Get Rid of Fungus Gnats For Good Using Mosquito Dunks

[ToughGirl]

I've been trying dunks for about a week now, can't really tell if it's working or not yet. I have never had a gnat problem in my life, but I bought soil from Lowes in a pinch and I guess this is my penance for it. Did a sandcap on all the pots, sprayed insecticide, hung 'no shot pest strips' nothing. Sticky traps are covered in them, fuck cheap soil... Never again.

 

[mk6]

I've been using dunks in my rez, using coco, for quite some time. But it wasn't tell I started grinding it up and top-coating the pots that I have actually got rid of these all fungus gnats/and root aphid problem...

another thing I did, when I was in soil (had root aphids bad) was too tape the edges of the pots with yellow (painters) tape, the root aphids crawl and stick on the tape so they can't escape! also loop a piece of tape reversed around the base of the plant - keeps-m from crawling up the plant.

this worked really really well.

 

[LolaGal]

lol. I think I have already mentioned that this takes 4-6 weeks to kill em all off.

This is not instant death, but should be used as a preventative to keep from having infestations.

Once infestation has occurred, then it is going to take at least 4 weeks to get rid of them.

Typically I find that infestations of gnats seem to go ahead unchecked, till you get about 4 weeks, then, wham, they are gone for good.

Use dunks before infestation occurs as preventative and you won't ever get gnats in the first place.


It is good to hear that they killed winged root aphids too, that is the first report of it being effective against aphids. good work.

 

[Roderunner]

Thank you all - I just started reading this thread and i hope it is an answer to many of my problems - I just happen to have an old mosquito dunk for my outdoor water barrel - so just now i shredded some on my indoor plants in the hope that it will help. Have been growing for many years, but starting late last year, all my plants (only a few) started to die or wouldn't grow, and the same this year - and it has been so frustrating and depressing. I thought I had fruit flies buzzing around, so wasn't concerned about them, but no matter what I did, my plants just sat there after a couple weeks of slow growth - then nothing - no growth, no vitality, no nothing. Here's hoping it helps.

To add a little more info to this message. I had been using soil from my compost pile with some potting soil to grow, but always had to deal with rolly polly's (sp?) who just love tender young shoots - so I decided to go with all store bought soil. last year I purchased a bag of Miracle Grow potting soil (not organic), some mushroom compost, added some sand and mixed it all together and made new pots. The first few weeks the grow looked great - deep green, good leaf, nice growth. Then everything just stopped growing - the color started to fade, the bottom leaves turned yellow, but the plants didn't do anything but sit there. I tried all kind of amendments but soon I couldn't add anything cause the soil wouldn't dry enough to add water. I started more plants, but they never got going - though they didn't die. I kept looking for clues online but couldn't find anything that fit. This has been going on for almost a year - until I found this thread! I looked more closely at what I thought were just fruit flies and I do believe they are fungus gnats, so am treating for that according to this thread. I have hope again! I'm guessing the gnats were in the Miracle Grow potting soil because I have read that many people have trouble with Miracle Grow. I've started a new batch with cheap potting soil (no additives) and will continue to treat for gnats. I'm really glad i came upon this thread! What's the best all around liquid fertilizer for indoor growth?

 

[ToughGirl]

I spent two hours yesterday sterilizing soil, two aluminum pans at a time (in the oven). Thank god I have an extra oven and I didn't have to do it in my house because the smell was pretty bad. However, I believe I've struck a fatal blow in the 'War on Gnats'!! Between the dunks, the spray, the traps, and the sterilized soil, I think this is finished.

Again, my days of cheap soil are over, I don't care if I have to drive 50 miles to get my Promix compressed bails. I've never had one gnat when I use it.

 

[Jalisco Kid]

gnatrol and dunks is the same thing...

They are made of the same product but gnatrol gives you the bacteria with out all that crap. And is so much cheaper. Your first post said if you used it your problems gone forever. I am sorry but I do not hear any truth ring off that statement.
If you want to fight them back in the long run I would make some covers that snap over buckets with a noseum netting. Nothing(almost) goes into your root zone. Suerte JK

 

[LolaGal]

I stand by the statement that if one uses dunks all the time, you will not have any more fungus gnats.

They are gone from here forever.

Also dunks are much cheaper than Gnatrol. A pack of dunks (3) last me for months.

If you start with a huge infestation, it is gonna take a while to get rid of them with dunks. Kill adults with foggers and it will go much more quickly.

 

[reckon]

lol. I think I have already mentioned that this takes 4-6 weeks to kill em all off.

This is not instant death, but should be used as a preventative to keep from having infestations.

Once infestation has occurred, then it is going to take at least 4 weeks to get rid of them.

Typically I find that infestations of gnats seem to go ahead unchecked, till you get about 4 weeks, then, wham, they are gone for good.

Use dunks before infestation occurs as preventative and you won't ever get gnats in the first place.


It is good to hear that they killed winged root aphids too, that is the first report of it being effective against aphids. good work.

I believe you lolagal, or at least I very much want to,....I had gnats several years ago, and got rid of them for good using several techniques, like sand, gnatrol, and stickies,...and I closed down the grow for a month.

I'll stick with the dunks, and stickies, and fog a few times, I'm pretty sure they'll be leaving,.....I just want them out now, I can't close out this for a month.

you know whats the WORST thing about having a gnat infestation in your house?

