Little Gnats!!! nothing is working.

No, no, i have the best ideal thing that will work for you-Nematodes! you can get them at your local hydro store, they are microscopic lil things that live in your root area and they eat all gnat eggs b4 they hatch! try em for yourself-no regrets!!

Lil Czr said:

They are probably Fungus Gnats. They are usually a sign of over watering as they feed on decaying roots and other dead organic matter in the soil. In rich soils, you will almost always have a few gnats, but that's just a part of having a healthy living soil.

If the gnats start to multiply rapidly, that usually means that some conditions have changed in your soil, like an increase in decaying organic matter, like dying roots and such.

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Relaxed said:

Nice tips by everyone. I'd say you first need to address the overwatering your doing. Keeping moist plant soil breeds bugs knats for sure. The sand-very thinnnnn amount works asap.

Long term....water when pots dry issue, possible soil sucks go to fox farm Ocean Forest to nip it in the bud bug issues...unless you still want to keep watering too much.

Bug spray…and the plants love it spray....
Spray bottle

- one cap full each of Neem oil, Seaweed extract (Home Depot cheap) and Hydrogen peroxide. Fill with phed water. Shake well before using. Use in veg. and let leafs dry before putting direct under lights. Put on when lights are out with good fan venting. Use in flower till buds appear maybe till wk 5 then only spray on top of soil before watering so mix is provided to plant roots.

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Relaxed said:

One of the main problems with Miracle Grow or any of the soils at lowe/hd is they are on pallets outside. They have holes in the bags for moisture retention so when rain or the guy watering down the place gets the bags wet they stay moist and the knats explode. Most people like to see their soil moist when they bring it home to use in the garden (those that don't know much about gardening)...Most people use MG outdoors so it isn't as big an issue.....

If your hydro store has fox farm products most likely they are inside and dry.

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These fellow growers are right on the money!! This is your ticket to gnat free growing. As long as your grow environment is warm and your soil is consistantly wet you have the perfect conditions for gnats and mold in your soil and I am venturing to say that you probably have some of that as well, your gnats are in heaven.

The best non-resistant 100% fight against gants is to dry it up. "Resistance is futile"

Rbomb said:

not sure if this really works but heard its amazing, is to take tobacco out of smokes and boil it in water, strain it and water the plants with this water. The tobacco has absolutely no negative effects on the plant, but kills all living insects(with a few exceptions). Something to do with the chemicals in it not hurting organic things only living tissues or something like that? anyways the sand method sounds effective enough but this works for other things not just gnats. look it up for more info or ask some people on here
good luck

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boil the water with the tobacco or you'll risk introducing TMV, a nasty virus. plus, if you use too much, it can kill your plants. I'd google a tobacco insecticide recipe.

Thanks for all the great information. I got some sand and put about a one inch layer on top. I will also slow down the watering.
we will see if that works.

thanks again.

I wouldn't put an inch....AS thin as you can does the trick.. scrape off all but a thin enough layer to cover them..After your next water soil should show....Plants don't do well in desserts and don't grow well in a lot of sand. Sand doesn't let them breath but will stop the gnats in 1 to 2 days.

I like using mosquito dunks. I put a little piece of one in each of my catch trays when using soil. I've also put them in my DWC res. The gnats despise them. Between the dunks and SM-90 I've transformed my growroom into a gnat free environment.

Relaxed said:

I wouldn't put an inch....AS thin as you can does the trick.. scrape off all but a thin enough layer to cover them..After your next water soil should show....Plants don't do well in desserts and don't grow well in a lot of sand. Sand doesn't let them breath but will stop the gnats in 1 to 2 days.

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All of my plants have an inch of sand on top of them. If you don't put enough sand, they'll find a way into the soil and continue laying eggs. You need about an inch. It doesn't hurt the plants at all...if anything, it aerates the soil a little more where the sand has worked has its way down into the top few inches.

Regarding letting your soil dry out...don't do it any more than necessary. I mean, if your plants are drooping from underwatering you probably don't want to starve it for 3 more days just because you want to keep gnats out. You should know your feeding/watering schedule and not deviate from it...unless you've been overwatering already. But the sand works wonders...you'll see soon.

Hi there. This is how I finally got over the whole gnat infestation thing.

FIirst - Check your ladies roots. Make sure they aren't root gnats.

Second - Clean! Clean! Clean! No dirty dishes, still water, ripening fruit. Just keep the environment like Mams is on your ass.

Third - The traps. I used half pint jars with 4 holes (separated evenly to make a square) on the lid. Fill them half way with apple cider vinegar and set them near the problem area. I had 4-5 spread around the house since they migrated. Within a few minutes to hours you should catch yours first few.

A few other things to keep in mind are you grow mediums and garbage disposal/drains. I poured boiling hot water down each drain to "kill "any eggs that might reside.
I also made sure the grow mediums on the ladies were fully covered. Clay pellets for hydro grow and I read that sand works for soil. They like laying eggs in the mediums. Anyways hopes this helps out. It did wonders for this op.

Jerry Garcia said:

All of my plants have an inch of sand on top of them. If you don't put enough sand, they'll find a way into the soil and continue laying eggs. You need about an inch. It doesn't hurt the plants at all...if anything, it aerates the soil a little more where the sand has worked has its way down into the top few inches.

Regarding letting your soil dry out...don't do it any more than necessary. I mean, if your plants are drooping from underwatering you probably don't want to starve it for 3 more days just because you want to keep gnats out. You should know your feeding/watering schedule and not deviate from it...unless you've been overwatering already. But the sand works wonders...you'll see soon.

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Jerry, no harm there. I don't like adding an inch bc that adds weight to the pot making it harder to know when the pot is dry to the feel needing water. Just enough to cover works best for me. i haven't needed any sand or any knats since going to ff Ocean forest soil.

Diatomaceous Earth tears little bugs up. Sprinkle it around the soil. DE is tiny diatoms that are very sharp and tear open little bugs causing them to die. It is natural, and can be found at pool stores in filtration stuff or at fish stores for the same thing. Just don't breath the stuff it's like rockwool in a sense.