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Fungus Gnats Are Killing Me!!!

PrimeTime said:
 
Thanks Sarge, it might come to that. Im worried about it hurting the good stuff in the soil. Is that a valid point?
 
 
Thanks stc, i figure I'm doing all the right stuff but i thought they would be gone by now. I was looking at the beneficials last night. Do they just go into my water? Its miracle grow with some added perilite. I know its not the best. They were either in that or on the one freaking basil plant i didn't spray when i brought it in but that dried out regularly so I'm kinda thanking the big orange store at the moment for the gift.
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You are absolutely right. The hydrogen peroxide will kill all the living bacteria and what not in thr soil. Good or bad. But I assume these are seedlings and if thats thr case they won't be in this soil for much longer. I only used the stuff for the early stages when the plants were in seedling cells. They grew just fin when the plant is bigger it is capable of tolerating these things.

Another method is putting mesh in the bottom of your pots then sand and rock then the soil and bottom water. Sand will let water flow. Net will hold sand. Sand blocks bottom entrance. Surcace remains dry or add sand to surface.
 
Thanks sarge, thats comforting. Im staying the course for a few more weeks. How have you applied the peroxide solution? Ive read a few things on it.
 
Thanks sarge, thats comforting. Im staying the course for a few more weeks. How have you applied the peroxide solution? Ive read a few things on it.

I've had this problem several times. I tried mosquito dunks with no success. H202 got rid of them quick, although they have returned a couple times another dose of h2o2 and I havnt seen a single gnat in a couple weeks. Use fly traps as well. I mixed 1 cup maybe a little less 3% h2o2 with 1 gallon of water and bam two days later no gnats. I just gave the soil a good soaking and have had no ill effects on the plants. Good luck!
 
Beerswimmer said:
Would regular vinegar traps not work with these?
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I had bowls of half water half cider vinegar out for a while. It worked but not as well as home depot flat white sticky boards and it wasn't going to end the population just help.
 
I think I'm going to go for the H202. Ive got my annuums going in there soon and its getting really old. I will then continue with dunk water and let you all know.
 
Thanks all!
 
I got tired of mosquito dunks in my watering container.
 
I found mosquito chunks/granules and just mix them in my soil before I use it.
Seems to work better.
No gnat cycle to mess with.
Gnats are dead before they get an upper hand.
 
Agreed with Smokemaster, and i forgot to mention that earlier, i also grinded up chunks and scratched it into the top of the soil.
 
There may be some luck involved as i have always broken their cycle in around 2 weeks, give or take.
 
I personally never had much luck with hydrogen peroxide, even after two doses. I may have used poor technique, but that was my experience with it.
 
I'll be starting the dunks again soon, i've already spotted fungus gnats in my overwinters, i think the basement temps are keeping them at bay for now.
 
Ok i took my trust for my forumites and rocked them with peroxide! I couldnt let my annuums move into that infestation. 4 parts water one part h2o2 25 minute bottom water and a top soaking. Ill let you all know in a few days. Plants look fine an hour later. Wish me luck. As much as pests and disease suck i do love the fact that we learn something every year it seems. New problem and hopefully i learn what works and what doesnt. This forum and all its members are such a great tool and pleasure to be part of. Thanks people!
 
Could try to add some diatomaceous earth to the top layer of the soil. Its really cheap and can be found at garden and feed stores. I have never used it for this before but have used it to kill ants. Anyways here is a little write up i found about how to use it on fungus gnats.
 
 
Fungus gnats are a nuisance in their adult form as they swarm around plants, but the real damage is done in the larval form. Gnat larvae eat plant roots and burrow into stems. They cause pathogen infection not only as carriers, but also by weakening plant surfaces and allowing entry. Diatomaceous earth is an all-natural product that can be used to kill gnats in both larval and adult forms. Instructions
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      Amend the soil with diatomaceous earth. Diatomaceous earth is a mineral powder made from fossilized water plants. Diatomaceous earth affects gnats by stripping or absorbing the waxes and oils from the insects' body. When it is blended with the soil, diatomaceous earth comes in contact with larvae and destroys them. Study remains necessary to determine how effective this method actually is. It appears to be least effective in greenhouse plants.
       


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      Sprinkle diatomaceous earth on the soil surface. Ideally, diatomaceous earth works best when it prevents gnats from laying eggs and allowing larvae to hatch. The layer of diatomaceous earth creates a barrier between the gnat and the soil. When the adult gnat becomes exposed to the diatomaceous earth, its exoskeleton is shredded.
       


