Storing soil in totes during gnat season.

whitebb2727 said:

Which good bugs?

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DE will kill pretty much any bug with an exoskeleton.

Adding it to the soil might not be so bad because DE doesn't function properly as an insecticide when it's wet. It works just as well after it dries back out, though.

I just stuck a bunch of yellow sticky's in will see where I stand in a day or two.

When I had them used a cheap 6 inch fan on low pointed at the soil and the way it works it disrupts their flight and they can't land .

medfourtwenty said:

When I had them used a cheap 6 inch fan on low pointed at the soil and the way it works it disrupts their flight and they can't land .

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Good one,suicide by fan I like it.

myke said:

Cant be sure but I had a good population of hypo miles mites also some un named critters that loathed around lol.Never used DE before so not quite sure.I assume it kills everything that tries to walk through?Or will the soil mites stay below the layer of DE?

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If you've got hypos in there, they'll take care of any gnat larvae. Ever since i started using my own compost( loaded woth hypos) in my soil mix, my gnat problem disappeared. Gl

natureboygrower said:

If you've got hypos in there, they'll take care of any gnat larvae. Ever since i started using my own compost( loaded woth hypos) in my soil mix, my gnat problem disappeared. Gl

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Thats what Im hoping,worm bin isnt productive enough yet otherwise id add a bunch of ewc.Im sure thats where they initially came from.

myke said:

Thats what Im hoping,worm bin isnt productive enough yet otherwise id add a bunch of ewc.Im sure thats where they initially came from.

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It was pretty stressful the first few times i used my own compost indoors. I may have even had gnats a run or two, but now my compost it so loaded with hypos they crawl out of my SIP drainage hole looking for food. I feel kinda bad about that actually lol

JimmyJackCorn said:

DE will kill pretty much any bug with an exoskeleton.

Adding it to the soil might not be so bad because DE doesn't function properly as an insecticide when it's wet. It works just as well after it dries back out, though.

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True. I know it cuts the exoskeleton.

I've never had an issue with it i soil.

Gnats have a breeding cycle. To break it all that's needed is a barrier on top of the soil.

Imo, DE has no place indoors. Yes, wetted it's harmless and you can ingest the right kind. But I've got a lot of fans in my cab, I'd be concerned about breathing that stuff in if i were to topdress with it.

natureboygrower said:

Imo, DE has no place indoors. Yes, wetted it's harmless and you can ingest the right kind. But I've got a lot of fans in my cab, I'd be concerned about breathing that stuff in if i were to topdress with it.

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That's a good point.

DarkWeb said:

That's a good point.

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Also possible the DE could stick to buds.
I don't doubt DE can work, but there's way more (safer) products out there nowadays. BMC microbe lift, or even mosquito dunks crushed up and sprinkled in mykes bin might do the trick.

whitebb2727 said:

True. I know it cuts the exoskeleton.

I've never had an issue with it i soil.

Gnats have a breeding cycle. To break it all that's needed is a barrier on top of the soil.

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Shoot, sorry. Meant to reply to myke.

So I run a couple of 4x4 beds no till. I just plant a cover crop over it. Being thats theyre sitting on 220 gallons of soil/mulch I only water it once a week or so. If your soil life is good and active the gnat larva should be consumed by other things before it becomes a gnat. However, I have also found that it can go up and down as well. Personally I just use the following in a small juice glass,

1 c of hot water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar.
3 drops of Dawn Dishsoap.

If your mulching and running a soil food web, you will have gnats. Accept it. Manage it. If they seem to get crazy cut back on your watering and add a layer of dry mulch.

Keep it simple.

If the totes have snapping lids, put them on, if not, get others.

I use 30 or 45gal garbage cans, on wheels, with lids. Anytime I add old soil to a bin for future reamending, I top the bin with a dusting of DE. It works.

Then mix in neem as part of the amending.

If you cover the totes, no bugs get in. But if your mix has bugs, it must be dealt with. Again mix in neem, and top the bin with DE.

Dont use DE in your space, just a dusting to the bin tops. Wear a mask and gloves anytime using DE and use food grade safe.

Well after a few days of yellow stickys, there is a few gnats on ea trap.So they've set up shop already.Canada so all I got is mosquito dunks that Ill water/spray the top surface.Soil is damp already.Ill top it off with 2" of sand and put weights on the lid.
Friggen gnats!

myke said:

Well after a few days of yellow stickys, there is a few gnats on ea trap.So they've set up shop already.Canada so all I got is mosquito dunks that Ill water/spray the top surface.Soil is damp already.Ill top it off with 2" of sand and put weights on the lid.
Friggen gnats!

