Why won't my fungus gnats leave?!?!?!

SirLancelot

SirLancelot

Active Member
So It's been about three weeks since I first noticed fungus gnats in my pots. I got some einstein oil (Neem) and followed the directions spraying every 3-4 days or so, this lasted a couple weeks. Then I went to my local nursery and asked what i could use because they were still there and they had me try some stuff they said works every time.

Here I am and I still have gnats. What am I doing wrong?
I know for a fact they are fungus gnats.
Whenever I spray there gone for a couple days then slowly work their way back so I'm assuming when I spray they all flee until it's OK for them to return?
Would maybe fly strips work?
I also heard putting sand on-top of the soil may help is this true?
 
RawBudzski

RawBudzski

Well-Known Member
Yes, sand will help.. but 1st try other routes such as MightyWash, yes its meant for "mites" but it'll kill thoes buggers & you can DOUSE your plant with it with 0 worries. What soil are you using?
 
cacamal

cacamal

Well-Known Member
changing the ph of your soil works best... a lot of people i know soil drench with chamomile tea clears them up pretty quick and ive seen infestations...
 
SirLancelot

SirLancelot

Active Member
I'll take a look at that. Im just using an organic soil from the local nursery, It didn't appear to have gnats when I got it but I have a small orange tree that was brought it from outside and I think my dumbass brought em in with it... But yea it seems they fly away then come right back. Couldn't changing the PH of the soil quickly harm the plants?
 
S

shizz

Well-Known Member
all of the above. dont mess around trying one thing at a time get rid of them clean your room once a week with some house hold cleaner.
 
cain129

cain129

Well-Known Member
I have the same problem but in a flood and drain... Been treating with Neem oil and getting the same results. About to bomb the room with Dr. Doom. Will let you know the results in a couple days.
 
MrGhettoGrower

MrGhettoGrower

Well-Known Member
I've use fly strips and have vacuum the top layer of soil~
Water then wait a couple of days for the top inch to dry out
then vacuum with a shop vacuum? They love laying their eggs
in your wet dirt:eyesmoke:
 
dirtysnowball

dirtysnowball

Well-Known Member
holy crap you guys have some good but complex answers to a simple problem imo.

put a 1" layer of sand on top of your soil..... problem solved. the best part is that sand cant retain hardly any nutrients, they just pass through it.
 
dirtysnowball

dirtysnowball

Well-Known Member
i use to make this tabbaco juice/tea stuff too, it works like a charm on gnats, root aphids, probably most any little bugs hehe. but i think theres a second problem here, the gnats usually only come for dead or decaying material, like rotting roots from too much water at the bottom of a pot that doesn't have enough holes for the soil to breath.

1 pack cigarettes(or 2 swishers) ripped open and mix with 1gal of water. let it sit over night, shake well then water. it might take 2-3 application to be fully effective.
 
Kingrow1

Kingrow1

Well-Known Member
I just use gnatoff, dont matter about the flies, its the root eating larvae you want to kill in the soil, gnatoff dose it for me, dosent stop more coming in from out side but prevents damage to roots. Peace
 
GeeTee

GeeTee

Well-Known Member
you should try azamax which i have used with good results also now since i mix my own soil i use epsoma bio tone which has 7 species of myco and 15 beneficials which take care of pretty much all pests
 
cain129

cain129

Well-Known Member
Dr. Doom didn't do shite and I've used my last bit of Neem oil. Sucks arzzzz. What is a good solution for Hydro???
 
Kingrow1

Kingrow1

Well-Known Member
I think there are a lot of ways, i personally say treat the soil and kill the larvae and wait for the flies to dissapear over time. My gnatol promises to kill larvae in soil in 24hours so i use every 4 days with watering, kills the life cycle. Always look to kill the life cycle, if you stop them breeding then you kill the population, going after the whole lot in one go is a bit extreme for me (PHYSCO) but as long as it works, i try to use the least harsh method i can as all life is precious, natural over chemicals.

Growing weed i feel sorry for the little gnats and mites, they dont know that they are doing somthing wrong, in nature they live in symbiosis with plants never really killing them and provide food for bigger predators. RIP GNATS! Peace
 
GeeTee

GeeTee

Well-Known Member
to cain129 i believe you can use azamax in hydro also just not 100% sure on that so.. also azamax is organic and is OMRI listed so its alot safer then other chemical products and it does work wonders i usually only have to water my soil once or twice and the problem is taken care of
 
C

cruzer101

Well-Known Member
cain129 said:
Dr. Doom didn't do shite and I've used my last bit of Neem oil. Sucks arzzzz. What is a good solution for Hydro???
Click to expand...
Like I mentioned before SM-90 kills them in hydro.
I saw all the little shits moving in the root mass, added sm-90 the next day there was no movement.
Sprayed the girls too so that got most the flying ones. Honestly gone in three days.

Actually the grow was a combo of hydro and soil in smart pots in my green house last winter.
I had 5 in 3' cups in a 4' pvc fence post diy hydro tube and 6 in #3 smart pots. I also sprayed the top of the soil and the plants.
 
cain129

cain129

Well-Known Member
Thanks, I dropped by the logal shop and picked up some goGnats. Its an organic alternative from chemical pesticides. I did a cleaning cycle, replaced my water and nutrients, then added 2 tbs per gallon. I will utilize 1 tbs a gallon for maint every 2 weeks. This stuff smells like cypress trees. I love it. Getting back to my organic roots.
 
SirLancelot

SirLancelot

Active Member
So I've been spraying every 3 days or so. they leave then slowly come back in numbers. Today I scraped the top 1" layer of soil off, sprayed the soil, then replaced top layer with an inch of sand, if this doesn't work Im going to the pet stores and buying spiders and venus fly traps! lol
 
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