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      Spray a solution of diatomaceous earth over plants and soil. This method has the potential of dispersing the diatomaceous earth most evenly, and may even affect gnats in flight. Repeated application is required.
       


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      Create a slurry of diatomaceous earth and water. To treat large areas plagued with gnats, paint the surroundings with this slurry. For example, you can use this method to fill cracks in pavement or garden walls. You can also use it to coat the bases of tree trunks or sturdier plant stems.


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Never used hydrogen peroxide before but found a little write up about it that might help.
 
 
Fungus gnat larvae will die on contact with hydrogen peroxide. Be sure to use the ordinary 3% solution hydrogen peroxide with no added ingredients. First, allow the soil to dry out for a few days so the top two inches of soil is dry. This is where the larvae of fungus gnats reside, and they cannot survive in dry soil. During times of drought, the larvae will actually suspend their development, but once the soil is moist again, they will resume growing and eating.

Once the top layer of soil is dry, mix one part hydrogen peroxide with four parts water. Using this solution, water your plants as you normally would. The fungus gnat larvae will die on contact with the hydrogen peroxide, but the solution will not hurt your plants so long as it is mixed correctly. It would take an awful lot of hydrogen peroxide to harm the plants. When the hydrogen peroxide is watered in it will fizz a bit, but in a very short time it will naturally break down into nothing more than oxygen and water molecules which the plant will love.

Continue to monitor the fungus gnat population with yellow sticky traps, and reapply the hydrogen peroxide drench weekly as long as you continue to find adult fungus gnats buzzing around your plants. As extra insurance against the gnats, you can water your plants with the hydrogen peroxide mixture once a month to prevent further outbreaks of this little pest.
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Thanks all! Looking good so far just dealing with the few adults i see. They only live a week or so.
 
I didnt want to go with the DE (diatomaceous earth) as ive worked with tons of it for years. Im sure it works somewhat but is very bad to inhale and when its dry the fan will simply blow it all over.
 
I started adding my annuums to the grow area so hopefully this is under control.
 
I did it a couple times as long as I was still seeing adults. I think ill do it once a month or once every 6 weeks just to prevent further outbreaks. Hope you get it under control soon those damn gnats are annoying.
 
Last year I had wave after wave of those damn gnats. It cost me quite a bit of money in Azamaz and H2O2 and other remedies and time. Sticky traps filled up quickly too.
 
This year I invested in the mosquito dunks and keep a few gallons set aside with dunks floating in there for several days before I use the water. Much easier this year.
 
I know you are already battling them, and there isn't much you can do at this point but exterminate them with any method that works, but the proactive approach of just putting a dunk in your water has kept me fungus gnat free all year. I did have some in the house upstairs from last fall and some of them did migrate down to the grow room in the basement, but they never successfully bred in the grow room.
 
Mosquito Dunks or Aquabac both work. I use Aquabac BTI because it is already in a granular form, comes in a Parmesan cheese like container. I sprinkle some in the bottom cup I use for bottom watering, killed off the infestation I had pretty quickly.
 
So i think i figured something critical out. Like all thiings it was so simple i neglected it of course.
 
So the water is the key of course. The real solution of course is drying these guys out. We know that. I took every measure to not over water. I weighed pots at several times and kept records. I was only watering when dry right??
 
Problem is i left something out that somehow i didnt think was important ( hear myself yelling at my employees).
 
I was doing the right thing but i had a heat mat under all of these seedlings set at 70. They are in my cold kitchen and i bought the mat this year to give a little extra love to the starts.
 
A few weeks ago when i started up my annuum seeds in the dome under my smaller heat mat i unplugged the seedling mat, the big one at 70.
 
I also stuck a wooden skewer into one of the gnat infested plants as i never forgot about not having wet soil. So i guess what im seeing is the twice a week watering i was doing, which was needed, was only due to the heat mat. This gave the water the bugs needed to keep going. As of now its been 6 days since i watered (with h2o2) and there is no sign of when they will need water next. This might be just what the issue was the whole time! I was drying them out before watering but was then watering as NEEDED only a few days later.
 
DAMN!
 
First year heating them post germination and i didnt even think of this!
 
I do love the challenges that pop up and make you think!
 
Keep ya posted :P
 
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