Bagged soil pests.

[McGuyver'sDick]

So I've been reading that some folks get fungus gnats complimentary with their bagged soil. Is this something indicative to the brand (I'm sure you all know) or is it exposed in transit or storage?

How can one ensure that their soil is pest free?

Are there other pests that may come with bagged soil?

I feel growing yer own soil is probably best, but it may not always be feasible to some.

Can soil be treated for pests and still be a good environment for bennies?

What is the best way to inspect soil for baddies? What should one lookout for?

 

[White-rhino]

Don't buy a faded bag (from the last year). Anyone that stores the soil outside is automatically suspect. Thats my 2 cents. Also invest in some cv-80d (google it). I've seen about 5 knats this season on a 20 pot grow. Every once a week I spray this shit, and knats are gone. When I forget to sparay it, one might show up.

 

[McGuyver'sDick]

Good tips. That spray looks good as well, might just get some at least for the dog. It got great reviews at Tractor Supply.

 

[schwilly]

i season all my soil for several months

seems to let anything die off.

pretty much all bags have breathing holes, all it takes is one fertilized female to crawl in

 

[McGuyver'sDick]

i season all my soil for several months

seems to let anything die off.

pretty much all bags have breathing holes, all it takes is one fertilized female to crawl in

Do you dump it out in a bin or something? Covered, uncovered?

 

[GuerrillaDidgi]

ive topped all my pots with 2 or 3 inches of sand....... all gone but takes a little time to see them leave if your infested

 

[schwilly]

Do you dump it out in a bin or something? Covered, uncovered?

i keep it in the attic still "sealed" in original bags. i buy it during the summer and stick it up there when it's hot as hell.

not sure if cold weather would do the trick or not.

again not sure if this method is even worth a damn or not. i use ocean forest as part of my soil mix which is notorious for coming from the east coast production center with gnats or aphids. no aphids so far, the gnats, they're here but i think they're from outside.

might want to be careful though if your attic isn't well ventilated. we had a cold winter last year and things were fine but this year it was really mild and i got mold issues in the attic. all that soil likely contributed.

edit: also i really wouldn't recommend the attic, as bugs will likely come in through the vents for it if it's not super hot. it's just the best option i have here in my current location to keep it away from my plants when it's brought in. when i move and have more space i'll have a separate sealed room to store new soil in that i can heat to 125f or so to kill bugs off. i'm not sure if just sealing them off in bags will break the gnat cycle, aphids though need roots to survive i think.

again, no expert, just paranoid about aphids and do everything i can to never deal with them

 

[pinecone]

How can one ensure that their soil is pest free?

You can't, but once you get some pest free soil you can avoid introducing any new pest in through you soil by reusing it.

Are there other pests that may come with bagged soil?

People will claim to have gotten all sorts of things from their soil, but I'm pretty skeptical. I can see why a fungus gnat would be hanging around a bag of soil or coco, but a root aphid or spider mites? Doesn't make any sense to me.

As far as I'm concerned gnats are the only "pest" you need to worry about in soil and they are a nuisance for most people more than a actually pest.

Pine

 

[McGuyver'sDick]

ive topped all my pots with 2 or 3 inches of sand....... all gone but takes a little time to see them leave if your infested

I'm not infested, just want to be cautious. I like the your sand method, K.I.S.S. I guess a good mulch would be wise also.

 

[skinzilla]

Just my 2 cents, but I used an inch layer of sand on some plants and an inch of perlite on the others, and I'd definitely advise the sand. It's much easier to work with than the perlite IMO(other than the initial setup of putting it in the pots). They will both work for gnats, but the perlite I've found blows around easier from fans, tends to float out of the pot if you top feed, and will fall out of the pot when moving the plants around. The sand packs down more, so it tends to just stay as it sits once it's packed. Remember to run PH adjusted water through it though before use if you top feed. I'm also not knocking perlite though, as I ran out of coco and still had a plant to transplant, so I used plain perlite for it in a smart pot, and it's one of my healthiest looking girls. For gnat control though, I've found the sand the better option(and I cut back on sticky strips, sick of them sticking to me when i reach in to move plants around, lol)

 

[McGuyver'sDick]

You can't, but once you get some pest free soil you can avoid introducing any new pest in through you soil by reusing it.

Ya I'm into reusing but expansion dictates that I get more soil from time to time. I'd love to compost and reuse and grow my own soil but I've been a little nomadic for a few years and haven't gotten to cozy anywhere long enough and just do mostly containers of legal stuff for that itch. I'm thinkin' bout binning up my soil for this next move instead of top dressing my landlords flower beds. My moves have been from city to city but if someone else is gonna truck it in I may as well too.

I dig your no till project BTY.

 

[pinecone]

I'm breaking all the rules as far as fungus gnat prevention goes, but I'm fungus gnat free in my flower cab. I do have a few flying around my open veg area though. The difference between the flower room and the veg area? The container in my flower cab is heavily mulched with decaying organic matter (leafs, crop waste, ect), the soil is used and not tilled, and there is an abundance of bugs. The veg area uses new soil with no mulch. I think when a few gnat larvae come in to the flower area from the veg area they get munched. I don't really have any other good explanations for their absence.

Pine

This is what the top of my container looks like

 

[Maj.PotHead]

diatomacious earth sprinkle tad on surface of soil and water it in wear a dust mask when applying this.

misquito dunks

botanicare Azamax spray on surface of soil then water into soil.


i have no soil gnat problems