So, I'm having a bit of a fungus gnat problem. I've got probably about 10 adults or so, currently combating them with a long dry spell, moving to layer of sand if this doesn't work out. My question is, I know that the main problem is the larvae attacking the roots, but do the adults eat at the plant above ground at all? I'm wondering because I'm noticing a couple of leaves which seem to be slightly gnawed on and I haven't been able to spot any other type of infestation. Sorry I can't provide pictures, but I don't own a digital camera.
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Question about fungus gnats
- Thread starter TUTIDO
- Start date
Nah, they do all their damage below the medium. If something's gnawing your leaves, then you've got 2 problems going on.
BT pucks (also available in powder and liquid) works great for killing gnats and are reasonably priced at your local home improvement store.
Throw a couple of sticky traps in your room to see what's eating your leaves...neem will kill most insects that eat the leaves though.
BT pucks (also available in powder and liquid) works great for killing gnats and are reasonably priced at your local home improvement store.
Throw a couple of sticky traps in your room to see what's eating your leaves...neem will kill most insects that eat the leaves though.
G
Guest
are you sure they're fungus gnats and not shoreflies? The two look similar but require different treatments... fungus gnats have bigger, more translucent wings and longer legs, shoreflies look more like flies and have shiny wings that lay flat on their backs. BT won't work on shoreflies is the thing...
Blunt Trauma
Member
TUTIDO said:
I don't believe so , BUT they still are capable of transmitting disease to your plant, or plant to plant.
MTF-Sandman: Thanks for the advice, I already know methods to get rid of them, I'm gradually working my way up to the more extreme methods, hoping to avoid chemicals and such.
Shipperke: To be quite honest I'm not entirely sure. I havne't had a problem with them before so I have nothing to compare to really in terms of first hand. If they are shoreflies, will the layer of sand I'm about to try help?
Blunt Trauma: Thanks for the input.
One of thing I've thought of. I've seen people say before that if you put a layer of sand of the soil you have to remove it after awhile, something about restricting airflow through the soil? Is this the case, and if so, how long before the sand needs to be removed? If anyone has any input on that it would be appreciated. Thanks everyone.
Shipperke: To be quite honest I'm not entirely sure. I havne't had a problem with them before so I have nothing to compare to really in terms of first hand. If they are shoreflies, will the layer of sand I'm about to try help?
Blunt Trauma: Thanks for the input.
One of thing I've thought of. I've seen people say before that if you put a layer of sand of the soil you have to remove it after awhile, something about restricting airflow through the soil? Is this the case, and if so, how long before the sand needs to be removed? If anyone has any input on that it would be appreciated. Thanks everyone.
J
jonnybgood29
2" of perilite will do the same thing, witout restrictions and actually allows more root growth, since you no longer disturd the upper soil when watering!
yes adult fugnas gnats do eat leaf material, they don't eat the roots. the larvae do that.
i had fungas gnats for months, and i was always finding leaves with little bits eaten off them.(thats why you spray the leaves with neem oil. which IMO doesn't work)
i tried a few things to get rid of them and nothing seemed to really stop them, so i made it so that they physicaly couldn't get into my buckets.(DWC)
its taken a bit of effort and alot of fucking around with pool noodle, and new lids, and vasaline (worked like a treat to seal the lids and the pool noodle to the buckets)
now, i haven't seen a single adult flying around my plants, or floating in my buckets for over a month (hurrah! i win!
)
i had fungas gnats for months, and i was always finding leaves with little bits eaten off them.(thats why you spray the leaves with neem oil. which IMO doesn't work)
i tried a few things to get rid of them and nothing seemed to really stop them, so i made it so that they physicaly couldn't get into my buckets.(DWC)
its taken a bit of effort and alot of fucking around with pool noodle, and new lids, and vasaline (worked like a treat to seal the lids and the pool noodle to the buckets)
now, i haven't seen a single adult flying around my plants, or floating in my buckets for over a month (hurrah! i win!
)
Thanks everyone for the help. I'm hoping a couple more days drying out will kill the little bastards. The plants are still doing fine and the second they don't look fine I'll water and switch to sand. The adult population seems to be dropping, which to me says that there isn't any new one's making it. Thanks for the help and good luck to all.
i suggest you do some research on them. google.
such as there life cycle and what they acctually do. just cause you can't see them doesn't mean they aren't there.
just drying out the soil will not kill them, as soon as you water they will come back.
your best bet in soil from my own exprience is to water from the bottom of your pots, combined with sand or diatomeous earth(okay...i have NFI how to spell that word)
if you wondering wtf watering from the bottom is...
take a large bucket, larger then the pot your plant is in and fill the bucket up with water so that when you put your plant in the bucket, the water level will be about 2 inches BELOW the soil level in the pot. that way the top of the soil will always stay dry.
as for sand, it has a tendency to lower the ammount of oxygen in the soil, and shouldn't be used long term, my plants started looking a bit less vigorous after 2 weeks. diatomeous(sp?) earth on the other hand will breathe better and can be left in the top of the pot for ever - and unlike sand which simply stops the fungas gnats from enter the soil, diatomeous(sp?) earth will kill them.(again, google, find out why )
such as there life cycle and what they acctually do. just cause you can't see them doesn't mean they aren't there.
just drying out the soil will not kill them, as soon as you water they will come back.
your best bet in soil from my own exprience is to water from the bottom of your pots, combined with sand or diatomeous earth(okay...i have NFI how to spell that word)
if you wondering wtf watering from the bottom is...
take a large bucket, larger then the pot your plant is in and fill the bucket up with water so that when you put your plant in the bucket, the water level will be about 2 inches BELOW the soil level in the pot. that way the top of the soil will always stay dry.
as for sand, it has a tendency to lower the ammount of oxygen in the soil, and shouldn't be used long term, my plants started looking a bit less vigorous after 2 weeks. diatomeous(sp?) earth on the other hand will breathe better and can be left in the top of the pot for ever - and unlike sand which simply stops the fungas gnats from enter the soil, diatomeous(sp?) earth will kill them.(again, google, find out why
)
G
Guest
i think both will be controlled by sand... There is another strain of Bt that is good for shoreflies, but I don't remember the name.
G
Guest
Hands down the best stuff for fungus gnats is a product called "Gnatrol". Its a biological larvicide and works wonders. Get it from your local hydroponics shop and use along with your regular feeding every 10-14 days.
Recommend dosage.
Infestation:
Light - 1-2 tsp per gal
Moderate - 2-4 tsp per gal
Heavy - 6-8 tsp per gal
just for your info 6tsp=1oz
Hope that helps.
Recommend dosage.
Infestation:
Light - 1-2 tsp per gal
Moderate - 2-4 tsp per gal
Heavy - 6-8 tsp per gal
just for your info 6tsp=1oz
Hope that helps.
I just wanted to update everyone that I've been fungus gnat free for about four days now. Still have only done the drying out, they recieved a bit of water a few days ago, been examining bits of the soil to try and find larvae and haven't found any, so hoping I managed to solve it purely with the drought, the true test will be if I'm still free of them a week from now. Thanks again to eveyrone for the help.
another way you can check is put some slices of potato on top of you soil (slices about 1/2 inch thick). i can't remember if the adult will lay the larvae in the potato instead of soil, or if the larvae will crawl out of the soil into the potato.
either way - if you still have them, something will end up in the potato slice
either way - if you still have them, something will end up in the potato slice
