Hot Water and Fungus Gnats

[Aussie-Soil]

Hi. Question is simple. Has anyone else tried Boiling water to rid themselves of this situation.

The story

My mother room has become infested with the little suckers, so ive been trying to find a non toxic method that i can use . I came across somebody talking about hot water and killing the lava. (I use strips for adults so its the larva i want to kill.) Since nobody seemed to haVE tried this method,(Afraid of burning there plants alive) i decided to grab one of my young mums and put on the kettle.

I Used Boiling water, and began pouring the water into the pot , making sure to soak every bit of dirt i could. The Plant Seemed fine. And I Got a nice amount of leakage from the bottom. (Use a container to catch the hot water.) I Then placed the pot plant away from any other planT (CONTROLLED AREA)

So Its Been an hour and the plant looks great. No Wilting,No Stress.All the Larva look dead. But there is still adults flying around. Im Placing another yellow strip near it, and killing them by hand.

I Guess shes not out of the woods just yet, as i may have burnt the root matter, But all i can do is wait. And post updates

Just Wondering if anybody else , has given pouring water and soaking your plant to kill the fungas gnats in soil, and what your experience from it was.

Now back to smoking a pipe and watching my plants

 

[RB56]

I've heard of using water that's 125°F (53°C) but not boiling water. I believe the key is saturating the root ball and holding it at temperature for 5 minutes. You're unlikely to to accomplish that buy pouring boiling water on from the top.

The good news is that you don't need to do any of those things. Find a product like Gnatrol with active ingredient BTI. Follow the instructions and you will be rid of all stages of the bastards in two weeks. No poison and no harm to the plant.

Here's a link to the hot water plan for RA.

 

[Aussie-Soil]

Ive been reading Further into this with people who kill Weeds with boiling water. Accourding to there sources, Boiling water will not kill the roots, only leaf matter. I ALso Used a kettle at boiling. The container stayed hot for over 15 mins. So im pretty sure ,everything that was going to die from scorching did.

Now as for your suggestion off Gnatrol , , Sounds Promising, Do u know what BTI Stands for?Perhaps Bacillus thuringiensis?

Do u know of any australian products? As I Dont seem to see gnatrol as a local product. (Not ordering overseas for chemicals lol.)

Just saw that link. Ty Vm. Having a read now

 

[RB56]

Bacillus Thuringiensis subspecies Israelensis - I think Same stuff that's in Mosquito Dunks and Mosquito Bits. Gnatrol is much easier to control for an infestation. Don't know what is available in Australia, sorry.

 

[Aussie-Soil]

Bacillus Thuringiensis subspecies Israelensis - I think Same stuff that's in Mosquito Dunks and Mosquito Bits. Gnatrol is much easier to control for an infestation. Don't know what is available in Australia, sorry.

Your a legend mate , Thanks i actually work at a greenhouse, so I might have a chat with my boss about where to source that from.

however, since i still have two weeks left on holiday I'll keep trying the hot water method and yellow sticky traps. ANd report any other findings

 

[Chevy cHaze]

Yeah , fear no more, BTI is it.
Works great.
Use it from time to time, no more gnats ever since.
increase the concentration in suspension though compared to the recommendation for mosquitoes in ponds, water barrels etc.
I use 10 drops per liter of water (Neudomueck by Neudorff ).

The adults won't do anything to you plants, but they will lay eggs and the larvae will munch on your roots again.

all the best,

a

 

[Aussie-Soil]

Doesn't look like a non commercial entertity can buy BTI, however. Yates does sell BTK. Some hate said it works. Any thoughts.
http://m.yates.com.au/products/pest-control/insects-concentrates/natures-way-caterpillar-killer-dipel/#/products/pest-control/insects-concentrates/natures-way-caterpillar-killer-dipel/

 

[Aussie-Soil]

http://wiki.bugwood.org/Bacillus_thuringiensis

 

[Aussie-Soil]

I dvd know how to edit. So ill just say it looks like the k variant isn't supposed to hit gnats. I'll keep looking for var i being sold for aussies.

