Close up of soil gnat cure

[Guest]

A layer of perlite on the topsoil will prevent adults from reaching the soil to lay eggs and prevent larva already hatched from reaching the air and maturing to adults.

No chemicals or predator insects added!

 

[Mlfmonkey]

wow!

wow!

Thanks so much for this post! I am gonna try this, for sure!

 

[I.M. Boggled]

Good grow tip there...

Good grow tip there...

How deep do you have the perlite?

 

[Pactivist]

i have a question

i have a question

hey Caprichoso, just one quick question, How do you keep the perlite from floating away when you water? other than that please keep us informed as to how well this works, many of us pro-mix users are very interested in methods that beat these damn gnats.
peAce pacT.

 

[Guest]

That's easy pactivist Water your soil first. Gently compress the top to give you some space if need be, and add a 1/2" layer of perlite.
Most containers have enough volume to leave the perlite on for several days before you need to water again. Just brush the old stuff off, set aside for regualr use later as a soil amendment, and add layer of fresh perlite. No infestation should need more than the time two applications give you.

 

[Hitman]

Worked for me!

Worked for me!

Yes, I will back Capri, it worked for me. When it is time to water than you can just water right through or move it over, or if you always have a big bag of perlite on hand use fresh! I had them bad they moved all in to the spot. They were flying over and saying hi. Boy they hated the neem as bad as the spider mites.

 

[baccas125]

hey guys

hey guys

check out grower soil area there is already a thread on fungas gnats. Just a quick FYI. Baccas

 

[LeeroyJackson]

good tip

good tip

Ive been using this method for a few years now and its the easiest method ive found to date.

 

[Kenny Lingus]

aalso keep the soil moist!

aalso keep the soil moist!

....and reflects light and ables the roots to grow in the top soil too!

 

[Northwest]

Fine sand, is an alternative for controlling fungus gnats, too.

 

[Teresa]

Sorry Northwest but i disagree on the sand method.This technique should be discouraged as the close packing nature of the sand particles reduces the quantity of oxygen which penetrates down into the root zone. Less oxygen means less root growth and hence a lower total yield of flowers .

 

[Northwest]

Sorry Northwest but i disagree on the sand method.This technique should be discouraged as the close packing nature of the sand particles reduces the quantity of oxygen which penetrates down into the root zone. Less oxygen means less root growth and hence a lower total yield of flowers .

Sorry for the rebuttal, in your thread Capri.
Teresa, sand is quite a common technique for controlling gnats in organic gardening. Search for yourself, if you like.

 

[Guest]

No problem here. Any method that is chea and easy is just fine by me. I too have heard of sand used in the same way the perlite is, it's just that I have a shitload of perlite in my room. That's about 30 lbs worth in the garbage can.

 

[Mlfmonkey]

hi everybody

hi everybody

so i tried the vermaculite and it seems to work, but it is really caustic on the lungs- use a mask! I think I'll try the sand next time...then i'll tell you all what works the best!

 

[Guest]

Well, the perlite discussion is going on. This is a bit of off-topic, but what do you think, can I use perlite which was earlier used in mushroom cultivation (for humidifying a terrarum) as a soil adentment?

There are no visible spore deposits or anything like that. I'm asking this because here in Finland it's hard to find perlite (thank god I still have about 100l left). It was sold in gardening whole-sale shop a few years ago, but now they only sell it to companies (maybe too many suspicious looking hemp growers have been purchasing it). Iwould hate to throw away about 10 litres of good perlite if it's still usable...

 

[Mlfmonkey]

hey

hey

http://www.mycotopia.net/site/news.php

Check this site out for mushroom info!

mlfmonkey

p.s. I said vermaculite last post, but I meant perlite

 

[Guest]

Re: hi everybody

Re: hi everybody

so i tried the vermaculite and it seems to work, but it is really caustic on the lungs- use a mask! I think I'll try the sand next time...then i'll tell you all what works the best!

I have had that problem too, but only at the bottom of a bag. Do you have the coarse perlite? The bigger the pieces, the less the dust in my experience, but it always get pretty cloudy at some point. I try and save the fine bottom bag stuff for mixing into soil.

 

[I.M. Boggled]

Recycling perlite...

Recycling perlite...

can I use perlite which was earlier used

I'd give it a good rinse, drain it (more or less, then steam heat sterilize it

If one were to put it in a larg covered cooking pan for an hour or two in a baking hot oven, that should eliminate any concerns regarding micro-biological contamination.