Fungus Gnats and African Violets?

[MrPNW]

Just curious if anyone else notice if fungus gnats are attracted to certain types of plants more than others?

During my first grow which started in October I had 4 cannabis, one basil and one African Violet. All are planted with the same soil. A few weeks ago I noticed fungus gnats on top the AV’s soil. I immediately ordered and applied neem oil and the yellow fly sticky traps. Wow those sticky traps are great!
Many more gnats have been sticking on the AV trap when they were all together.

Last weekend when I moved the mother (1 of the 4), basil and AV into a Propagator tent I replaced all stickies. This weekend the stickies on the 3 in the main tent are practically clear. The AV in with the mother and basil in the small tent has many, MANY more gnats, the others just a few. There aren’t many left now and I think I will do another neem treatment next weekend.

So are AV a fungus gnat favorite or just a starting point for the gnats and I stopped them from getting to the others? You can clone AV and I thought I might start my second grow with one in the big tent again just to experiment.

[MrPNW]

Why those little $!&%, I was wondering where they came from. Every other insect is dead outside and inside now.

From Wikipedia;

Hardiness
Some fungus gnats are exceptionally hardy, being able to tolerate cold conditions through their possession of antifreeze proteins. Typically, overwintering organisms can either avoid freezing or tolerate freezing, but Excechia nugatoria can do both. For E. nugatoria, the production of noncolligative antifreeze proteins (NAPs) protects the head and thorax from freezing, but they do not protect the abdomen. Freezing of the head and thorax in other insects tends to have adverse effects on neural tissue, so it is not surprising that these protective mechanisms have been observed in certain species, but E. nugatoria is the only insect known to semi-freeze through the winter. By allowing the abdomen to freeze, evaporative water loss is reduced over the course of the winter.

[MeEasy]

I do notice that I'll have one or two plants that will have the majority of the little bastards almost to infestation and just a few in the others, all mj. I think once they find a place they just all get together for a cookout I guess.

I think I've found an answer for the bastards though. It's been two weeks and my yellow cards have gone from hundreds to under twenty on each, I've actually lowered the number of cards in my tent and only see a couple here and there.

Mosquito bits but don't put them in or pots, soak them in water for an hour or so and water your plants. Probably not necessary but I strain the bits out of the water, just using the water. I have the shaker that the bits come in and I use one capful of bits per gallon of water. I know what you're thinking "what's the difference in putting them in or soaking them" I can't give you the answer but I though the same thing but figured why not I've tried everything else. Two weeks and it's working I don't know about next week

[MrPNW]

This article mentions all the good ways to get rid of them including your mosquito bits.

https://www.planetnatural.com/pest-problem-solver/houseplant-pests/fungus-gnat-control/

[Rwise]

Heres some interesting info that may help you, note that not everything that is covered is safe for your plants. So no borax on the plants!
https://www.fliesonly.com/how-to-get...tchen-outside/

Edit, Bounce sheets https://lifehacker.com/bounce-fabric...s-away-5721187

[MeEasy]

I have actually tried putting them in my grow room, if you have seen my tent now with the yellow cards my old lady did the same thing but with bounce sheets. The bounce smell overtook the weeds smell. The woman gets obsessed with pests we have a pocket gopher in our backyard right now, it looks like she's doing Chinese symbols in my lawn with a damn shovel. Tractor Supply knows her by name I guarantee she'll spend $500 or more every summer on insect control and I only have an acre. I don't even want to guess on how much she spends on cleaning supplies, I think she bathes in bleach since this virus showed up

[MrPNW]

MeEasy Send her to my place, 1.75 acres of all the moles she can kill.

[Xena]

MeEasy is she any good killing groundhogs? If so she’s welcome here anytime.

[Xena]

My wife has two massive African violets plus several starts off of them and I’ve never seen any fungus gnats on them. I do have a few in my tent but they leave her stuff alone....she only uses AV soil too that may make a difference. IDK?

[MrPNW]

I saw on the Pro-Mix and Black Gold sites the African Violet soils. After what you’ve said maybe the soil does have something they don’t like. I’ll check out the ingredients.
Do you know the brand she uses?

[Xena]

Right now Schultz, I don’t know if that’s what all her AV soil is.

[MrPNW]

Xena Tell your wife thanks. I looked up the Shultz AF page and it was bare on information.

I use Black Gold Organic Potting Soil with Nature’s Living Soil. I get it at ACE Hardware. They carry most of Sun Gro products and their site is full of information. There soils are top of the line.
Please let your wife know they have an AV soil. http://www.sungro.com/retail-product...x-0-1-0-0-0-0/

They even have a Hemp/Canna mix. I might look into this on a future grow.

http://www.sungro.com/professional-products/hemp-mixes/

[MrPNW]

I order some nematodes after watching Mr. Canucks Grow video on treatment.

