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Chillihead_benny

Chillihead_benny

Hello Everyone. I have an issue with extremely small flying insects coming from a potted scotch bonnet i have. First... are the even smaller white specs in the dirt ( size of a really small grain of sand) the eggs these suckers are hatching from? Second how in the world can i "organically" get rid of them? Third.. sorry just to small to photograph.

I have read a few threads about... "fungus gnats".. ( not sure if i am getting the name right).. and those little buggers sound terrible (root eaters... BOO!!!).

Any insight would be groovy!
 
First off, I would install a small fan to blow air over the plants. That aids in blowing away the gnats and drying out the soil near the top which the gnats don't like. At the same time, make sure you are not over watering. The gnats like the damp soil. Peppers actually do better when they get minimal water. Let the soil basically dry out between waterings. Just keep a close eye on them and when you notice your plants starting to wilt, give them some water and they will perk right back up but you in the mean time you will have destroyed the environment that the gnats like. I am sure there are some natural as well as chemical treatments for those things but I found that a fan did the job for me when I noticed a few of them flying around my plants. It doesn't have to be a huge fan either.
Here is a link to another forum that discusses some possible solutions for you. But watering less and a fan is the best defense.
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/houseplt/msg0715530228648.html
 
I like diatomaceous earth. Cheap, all natural, great source of silica.

Azamax by GH works very well, too, and is OMRI certified.
 
pepperpikker said:
First off, I would install a small fan to blow air over the plants. That aids in blowing away the gnats and drying out the soil near the top which the gnats don't like. At the same time, make sure you are not over watering. The gnats like the damp soil. Peppers actually do better when they get minimal water. Let the soil basically dry out between waterings. Just keep a close eye on them and when you notice your plants starting to wilt, give them some water and they will perk right back up but you in the mean time you will have destroyed the environment that the gnats like. I am sure there are some natural as well as chemical treatments for those things but I found that a fan did the job for me when I noticed a few of them flying around my plants. It doesn't have to be a huge fan either.
Here is a link to another forum that discusses some possible solutions for you. But watering less and a fan is the best defense.
http://forums2.garde...5530228648.html
Click to expand...

that's great PP. I got the over watering thing down now.. been 2 weeks no water ( but plants is still fine) glad i only have these on my office plant (not at my home). Now a fan would work great. There is no air flow here at all. Thanks again!
 
You might have searched and found my diatribes on fungus gnats. I've dealt with them all winter introduced from my overwintered plants. Best solution is "BTi" drench.

PepperPikker has it right on. Dry out the top layer of soil with fan, then bottom water.

Then check his link he posted, 3rd or 4th post: use BTi which is an organic way to kill larvae. Easiest way: mosquito dunks used to drench soil.

HOWEVER, unless you are having a really serious infestation actually to the eating roots phase, you could probably just wait until you plant them out. Also in the meantime, take the plants outside from time to time and the adult flyers hanging around will fly into oblivion.

Get some yellow sticky traps, lay them horizontal around your containers just to find out how serious things are. If you get a lot of hits (several suffering, stuck, squirming, stupid looks on their faces, helpless adult gnats) then bring out the dunk water and BTi their larvae. Show no mercy.... :cool:

(Damn, another diatribe.) Oh, also, sterilize your soil if it is cheap crap (like I used) prior to planting anything indoors.
 
Oh yea, I used D. Earth also. Use a little paint brush to dust around the rims and the bottom drain holes. Must be kept dry to work. Don't overdo it, it will clog soil. Also it kills friendly crawly bugs also, I think. Worth it to get the gnats.
 
Siliman said:
Oh yea, I used D. Earth also. Use a little paint brush to dust around the rims and the bottom drain holes. Must be kept dry to work. Don't overdo it, it will clog soil. Also it kills friendly crawly bugs also, I think. Worth it to get the gnats.
Click to expand...

Hey Siliman. I think it was some of your posts that got me.... worried is a little strong.. so i'll go with slightly concerned. I have just the one bonnet at work (need a midafternoon pick me up) and i want it healthy. have a good one!
 