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Hey myke, I know you are in the process of making your own EWC. I don't keep any on hand myself. But I did cure a gnat problem in late flower by going out to my yard, digging down until I saw earthworm holes, then took a scoop of that and top dressed.

Within two weeks, all gnats were gone.

I don't know if that's an option for you or if it will for sure work, but it worked for me the one time I tried it.

myke said:

Well after a few days of yellow stickys, there is a few gnats on ea trap.So they've set up shop already.Canada so all I got is mosquito dunks that Ill water/spray the top surface.Soil is damp already.Ill top it off with 2" of sand and put weights on the lid.
Friggen gnats!

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If you're letting the totes sit for an extended enough period of time, the dunks shouldn't be necessary and the sand will remedy your issue. Gnats won't be able to get in, or out, they'll just die out in the soil.

Dunks are always good to have on hand though, that's for sure.

JimmyJackCorn said:

Hey myke, I know you are in the process of making your own EWC. I don't keep any on hand myself. But I did cure a gnat problem in late flower by going out to my yard, digging down until I saw earthworm holes, then took a scoop of that and top dressed.

Within two weeks, all gnats were gone.

I don't know if that's an option for you or if it will for sure work, but it worked for me the one time I tried it.

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That is amazing that you can legit just go in your backyard and find earthworms and castings if you dig enough.

I don't know how I ever lived and gardened without homemade EWC. As with anything else in life, nothing beats fresh, and homemade trumps store-bought. Sure, store bought compost/EWC is definitely better than nothing. However, much like bags of soil, they've been sitting for who knows how many weeks/months at a time. Most of the life has gone dormant, or even died off.

Fresh castings are filled with tons of things that make it difficult for bad bugs to ever set foot in your garden, let alone take control.

I recently discovered fresh EWC has chitin in it naturally, turns out the chitin enzyme is a natural part of the earthworm's digestive system. Awesome.

Fresh EWC also comes with predator mites, soldier flies, springtails, silverwings, and even centipedes occasionally (hate those fuckers).

Any outside pest will have to compete against all of the aforementioned bugs, but also the chitin found naturally in the castings. And that's not even accounting for any predator wasps that may happen upon your garden.

kratos015 said:

If you're letting the totes sit for an extended enough period of time, the dunks shouldn't be necessary and the sand will remedy your issue. Gnats won't be able to get in, or out, they'll just die out in the soil.

Dunks are always good to have on hand though, that's for sure.




That is amazing that you can legit just go in your backyard and find earthworms and castings if you dig enough.

I don't know how I ever lived and gardened without homemade EWC. As with anything else in life, nothing beats fresh, and homemade trumps store-bought. Sure, store bought compost/EWC is definitely better than nothing. However, much like bags of soil, they've been sitting for who knows how many weeks/months at a time. Most of the life has gone dormant, or even died off.

Fresh castings are filled with tons of things that make it difficult for bad bugs to ever set foot in your garden, let alone take control.

I recently discovered fresh EWC has chitin in it naturally, turns out the chitin enzyme is a natural part of the earthworm's digestive system. Awesome.

Fresh EWC also comes with predator mites, soldier flies, springtails, silverwings, and even centipedes occasionally (hate those fuckers).

Any outside pest will have to compete against all of the aforementioned bugs, but also the chitin found naturally in the castings. And that's not even accounting for any predator wasps that may happen upon your garden.

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100% agreed. I didn't know about the chitin. I need to learn more about it.

I used to hate wasps and hornets. I would trap and spray them. Today, there is a large nest at the edge of my garden. It's my friend.

JimmyJackCorn said:

Hey myke, I know you are in the process of making your own EWC. I don't keep any on hand myself. But I did cure a gnat problem in late flower by going out to my yard, digging down until I saw earthworm holes, then took a scoop of that and top dressed.

Within two weeks, all gnats were gone.

I don't know if that's an option for you or if it will for sure work, but it worked for me the one time I tried it.

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If my yard wasnt all veggie garden Id try your idea,good tip. I have lots in there.

Yea sand worked last time in pots,Ill need the dirt in 3 weeks,hope they all die.