"Honey!?,....did you put black pepper in the mashed potatoes?"

 

[bubblebert]

"Honey!?,....did you put black pepper in the mashed potatoes?"

Haha for real, I use to find these fuckers everywhere! I'd be eating dinner and the bastards would fly right into my food. I hit my plants with a strong dose of Azatrol one time and I haven't seen them since.. I think I got off lucky though...

 

[LolaGal]

I am always snorting them by accident. Then you blow your nose and they are Back! lol

 

[minds_I]

gnatrol and dunks is the same thing...

Hello All,

Yeah they are but gnatrol is much more concentrated...in this case more is better.

Ultimately the goal is get rid of the fungus gnats/root aphids.

The dunks are for slow release in ponds as I understand but the gnatrol is ready to go with a measured dosage.

Mosquito dunks are treaky to dose though I guess you could go with the overkill philosophy.

There are several folks selling gnatrol on ebay for like 25 bux for like 30 gallons of solution.

minds_I

 

[reckon]

so at this point I have the dunks crumbled on every soil surface in the house, and I am backing that up with gnatrol, every other watering, except the clone closet, those are getting gnatrol with every watering

this and the stickies have knocked the population down 50%-70%, and I'm sure if I just keep this up for another 30 days or so, they will all be gone.

out in the back yard I have a small storage shed which I made an isolation chamber with lights and closed/filtered ventilation so that when I get new clones in I can give them several weeks in isolation, including being able to add co2 at a lethal level in the chamber.

never again with the bugs,..........never again

 

[reckon]

so at this point I have the dunks crumbled on every soil surface in the house, and I am backing that up with gnatrol, every other watering, except the clone closet, those are getting gnatrol with every watering

this and the stickies have knocked the population down 50%-70%, and I'm sure if I just keep this up for another 30 days or so, they will all be gone.

out in the back yard I have a small storage shed which I made an isolation chamber with lights and closed/filtered ventilation so that when I get new clones in I can give them several weeks in isolation, including being able to add co2 at a lethal level in the chamber.

never again with the bugs,..........never again

and two days later they are back with a vengence,.........so fuck this I sez:

I mix 4TBL per gallon of SPINOSAD, and just DRENCH every soil pot in the house, including houseplants, and I scrap my fledgling herb garden in the kitchen.

this morning I wake up, and go check the clone closet, and there are about a thousand dead adults laying all over everything, and I can't find a single wriggler in the pots.

I mean GONE.

I'll report back in a week, and we'll see if this works, but so far spinosad is my new bestus fren!

 

[SumDumGuy]

and two days later they are back with a vengence,.........so fuck this I sez:

I mix 4TBL per gallon of SPINOSAD, and just DRENCH every soil pot in the house, including houseplants, and I scrap my fledgling herb garden in the kitchen.

this morning I wake up, and go check the clone closet, and there are about a thousand dead adults laying all over everything, and I can't find a single wriggler in the pots.

I mean GONE.

I'll report back in a week, and we'll see if this works, but so far spinosad is my new bestus fren!

I just read up on this bacteria and it's dead ass. I need this..

 

[reckon]

I just read up on this bacteria and it's dead ass. I need this..

the bacteria (baccillum thuringensis) WORKS, but it's more of a preventative measure.

GNATROL, is super concentrated, and the dunks are just a slower timed release "gnatrol".

the spinosad messes up the nervous system of the gnats, and is reasonably safe around the house (unless you have fish, birds, or mollusks).

I did NOT expect it to kill the adults, but it did.

I'll re-apply it in a week, just to be sure, but I think that did it.

 

[reckon]

they are pretty much gone after the 2 spinosad soil drenches,........

but I topped everything with perlite just to be sure,........

gad I hate these fucking gnat versions of the BORG

 

[puff adder]

I was unable to get rid of fungus gnats using the dunks. Gnats were flying out of the rez, and I am sure were taking up residence in other areas than the coco, like the floor, and my dehumidifier.

I did a soil drench of Azamax, and followed up with another a few weeks later, and the fungus gnat population is gone.

Good to know about the Spinosad, I use the stuff for thrips, and I guess it works on mites too.

 

[tangletingle]

Just make sure they are really fungus gnats. Sometime root aphids advance to the point where they are flying. You may not realize what you are dealing with till you take a good long look at your roots. It happened to me. Thankfully I was told about Bayer tree and Shrub here.
But yes, the dunks do work!

 

[reckon]

Just make sure they are really fungus gnats. Sometime root aphids advance to the point where they are flying. You may not realize what you are dealing with till you take a good long look at your roots. It happened to me. Thankfully I was told about Bayer tree and Shrub here.
But yes, the dunks do work!

since I grow in a high % coco amended soil, and clone in pure coco, and even the spinosad only worked for a week,......

so I threw out most of the clone closet, except the ones that I had a hard time getting, and did a Bayer Complete soil drench (only 5ml/gal)

I turned out to have BOTH fungus gnats, AND root aphids, and the bayer just wipes em out

not organic by any means, this stuff is chemicals, and imidocloprid, and b-cyflurthrin (or however you spell it), are both systemic,.......but applying it to the mums, and tiny 2" clones, I feel confident that once the plants are fully developed the residual amounts left in the plant 4 months later will be negligible.


had I not let the infestation get as far developed as it was, I'm sure the BT in the dunks would have worked.

 

[slowandeasy]

What brand of Bombs and Sprays would people suggest?