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gnats

firchf1

firchf1

noticed that they are around my potted plants how do you control them ?:does anyone else have this problem?
 
firchf1 said:
ok new to growing here bottom watering?mosquito dunks?i'm lost.lol
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This will control them. Pick it all up at Lowes or HD.
 
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bottom watering is just that, watering from the bottom, instead of drenching the soil from top, pour it in a saucer or tray under the pots and let the water wick up. This will keep the top dry. 
 
Gnats thrive on moist soil tops. keep the tops dry and you will eliminate the gnats by not allowing them to reproduce.
 
Sounds like fungal gnats to me but the mosquito dunks work well. You can also get beneficial nematodes to rid the soil of the larva.
Also a layer of sand on top of the soil deters them.
 
Search for fungus gnats, and you'll find lots of posts.  I haven't had great success with anything (dunks, h2o2/soap/garlic/water mix, etc), but it does knock them down.  Fly glue strips work well for inside operations.  The gnats in the Pacific Northwest are difficult to control outdoors in the spring/fall due to the rain.
 
I find bottom watering difficult and laborious.  You need trays for everything, and they need to be level for even distribution.  Plus, you have to carefully watch the amounts or you've got a new problem on your hands - root rot.  Anyone have a efficient system for bottom watering?  I did it with seedlings in trays last year, but gave up after a while.
 
Bottom watering didn't do anything for me and down in Aus we don't have mosquito dunks or equiv products that I've been able to find. I still bottom water as I believe their numbers are much smaller than they could be. They really don't worry me, my plants are big enough to deal with them now. My plan of approach would be mesh in the bottom of the pot with a layer of gravel followed by a layer of sand. The mesh will hold the gravel in, the stand will act as a barrier against the fungus gnats making their way up via the bottom and the gravel will help to hold the sand in place. This will also prevent water buildup in the bottom of the pot. You can then apply sand to the top of the soil and boom, what should be a fungus gnat proof container!
 
Sticky traps work well. I made some, they work but they got messy(petroleum jelly on yellow paper). Its quite absurd the prices people want to to charge for sticky paper. I mean wtf, 19.95 for 10 pieces of small sticky papers. The markup of EVERYTHING in Australia is massive.
 
Let the pot dry out inbetween waterings this will help kill the larvae that are growing in the soil, helping to knock down the number of future gnats also, diotomacous earth will gett rid of them, and most other living things in the soil. You could try spraying the soil with a soapy fire water
 
thanks guys great info.also the big plants i have are doing great.the little ones are losing there leaves is this normal ?I have them in good light and warter them like you guys have said.
 
I'm pretty sure fungus larvae eat roots, if this is tru then it would make sence why your leafs are falling off
 
I'm going to change all soil and replant all small plants.has anyone ever used bonemeal in there plants?guy that gave me them said he put some in when he re poted? 
 
kylec said:
I'm pretty sure fungus larvae eat roots, if this is tru then it would make sence why your leafs are falling off
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?? fungus larvae?? 
firchf1 said:
I'm going to change all soil and replant all small plants.has anyone ever used bonemeal in there plants?guy that gave me them said he put some in when he re poted? 
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the local nursery guy does that with all his peppers for the calcium and he seems to get good results
 
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