Gnats everywhere

I have three plants going in soil that I plan to take clones from to feed my ebb and flow system. The thing is there are gnats all over the soil and plants. I have placed a few pieces of tape to help catch them, but is there anything else I can do? So far I think my bigger plants will be fine but I think they may have killed on of my young sprouts(though it was looking a little sickly before I noticed the infestation). Any advice is appreciated.

Get some Neem oil or stuff called Go Gnats at a local hydro shop or online and apply as directed to infested soil and continue to use the tape traps to catch any flying adults.

I have heard ceder chips help as well. I'll try and pick up some stuff tonight.

Add a layer of sand on the top of the soil. They cant get threw it easily and die off. I had little black gnats and I added the layer of sand and they went away.

do the gnats really cause much damage?

They will multiply very fast until you and your plants are overwhelmed,,,BELIEVE ME,,,OVERWHELMED!!!!!!!!!!!

tey bothered you enough to start this thread!!!! bug bomb if you can close off the area

GOOD POINT........lmao.........

Yes everyday they multiply ike crazy. I also believe they are munching on my lower branches. I'm off to get some fly traps, and some neem oil today. Also read that they hate ceder so I'm going to try that as well. Thanks for the Advice guys.

ok would putting tin foil over the soil work? like wrap it round the pot, and around he bottom stem?

would that work? there would be some air leaks bu the majority of bugs wont be able to see light or live off anything?

go buy a hotshot no pest strip and some fly paper put em both up and the fly paper will catch them and the no pest strip will kill the ones hatching. you dont want to clone with gnats around they will lay babies in your clon medium and the babies eat your roots also i use a product called zone and it helps the rootzone stay healthy i use these things and the gnats have left.

omg!!!! this is so gay!!!, so the gnats can kill clones easily? shit..

simple as fuck, just follow these steps, mix 1 part hydrogen peroxide(2 capfulls to every one gallon of water)with 2 parts water, water ur plant with it, then put sonme sand in ur pots, on top of ur soil of course, just layer it over the top, like ur spreadin butter on a roll, then see how things go from there, fuck neem oil, that shit dont work for me!!good luck

i took about 8 cuttings and found gnats, the clones look like shit... i am going to try sand.... i hate these things...

my clones are like shit for the first time tooooo,,, sucks.....

post some pics of ur clones if u can, id like to watch how ur plants r progressing, and post pics when u put sand in, so i can see em, good luck bro!!

I dont understand why is this "so gay".....

awry said:

omg!!!! this is so gay!!!, so the gnats can kill clones easily? shit..

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Peppermint oil or "Dr Bronner's 18-in-1 Hemp Peppermint Pure-Castile soap". Use one Tablespoon/gallon with the soap. If use oil my guess is only a few drops.

I have heard neem oil, but this is much more natural in my head at least.

Then stop over-watering. Let pots dry ALMOST completely between waterings. The time depends on many factors but pot size is a big one. If you are in 2-3 gallon pots, in my experience, no need to water but every 3rd or 4th day. I here a alot of talk of every other day, maybe if the garden is hot, but for me I would be too wet. My plants grow the most on the day before watering, usually 3 days after last.

The gnat larvae will not survive in semi dry conditions in the top 1-2".
I have found that they may come in in the soil, I use FFOF which is unsterilized, but go away with nothing more than proper watering, and smashing a few here and there. One pest strip would eliminate that though!

They can definitely get out of hand, I did it growing sod in the window for the F'n cat, and really overwatered it they were everywhere! The cat really liked chasing them as much as the grass itself...no more indoor yard!

The sand definitely puts there numbers down. Only prob is I have some seeds in soil I'm trying to sprout, will the sprouts push through the sand? My guess is yea but anyone with experience would be appreciated.

No you can't put sand on plants that haven't sprouted past the level the sand would be.

And yes the gnats eat your roots. Little shits you can see the larvae come out of your pots in the overflow when you water if you look closely with a magnifying glass. I bet you will see thousands.

It sound to me like you need to go to the hydro store and get the strongest bug killer stuff they have to go straight into the soil , but you can't put a bug killer in the soil with the seedlings just the mother plants.

I would also get the traps etc like others mention above.