Fox Farm Dont Bug Me??

DankJson

Member
OK im a first time grower so all of this is new to me.. But my plants are about two week into flowering,and everything was going fine until now.. About a week ago i noticed what appeard to be gnats poping up in my soiil and on my plants. Is this a poroblem?? Since then theve trippled, now ive got s major infestation on my hands!:wall: So i did a little research and found "Fox Farms Dont Bug Me" would this be ok to use on my plants or should i keep looking and try to find "Neem Oil".... Any advice would help!!
 

Nullis

Moderator
If you have an infestation you're going to need to take a few steps to get the populations down considerably.

First step is to just grab a vacuum and suck those little fuckers to a dusty end. Vacuum around the pots, near the soil surface... where ever you see them. It is best to do this while watering. When you flood the soil surface they are going to fly up in an effort to not be drowned; but you'll be waiting there with the vacuum on and the nozzle ready to take them away.

Mosquito Dunks or Bacillus thuringiensis isreali (Bti) is a natural bacterium that produces a larvacide which is toxic only to a handful of species of insect larvae including fungus gnats and mosquitoes. It is widely available in compressed circular pucks under the brand name Mosquito Dunks, sold in most home improvement centers. They also sell Mosquito Bits, which is the same thing and other brand is Gnatrol but these products are usually less available. If you get dunks you use them by soaking in a bucket of water over night and irrigating. This should kill most of the larvae.

Then of course you should have yellow sticky traps around and Safer brand or Gnat-Stix sticky traps in the containers. But it is hard to bring absolute elimination if you have a lot of plants, house plants, etc. Biological controls are really the best. I recently noticed herds of microarthropods (Hypoaspis I suspect) in my organic soil and consequently gnat populations have dwindled fantastically.
 

DankJson

Member
Ok so i just went to my local hydro shop and picked up both the "Fox Farm Dont Bug Me" and "Dyna -Gro Neem Oil" ... I used the "dont bug me" to cut down the number of the gnats on the soil drasticly and was gonna use the neem oil later tonight to cover the whole plant. But its says to add 1oz per gallon and add 1/3 tsp. of liquid dish soap. A little confused on what type of dishsoap to use? Is any soap fine??

Can someone whos used neem oil before plz help!!
 

Nullis

Moderator
Use a plant-based castile soap if possible, such as Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap which is quite widely available at Target stores. Otherwise use whatever dish soap you have so long as it isn't anti-microbial/anti-bacterial.
 

Wolverine97

Well-Known Member
Ok so i just went to my local hydro shop and picked up both the "Fox Farm Dont Bug Me" and "Dyna -Gro Neem Oil" ... I used the "dont bug me" to cut down the number of the gnats on the soil drasticly and was gonna use the neem oil later tonight to cover the whole plant. But its says to add 1oz per gallon and add 1/3 tsp. of liquid dish soap. A little confused on what type of dishsoap to use? Is any soap fine??

Can someone whos used neem oil before plz help!!
The neem is kinda pointless for fungus gnats, and I wouldn't spray flowering plants at all. Go with the GoGnats, or use Mosquito Dunks from Lowes.
 

Nullis

Moderator
Pure neem (not the hydrophobic extract) is pretty effective at killing the adults with constant spraying, you have to totally soak everything with it. Definitely not for use within the final couple weeks of bloom because the stuff could very likely impart a nasty taste. Also need something to kill the larvae at least though, and that is exactly what Bti does. I believe they have a 4 week life cycle so it is good to apply every 2 weeks.

Not positive how selective a neem drench is in killing things like fungi, most of which are beneficial.
 

Luger187

Well-Known Member
i sliced up potatoes and put the slices on top of the soil. after a day or 2, the slices will be black and full of gnat eggs. i guess they like the moisture of the potatoes. just put them in a bag and throw them away. replace the slices. after about a week of that, i never saw one again
 

katoskillzzz

Active Member
i sliced up potatoes and put the slices on top of the soil. after a day or 2, the slices will be black and full of gnat eggs. i guess they like the moisture of the potatoes. just put them in a bag and throw them away. replace the slices. after about a week of that, i never saw one again
Lol
 

Renfro

Well-Known Member
Get a yellow sticky trap, put it on the soil and catch some of them. Inspect closely and compare to pictures on google of fungus gnats and winged root aphids. They each require a different treatment and the aphids are much more than a nuisance of vector for pythium.
 
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