 

[gaiusmarius]

one easy way to knock the gnat population right down to harmles levels is by letting your pots get dry. stop watering till just before the plants start to wilt. let the earth get dry and light. this will kill the larva, breaking the reproductive cycle. just try to catch them before the plant start to hang. you have a good 1 day window when the medium is dry before the plants actually start to wilt.

 

[Aussie-Soil]

Done uh at. The issue is that they are clearly drought resistant. my organic matter is my oil. Vey rich, and tons for them to eat. I've been giving my ladies long dry out periods, as that is how ive always done with my mum plants. After all, i need them to stay healthy.

I'm still trying to find a natural product with bti, but finding it hard. It may be a control substance. As australia does have issues with mosquitoes .

 

[Aussie-Soil]

http://www.garrards.com.au/administ.../files/196/1300755854vectobac-g_msds_0909.pdf

Now i just have to find somebody willing to sell it to me ... i did find gnatrol, I'll have to import i though. Which can take up to a month.



Any body know of an aussie suppliers selling anything with Bacillus thuringiensis subsp israelensis in it thanks

 

[Aussie-Soil]

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/as...ungus-gnat-management-in-greenhouse-crops.pdf

 

[RB56]

VECTOBAC looks like the right stuff. Also seeing some references to Dipel in Australia.

 

[The OrigF/clred]

been helping a bud with his grow while i learn. He didn't have a problem with gnats till he brought in some FF happy frog soil to add to the transplant pots when he transplanted just b4 going into flower. He had a helluva infestation - one day, we were smacking or clapping them mid-air and counting - killed 288 in 30 minutes and 10 minutes later you'd almost think we hadn'd even been in there.

He'd tried a lot of approaches, mosquito dunks, dunking in 115-120F water, flushing with spinosad and a few others i've forgotten. the spinosad seemed to help but not a full cure.

long story short - i'd researched them here, and one of the recommendationds was Diatomaceous Earth aka DE, about 1/2 - 1" layer on top of the dirt.

mistake was we went with Safer Brand DE.

it turned into some kind of greasy plastic dirt the first time he watered his plants - so we ended up scraping that out and replacing with steel wool (#000 & #0000). But he'd put some DE down around the drain openings at the bottom of the pot, in the run-off trays. We noticed the bastards seem to be attracted to it. You'd see them fly to it instead of the openings. And were dying shortly after landing in it.

He'd also noticed quite a few were coming out from under the run-off pans so he sprinkled some on the tables around the pots, just a dusting - same thing, you'd see them flying to land in it (some would do a "go around" and not land), but most would. But once they'd touch the stuff, and walk in it for a few seconds, you could see they had problems flying off.

Within a week or so, noticed the population had really dwindled - took maybe 10 - 14 days for a really serious decimation of the gnat population. At the end of the grow, for the last 4 or so weeks, you'd see one or two gnats max, and not see any some days.

After the Safer Brand DE turned to greasy clay when wet, i couldn't understand how folks could recommended it - si i went to safer brand's web, they indicate they've laced their DE with a "bait compound". I contacted them to see if they'd identify what was in the DE and all they'd say was that it was 78% DE with the balance 22% a proprietary compound but they wouldn't identify it. I suspect the 22% bait compound acts like some sort of binder when the DE gets wet, but the bait explained why they seemed attracted to it. While Safer Brand doesn't call theirs "food grade" DE, they sell it for use in vegetable gardens, so i assume the 22% is safe. I plan to use it on my grow when i get around to starting it, but only in the paper plates, as a preventative measure.

At the end, the last 3-4 weeks, my bud went from dusting the table surfaces with DE to simply spooning some into some paper plates he'd place around the pots. It was a lot easier to wipe the tables down when he needed to plus the DE in the plates didn't harden up from the misting falling onto the table (he picks the plates up before misting).

fwiw - but i did see it work after seeing the frustration of trying to eradicate them.

 

[Aussie-Soil]

VECTOBAC looks like the right stuff. Also seeing some references to Dipel in Australia.

Yup, only issue is they only seem to sell to commerical outfitters, though ive emailed them and waiting for a reply, i do hold a comerical chemical spray card for qld,australia. however i dont like to put my name to anything if i can avoid it.

