How To Kill Fungus Gnats

kush714

kush714

Active Member
I like to use azamax, i have had good results with it. Its a little pricey but well worth it.
 
oHsiN666

oHsiN666

Well-Known Member
i just got back for the shop and they told me they sell a bunch of that stuff. i just picked up some Mighty Wash. will the MW work on these fucks? i have this problem and its getting rather bothersome. i also have some apple cider vinegar. and i have some Lady Bugs. im ready to take these bitches out!! what should i use that will eliminate my problem??
 
ataxia

ataxia

Well-Known Member
Nullis said:
I would advise against putting a layer of DE on top of your soil, although sand might help. DE needs to be dry in order to work, and the particles are also very fine; this can lead to a sloppy mess. Dry DE spread around the floor, in crevices or wherever else you see them will help to kill the adults. Once they come in contact with DE they will die within 48 hours.

No pests strips? No where near my plants.

So, the root of the issue here is that indoors in your grow room fungus gnats have [virtually] unlimited food and no predators. The result is the potential for their populations to really get out of hand, in a relatively short period of time and before you even know it. The fungus gnat life cycle is about 4 weeks and there are 4 stages to this life cycle (egg, larval, pupal, adult). The adults are the ones which are most evident, and so they're the most often targeted by gardeners. But if you have an infestation you have to take multiple steps and target the fungus gnats while in larval and/or pupal stages as well.

Don't under-estimate the power of a good vacuum against adult fungus gnats. Vacuum your grow room while you water to catch the most adults. Do this as often as you can if you have an infestation. Here are some other safe recommendations I have given in other gnat threads.

Pyrethrin as a botanically-derived insecticide that kills on contact and breaks down within several hours, it is not toxic to birds, mammals or amphibians and leaves no toxic residues which is ideal for our purposes. The spray is widely available at most home improvement centers. I am pretty sure this is the same stuff as Dr. Doom, only that brand costs more than it should. This is also good for killing adults on the soil surface.

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 another 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; although it is best used to prevent a gnat population from taking hold in the first place. If you already are infested this is still a very necessary step in order to kill the larval stages of the gnats. Re-apply every two weeks even when you don't see adults.

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. Someone mentioned Hypoaspis mites, which predate on the pupal stages of various insects including fungus gnats. I have these myself and they do quite a job. Given a sufficient food source (like gnat pupae) the Hypoaspis mite population can really boom; once they've eaten the majority of the pest insects their populations may drop although they can subsist on dead organic matter/vegetation.
Hypoaspis, Bti and beneficial nematodes are a sure fire way to rid your garden of gnats and keep them form coming back.
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best advice so far .... might i add a layer of sand also ....
...and yes NO PEST STRIPS ...are in the words of the Rev "like (spraying) a slow stream of Raid on your plants" ... they'll kill your bugs but i wouldn't fuck with it.
 
M

mousehunter

New Member
[FONT=Tahoma, Calibri, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]Diatomaceous earth will work when it gets wet. Think of where it originates.... microscopic fossilized remains of diatoms from the ocean. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth)

I've used it mixed with animal feed to eliminate internal parasites. If it works in the digestive tract of an animal, it will work in a moist soil environment.


  • Originally Posted by Nullis
    I would advise against putting a layer of DE on top of your soil, although sand might help. DE needs to be dry in order to work, and the particles are also very fine; this can lead to a sloppy mess.



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hi ryder

hi ryder

Well-Known Member
I just sprayed a gnat 3times in th face with 10 percent neem solution then watched as it flew with its wings coverd in damataceus earth neatly missing some yellow stickers behind one of the 65ltr pots and disapeard under the rim then i got the cunt with my thumb i am not sure i can cope ive just planted amazeing cherry and its gonna be 4.5 months wtf
 
hillbill

hillbill

Well-Known Member
Wonder why No Pest strips are not to be used where food is prepared or stored or where humans are.
 
MMJ Dreaming 99

MMJ Dreaming 99

Well-Known Member
Big Time Exterminator (BTE). You can get a quart delivered from their web site for about $40. It uses yeast enzymes and other non toxic things. Soil drench for gnats and the more dangeorus soil aphids.

You can use it to spray for russet and spider mites, aphids, white flies and even powdery mildew.
 
Jimdamick

Jimdamick

Well-Known Member
hi ryder said:
I just sprayed a gnat 3times in th face with 10 percent neem solution then watched as it flew with its wings coverd in damataceus earth neatly missing some yellow stickers behind one of the 65ltr pots and disapeard under the rim then i got the cunt with my thumb i am not sure i can cope ive just planted amazeing cherry and its gonna be 4.5 months wtf
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Once the little bastards become present in your grow, it will be impossible to get rid of them, until you TOTALLY change your medium. They do not have the destructive power to harm a mature plant, but their larvae will attack the stem and roots of a young plant. Keep an eye out of where the stem leaves the soil, as that is where the larvae will attack the plant, and do the damage.
I have used sticky traps for fucking years, and have never had an issue with them, besides that I have to replace them all the time due to how many gnats they trap.
I know they are annoying as fuck, but once your plants get to be 3 weeks old, they really are harmless
Once you got em though, they ain't going away unless a total soil change occurs, because they reproduce so rapidly, no pesticide that you would want to use on your plants will work. Neem is a waste of money.
Good luck
 
K

Kronickeeper

Well-Known Member
I would reccomend the yellow sticky cards not the strips. Hang them from a branch at pot level. It will decimate the populations pretty fast. You can use DE as others have said to kill the larvae but the. You have to water from the bottom of the pot because you can't get it wet which can lead to algae forming in the saucer. Yellow sticky cards works wonders
 
Daylee

Daylee

Well-Known Member
never cover your pots with sand because 99% of the times gnats are because of soggy soil or too wet conditions.
if you put sand on top of your soil it will only stay wet longer and cause alot of other problems.

just use traps and dry out your soil
they will be gone in no time
 
Cannadab1s

Cannadab1s

Well-Known Member
Tanlin. Expensive af for a tiny little bottle, but it worked for me
Safe around pets and human consumption.
 
hillbill

hillbill

Well-Known Member
Fungus gnats don’t bother me as long as the population is controlled and no harm is being done. I compost and now have a worm farm, I have a small bog garden and live in the woods. I grow in my own organic mix and seems like fungus gnats are gonna be around.
 
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