000 lady bugs in a aquarium going to keep them around and see if i can breed them. just poured them all in and some went ahead and flew out but 90% of them stay together so the aquarium is their home. that way i have no pests! and they will kill off the adults and eat the eggs and larvae of anything. already had fun putting screens on anything they can get caught in. i take bugs seriously i dont want any chance of them still being here. and i dont want to use chemicals so lady bugs are cheap and easy to take care of.
 
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