Also dipel looks good, Except its not actually BT-I its BT-K

Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki
The kurstaki strain of the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a bacterial disease organism that has been formulated into a number of microbial insecticides. Trade names include Dipel, Thuricide, Javelin, Deliver, MVP II, and Foray, among others. Applied as a dust or spray to foliage, applications of this strain is effective for control of most leaf-feeding Lepidoptera - webworms, cabbageworms, leafrollers, tussock moths, etc. (Cutworms and armyworms are often less sensitive to Bt). This product is widely available at nurseries and mail order garden catalogs.

 

[gaiusmarius]

you should be able to find mosquito dunks in the local gardening center, those dunks are normally bti based and they will do the job if you have drought resistant gnats.

 

[Aussie-Soil]

been helping a bud with his grow while i learn. He didn't have a problem with gnats till he brought in some FF happy frog soil to add to the transplant pots when he transplanted just b4 going into flower. He had a helluva infestation - one day, we were smacking or clapping them mid-air and counting - killed 288 in 30 minutes and 10 minutes later you'd almost think we hadn'd even been in there.

He'd tried a lot of approaches, mosquito dunks, dunking in 115-120F water, flushing with spinosad and a few others i've forgotten. the spinosad seemed to help but not a full cure.

long story short - i'd researched them here, and one of the recommendationds was Diatomaceous Earth aka DE, about 1/2 - 1" layer on top of the dirt.

mistake was we went with Safer Brand DE.

it turned into some kind of greasy plastic dirt the first time he watered his plants - so we ended up scraping that out and replacing with steel wool (#000 & #0000). But he'd put some DE down around the drain openings at the bottom of the pot, in the run-off trays. We noticed the bastards seem to be attracted to it. You'd see them fly to it instead of the openings. And were dying shortly after landing in it.

He'd also noticed quite a few were coming out from under the run-off pans so he sprinkled some on the tables around the pots, just a dusting - same thing, you'd see them flying to land in it (some would do a "go around" and not land), but most would. But once they'd touch the stuff, and walk in it for a few seconds, you could see they had problems flying off.

Within a week or so, noticed the population had really dwindled - took maybe 10 - 14 days for a really serious decimation of the gnat population. At the end of the grow, for the last 4 or so weeks, you'd see one or two gnats max, and not see any some days.

After the Safer Brand DE turned to greasy clay when wet, i couldn't understand how folks could recommended it - si i went to safer brand's web, they indicate they've laced their DE with a "bait compound". I contacted them to see if they'd identify what was in the DE and all they'd say was that it was 78% DE with the balance 22% a proprietary compound but they wouldn't identify it. I suspect the 22% bait compound acts like some sort of binder when the DE gets wet, but the bait explained why they seemed attracted to it. While Safer Brand doesn't call theirs "food grade" DE, they sell it for use in vegetable gardens, so i assume the 22% is safe. I plan to use it on my grow when i get around to starting it, but only in the paper plates, as a preventative measure.

At the end, the last 3-4 weeks, my bud went from dusting the table surfaces with DE to simply spooning some into some paper plates he'd place around the pots. It was a lot easier to wipe the tables down when he needed to plus the DE in the plates didn't harden up from the misting falling onto the table (he picks the plates up before misting).

fwiw - but i did see it work after seeing the frustration of trying to eradicate them.

Thanks, I had a Look into it and its availble, Though not cheap. I think id need 25kg to seal up all my dirt. thats $100 au with delvery. To much. Plus The dirt i source is so rich in organic material and unfortunalty will always contain Fungas gnats, so i need a cheaper solution.

 

[Aussie-Soil]

you should be able to find mosquito dunks in the local gardening center, those dunks are normally bti based and they will do the job if you have drought resistant gnats.

Ive been searching for hours. Australia doesnt seem to stock any products Containg BTI For NoN Commercial Practices.

 

[The OrigF/clred]

Thanks, I had a Look into it and its availble, Though not cheap. I think id need 25kg to seal up all my dirt. thats $100 au with delvery. To much. Plus The dirt i source is so rich in organic material and unfortunalty will always contain Fungas gnats, so i need a cheaper solution.

i think you speed read the post - DO NOT USE TO COVER THE SOIL IN THE POTS - for 16 plants, my bud had about 12 paper plates with maybe 2-3 tablespoons per plate