Gnatrol and Cloning

[Boss Cocky]

Hi everyone,

I've been having a real problems with fungus gnats in my cabinet. I got myself some Gnatrol from the States and was thinking about watering it into the root cubes I'm about to clone into. Will this work, or will it interfere with rooting?

Thanks in advance
BC

 

[MacGyverofgrow]

Well ur clones wont even have roots for about 10-14 days so I wouldnt do that. Theres a couple of thing u can do to rid ur self of those little bastards. 1 keep ur clones in a mini greenhouse be creative I tuned my wifes New Wave oven with a clear plastic cake cover(shes pissed oh well.) to create one. 2. Take away their comfort zone make ur grow area less appealing to them by watering less and keeping ur top soil dry, and never have any pools of water in ur growroom. 3. U can also use a layer of sand on top of the meduim. This will smother the eggs, and larvae that r attacking ur roots. 4. Have a fan gently blowing over the top of ur soil. This will help keep it dry and makes it hard for bugs to lay eggs, eat, or even wanna be in that area. 5. U can use yellow sticky paper on a stick or a fly trap to catch the adults. This also works as a insect alarm system and will trap new comers and current residents making u aware of their unwanted presence sooner. 6. U can also cover tops of clone containers with aluminum foil reflective side down or u might burn the little guys. 7. Placing potato slices skin down on the top of ur soil. This will have their larvae congregating right to it, and then they become trapped and die. Replace potato slices every 3-5 days. 8. I saved it for last so ud remember it cause it is the most important step in keeping ur grow area bug free. KEEP UR WHOLE AREA CLEAN AND STERILE AT ALL TIMES AND LET NO ONE ELSE ENTER IF POSSIBLE. Adult fungus gnats eat organic materal that is decomposing so get a shop vac or broom and keep all clippings and soil picked up. Not swept into a corner to sit in a pile for days. Long story short their there because u r in some way providing them with food, water, and a comfortable place to reproduce. Take those things away from any creature or man on the plant and t bbc.co eyll leave. I promise. Now get up and get rid of those gnats before they get rid of ur plants. Peace!

 

[Boss Cocky]

Thanks for your tips, MacGyverofgrow. I have been madly searching for solutions and you have covered just about all the major tips I have found, so thanks for your thorough answer. My reasoning for dousing the cubes in Gnatrol was that the media will be moist for some time and the Gnats could lay eggs in there. With the Gnatrol the lavae would die soon after their first nibble on the newly forming roots.

Anyway, I did make some Panama clones off the main stems as the 8 week old seedlings were only developed like 3 week old seedlings due to the Gnats. I put them in Gnatrol doused EZ plugs and 7 days later, 6 of the 12 clones have rooted without the assistance of any hormones. Not bad I reckon. I think I've got my answer.

Cheers
BC

 

[justanotherbozo]

yeah, fungus gnats are so easy to deal with once you understand the lifecycle.

...gnats are only a danger to your plant in the larval stage in the rootzone, the fliers don't even have mouth's so they only live to fly around and lay eggs so if you put a few yellow sticky traps in your grow this should begin eliminating the fliers and unless you have a sizable grow this should be all you need to do and within 2 weeks your problem should be solved, every flier you catch won't be laying any eggs and pretty soon no more gnats.

...you can also use mosquito dunks which come in solid donut looking things that are meant to control mosquito populations in ponds and such but it is also sold in a particle form that you can sprinkle on your plants, ...these dunks contain bt which is an organism that feeds on the eggs and larvae.

...you don't say what style you grow but if it's in soil or coco they you can also put a 1inch layer of hydroton or gravel or some such on top of your rootballs to block the larvae from having access to your rootzone.

...i would NOT suggest you dunk your cubes in gnatrol, i don't KNOW that this would inhibit rooting but maybe it MIGHT and cloning can be tricky enough as it is, especially if you are new at it.

good luck, bozo

...btw, here is a link to Amazon where you can read up on and maybe purchase the Mosquito Bits. ...but honestly, unless you have a LARGE grow, the yellow sticky traps is really all you need.

Mosquito Bits, 30-Ounce

 

[Boss Cocky]

G'Day bozo,

Thanks for your tips. I have a bit of trouble getting mosquito dunks where I am. As a matter of fact, I couldn't find any BTI products in the whole country. I could get the Gnatrol granules posted from the US however.

I can honestly say I doubt the Gnatrol has any negative effect on rooting. All my cuttings rooted between 6-9 days (I might add that these were cut from the main stem and I didn't use cloning gel or powders).

Anyway, thanks again for your tips.