Man, I'm no expert, this is my first year dealing with them. But I did a lot of research and tried almost every trick. The BTi juice was (by far) the most effective, but the other methods have merit, too.

As long as you are only 'slightly concerned' I'd go with the yellow sticky traps. Heck if its only one plant, you could put 3 or 4 of the strips around the base and catch a lot of the adult flyers. Then you'll know the level of your problem. You can then raise your alert level from "elevated" to "imminent" if need be, LOL.

I think a few gnats indoors is pretty normal, and generally just a nuisance and 'probably' can't kill off an established plant. But they can really take off if conditions are right: wet, disturbed peat is where they will burrow in. If you get 50 or so on your strips in a couple of days, and the level doesn't drop off, I'd be concerned.

Some people will re-pot their indoor plants if they get too infested. Others will kill off all the fungus with a fungicide that also kills all the good little critters. No fungus, no fungus gnats, I guess.

As far as I know, the BTi is specific to killing mosquito type larvae and it disipates rapidly, and works on the fg larvae. Supposedly an good organic solution. I've not noticed any negative effect on my plants, but I was mostly treating bigger pots and not my seedlings. I did treat the seedlings once or twice and there were no ill effects.

Good luck and good hunting.... :cool:
 
I've had this problem before as I had a nursery grow a heap of plants for me and they had an infestation that they didn't bother telling me about until I noticed that they had infected my whole garden. First I used a chemical which the plants didn't like (dropped leaves and got burnt). Then I ordered some insects:Hypoaspis-M (Stratiolaelaps scimitus, formerly known as Hypoaspis miles) - Fungus gnat larval predator & Hypoaspis-A (Hypoaspis aculeifer). More info herebugs
They worked really well!
But if it is only a small problem then just go with the above solutions. Dry the soil out, have it raised off the ground and have yellow sticky traps around.
 
Wildfire Chilli AU: Great link! Good to hear others are coming up with predator gnat killers! Man, I hate those little bastids. Will have to see if that can be found on this side of the pond.

Just out of curiosity, is the BTi available over there and did you try it? It apparently works on the bacterial level to take the larvae down:

Quote from a stateside hydronic outfit: "Bti", Bacillus thuringienis ssp. israelensis, are bacteria which infect and kill mosquito larvae. These bacteria are highly selective, killing only mosquitoes and their close relatives like gnats and black flies. Formulations of Bti will only kill these types of insects and do not harm other kinds of insects, fish, birds, worms or any mammals."
 
Spray with neem oil and Ivory soap don't need all that store bought shit. neem won't hurt the good bugs. gooole it read about neem have used it foe 10 years here. works GREAT when used right.
 
I feel your pain Benny, frickin Gnats!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love growing in coco coir and using it is inviting Fungus Gnats, I reckon the bloody things come pre packaged in the stuff when you buy it!
What Ive done is to reduce numbers, yellow sticky traps or even yellow plastic strips or whatever is yellow laying about the place smeared with vasoline allover gets the adult flying ones, cut pieces of Potatoe sliced in 1/4 inch thick slices layed ontop of the growing medium will get most of the larvae, just check every day or so and discard the little critters, once you get some sort of control going an inch & a half of perlite on top of the grow medium will stop any further reinfestation.

Lay off any insecticides, they will do way more harm than good!

PEACE!
 
Siliman said:
Wildfire Chilli AU: Great link! Good to hear others are coming up with predator gnat killers! Man, I hate those little bastids. Will have to see if that can be found on this side of the pond.

Just out of curiosity, is the BTi available over there and did you try it? It apparently works on the bacterial level to take the larvae down:

Quote from a stateside hydronic outfit: "Bti", Bacillus thuringienis ssp. israelensis, are bacteria which infect and kill mosquito larvae. These bacteria are highly selective, killing only mosquitoes and their close relatives like gnats and black flies. Formulations of Bti will only kill these types of insects and do not harm other kinds of insects, fish, birds, worms or any mammals."
Click to expand...

Thanks. Yes I was surprised how well they worked since it was a massive infestation.
I haven't heard of Bti before so not sure if it is available here.
 
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