Some fungus gnats have showed up, and unlike what some blog posts have said, they don’t seem to be attracted to apple cider vinegar. Has anyone found a trap that gets rid of these little things? I’ve put the plants outside for now, hoping that will dry them out and make the flies fly away.
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Fungus gnats are, as the name suggests, attracted by fungi.
Soil works by releasing nutrients when it decomposes, mainly by fungi.
Therefore, you have to get rid of soil as a substrate. No soil, no problems.There are quite a few soil-less media out there.
The most common one is coco coir.
It behaves quite similar to soil, so you don’t have to change anything regarding how you water etc.You have to pre-treat it sometimes however, or else it might harm your plant. If you don’t wanna do that, get hydroponic grade and not the cheap one.
My substrate of choice is LECA (expaned clay balls). The method is called “semi-hydro”. The inner pot is submerged 1/3 into nutrient solution, and you have a water level indicator that tells you when to water again.
Pon is also popular. It behaves like a mix of the two above.
It’s a mix of zeolith, pumice and lava rock.
The said substrates are all inert however, so they don’t absorb or contain any nutrients. You have to use synthetic, full spectrum fertilizer for hydroponics.
Additional, I have a few carnivorous plants around. Pinguicula are my favourite, since they are super easy to take care of.
Nepenthes are also amazing if you have the light and RO water for them :)
I’ve tried a lot of methods. I haven’t eliminated them but they are no longer a nuisance.
Hydrogen peroxide 1:4 in water will kill the larvae in the soil. Unfortunately, it also kills some plants like parsley, thyme, oregano.
I add some pea gravel, sand, other grit to the surface of the soil when I bring my plants indoors. That seems to help deter them.
I see the most results with sticky yellow paper traps you can get off Amazon. They’re cheap, effective and one sheet will last about 4ish months. Helps keep the numbers of adults down.
Hydrogen peroxide 1:4 in water will kill the larvae in the soil.
Probably worth mentioning the concentration of the H2O2! 3%, I guess?
Sorry about that. Yes, 3%!
Bottom watering or mosquito bits.
Mosquito bits?
It’s a brand of little dry nuggets containing Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (BTI). You infuse the water with it; the larvae ingest it, stop eating, and starve.
You have to be persistent for several weeks, though, and ideally also kill the adults – sticky paper gnat traps work well for this.
Either the bacteria BTI, which Mosquito Bits contains.
Or the real fix, SF Nematodes. Nematodes will live in your soil and eat various pests, depending on the kind, and SF are good at eating fungus gnats larvae. Other Nematodes can be used for fleas and stuff too.
https://www.arbico-organics.com/product/nemattack-beneficial-nematodes-sf-steinernema-feltiae
https://www.naturesgoodguys.com/products/beneficial-nematodes-sf?variant=23323522563
BTI and nematodes are the answer. You can also get liquid BTI instead of dealing with mosquito bits.
I used Azamax in the water and it killed them all off after a few waterings
This stuff right here was what finally did away with them for me https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007UTE55A
Excerpt taken from the reviews: “This is a bioinsecticide. A Larvicide (Bacillus thuringiensis) or Bt, and acts on the larvae of insects. Very concentrated. Larvae eat the bacteria and essentially die. It has a short life but works very effectively to control mosquitoes and fungus gnat larvae. You need to use this product regularly to break the life cycles of gnats and mosquitoes as they constantly lay eggs that hatch into larvae. This product kills larvae only, not eggs or adult insects.”
Diatomaceous earth
I have a cape sundew I put next to anywhere I have an issue and it pretty much always catches them all
You are probably overwatering, let things dry out a bit between waterings and fungus gnats will go away.
