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How do I get rid of gnats?

Meatwad

Meatwad

I was wondering what an easy way was to get rid of gnats.
They are in my big plants as well as the plants I am trying to sprout.
I just found a larvae in one my pods that I am trying to start my seeds in.
They are chewing my plant leaves and deforming some leaves, and are just plain annoying.
So what is an easy way to get rid of them?

I think it might have been a fungus gnat larvae.


Has anyone tried, potato slices, sand, cinnamon, vinegar,  and yellow sticky objects?
 
How wet is your soil?

I usually get them if my soil stays wet.

Most people put a top layer over the soil such as mulch or perlite and bottom water.
 
I am trying to sprout some seeds in a dome, and that soil is really moist.
The soil in my main plants is not too moist, but not dry.
 
you can use mosquito dunks , fertilomes triple x , h2o2 w/water 10 to 1 . water either of these in good . this will kill the larae , as for the adults look up ecovie organics the product is ladybugv its kills everything on contact when you spray , its organic safe to use around pets etc. spray undersides of wall leaves and when you see them . won't burn plants so you can spray it when lights are on . great product . them most of all keep soil on the dry side . did you microwave the soil before sowing ?   :onfire:
 
I use peroxide with water and fly tape, I don't know about that leaf chewing though I have heard the adults are harmless besides egg laying.
 
moruga welder said:
you can use mosquito dunks , fertilomes triple x , h2o2 w/water 10 to 1 . water either of these in good . this will kill the larae , as for the adults look uo ecovie organics the product is ladybugv its kills everything on contact when you spray , its organic safe to use around pets etc. spray undersides of wall leaves and when you see them . won't burn plants so you can spray it when lights are on . great product . them most of all keep soil on the dry side . did you microwave the soil before sowing ?   :onfire:
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I did not microwave the soil it was a dry bag , and didn't think of microwaving it.
 
Yellow fly tape for the adults and mosquito dunks in the water that you use to water the plants to kill the larva. Works like a charm but will take a couple of weeks to kill them all.
 
There are about 10 really good threads on gnats :) I could go through it but search is a beautiful thing. Best of luck, they suck and multiply quickly. 
 
     I had good luck crushing up mosquito dunks and sprinkling about 1/4 t. on top of the soil in each of my (4") pots this year. I had a bad infestation back in January, but that method took care of all of them in about two weeks. 
     I like doing it this way because once it's on the soil, you don't have to think about it again - every time you water, the poison seeps into the soil and does its thing. i'm finding that it only works for 8-10 weeks though. The gnats seems to be coming back in small numbers. I don't care though, I'll be planting out soon.
 
BartG said:
I did not microwave the soil it was a dry bag , and didn't think of microwaving it.
Click to expand...
 
always microwave ,  i get dry to but always microwave get a big plastic bowl , microwave 90 seconds . kill any dormant eggs bugs etc. learned my lesson my first year.  veteran grower taught me that ..     :onfire:
 
Scuba_Steve said:
It is not a poison, it is bacteria. 
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     It's not necessarily the bacteria that do the killing. Some strains of Bt produce an endotoxin that is poisonous to insects. It is this endotoxin that produces the desired effect of poisoning the FG larvae.
     I'm not sure why this is such a point of  contention here...
Scuba_Steve said:
 BTW, chlorinated water will at least partially kill it.
Click to expand...
 
     I don't think the bacteria need to be living for the endotoxin to be effective. 
 
I use sundew+pitcher plant+venus flytraps myself, but that's just because I grow them anyway. It does work really well though, and looks a lot better than flypaper.

Hybrid Mode 01 said:
 
     It's not necessarily the bacteria that do the killing. Some strains of Bt produce an endotoxin that is poisonous to insects. It is this endotoxin that produces the desired effect of poisoning the FG larvae.
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Almost all dangerous bacteria are dangerous because of a toxin they produce. It's the same thing for gnats. So ^ is definitely correct.
 
Still it should be clear that mosquito dunks are 10 bacteria and 90% filler (I guess) to people that know nothing about them.. It's just a temporary boost in population. I get the colloquial reference but you arent actually applying poison.
 
That was my only contention.
 
 
Hybrid Mode 01 said:
     I don't think the bacteria need to be living for the endotoxin to be effective. 
Click to expand...
 
Well they have to live long enough to produce it.
cruzzfish said:
Almost all dangerous bacteria are dangerous because of a toxin they produce. It's the same thing for gnats. So ^ is definitely correct.
Click to expand...
 
Almost all dangerous gnats are dangerous because of a toxin they produce? :D
 
able eye said:
 
 
Well they have to live long enough to produce it.

 
Click to expand...
 
     Interesting. I've got some reading to do. It was my understanding that preparations like mosquito dunks were just dead, freeze dried bacterial endospores that contain the toxic protein crystals. I didn't think they necessarily needed to be alive to achieve the desired effect. Analogous to pasteurized beer.
 
Took a while but I found this:
 
What is the shelf life of Mosquito Dunks®?
Mosquito Dunks® can be stored indefinitely because, technically
speaking, the dried B.t.i. in Mosquito Dunks® is not living, viable
bacteria. (The toxicant that kills mosquito larvae is actually part
of the B.t.i. spore).
 
But then they say shit like this:
Will storage temperatures affect the viability of
Mosquito Dunks®?
The best storage condition for Mosquito Dunks® is a cool,
well-ventilated place. Because B.t.i. is a bacterium, extreme cold
or even freezing temperatures will not reduce the effectiveness of
Mosquito Dunks®. However, prolonged exposure (more than
24 consecutive hours) to temperatures above 100 degrees F.
may affect the efficacy of the product.
So its in the spore, but dont kill it or it wont work? lol, i dunno
 
the spores are usually to survive extreme conditions and likely rehydrate and start growing when used for their intended purpose.
 
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