PEST CONTROL FOR BEGINNER GARDENERS: Prevent Unwanted Bugs

https://youtu.be/DHGM5iQ5tXQ

8-Packs of Nematodes

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WSDX4XC

30 Giant Sticky Sheets

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IMTVAI6

Hanging Sticks
Hole punch sheets in the non-stick edge strip of the sticky sheet to hang on these. Or stick them to the back of the slate label.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0798S1VCY

[MeEasy]

Thanks for the link I've looked into different beneficial critters without really knowing what I needed and found some but they were a couple hundred bucks so I stopped looking until I could learn more about what I actually need.
And those sticky guys are big and should catch alot of the little bastards 😤 I like to include the other ones that stand in your pots at soil level they seem to catch more than the ones that hang. Of course the old lady ordered the little pineapples 🍍 lol

[MrPNW]

I ordered some of the metal sticky card holders with the top ring you hang them from. These sheets have a non-sticky edge strip. I’m going to cut them in half, hole punch it and hang on the holder. I’ve been using the little flower/butterfly shaped ones which are a pain to pull off the paper. All the angled cuts in them cause the paper to rip, they even state this in the instruction. Manufacturer malfunction just to make it cutesy. LOL

[MrPNW]

Update;
Since moving the AV, basil and mother to the small tent I have basically empty sticky traps in the big tent (3 flowering clones). When I made the move I placed all new traps in each pot. The traps in the small tent continue to fill with gnats. I noticed the AV the most, basil 2nd and mother 3rd. I don’t see a single gnat walking on the mother soil like I do on the AV. I looked up what is in my NLS and it has Neem Meal! I’m pretty sure it’s doing it job fully.
i think the gnats were from the root ball of the AV even though it’s was surround by the same NLS mix when I repotted it. I’m wondering if it could handle a new repot, removing all soil and use fresh NLS mix.

Nature’s Living Soil Blend
The base ingredients for our living soils are;
Organic Earthworm Castings
High Quality Bat Guano
Blood Meal
Bone Meal
Fish Bone Meal
Neem Meal
Humic Acid
Rock Phosphate
Dolomite Lime
Azomite
Alfalfa Meal
Kelp Meal
Coco Coir
Crushed Oyster Shell
Humic Acid
Epsom Salt
Coconut Water Powder
Aloe Vera

In addition to the microorganisms that are found naturally in our guano, earthworm castings and compost we introduce the following bacteria and fungi;
Glomus Aggregatum, Glomus Etunicatum, Glomus Intraradices,Glomus Mosseae, Pisolithus Tinctorius, Scleroderma Cepa, Scleroderma Citrinum,Trichoderma Harzianum, Trichoderma Koningii, Saccharomyces Cerevisiae,Azotobacter Chroococcum, Bacillus Amyloliquefaciens, Bacillus Azotoformans,Bacillus Coagulans, Bacillus Licheniformis, Bacillus Megaterium, Bacillus Pumilus, Bacillus Subtilis, Bacillus Thuringiensis, Paenibacillus Durum,Paenibacillus Polymyxa, Pseudomonas Aureofaciens, Pseudomonas Fluorescens.

[MrPNW]

My gnat planet killing Death Star has arrived!

Wow, that was fast! I ordered on the 4th, it said it would arrive Saturday, Amazon now shows it arriving tomorrow the 7th, yet it was on my porch by 5pm today, the 6th. Two days from order.

Will apply it tomorrow. I wasn’t expecting a globe.




It looks and feels like a bag of cooked tapioca.


Sounds simple enough, put bag on soil, keep moist.

[MrPNW]

The Devil in the Dark
Some of you might remember that the crew was scared of the Horta, but once all her spheres hatched they were most delighted. Me too!

I sprinkled them on today. I read online in reviews that many people cut open the packets and sprinkle them, so I followed suit. You just need to moisten them daily. I’ll just use the squirt bottle for that.

[MeEasy]

Keep us updated I put some on my Amazon wish list. But I'm still amazed by how well the soaked mosquito bits are working. I saw a few Monday when I was top dressing so I added some juice to today's water but didn't see a single gnat today 🤞

[MrPNW]

We are both on the right track to eradication. Everyday it seems like more gnats are on the sticky traps in the mother tent! More so on the AV and basil next to it. I really think they like that AV best.

The Planet Natural site had this to say about these two methods;

5. Mosquito Bits and Microbe-Lift® BMC contain Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis, a highly selective biological pesticide that kills damaging larvae, yet is SAFE for fish, wildlife, humans and non-target species. Contains NO harmful residues.

6. Top dress houseplants with Beneficial Nematodes to destroy the larvae stage. Nematodes are microscopic round worms that penetrate fungus gnat larvae, as well as harmful lawn and garden grubs, fleas, and other soil-borne pests (they do not harm earthworms), then release a bacterium that consumes the pest from the inside out. The long-lasting nematodes are safe for use around pets, plants, and your family.

[MrPNW]

I just picked up this microscope to examine and take photography of my plants (especially buds). I might try to find something with a solid black bottom to add a couple drops of water and a pellet to, too see if I can see them grow.

Wireless Digital Microscope Handheld USB
HD Inspection Camera 50x-1000x Magnification with Stand Compatible with iPhone, iPad, Samsung Galaxy, Android, Mac, Windows Computer

[MeEasy]

Yes that's it I knew it was sea some damn thing lol that's so funny to remember

[MeEasy]

Just noticed you have a sf4000 how is that working for you? Did you see their new sf7000 just came out

[MrPNW]

Those detachable drivers on the 7000 are nice. I’ve talked with a few guys about re-wiring the drivers on my 4000 should I need to move them in or out of the tent depending on season. That’s the hottest part of the light. It wouldn’t be that difficult.

[MrPNW]

I used my new microscope. I was wondering if I would be able to see the nematodes so I put one of the pellets in a few drops of water in a dark black lid. These are the photographs after the water dried up.

[MeEasy]

They're looking for some gnat babies to bore inside of and ruin their lives 😆

[MrPNW]

Great source for Beneficial Nematodes

https://www.arbico-organics.com/category/beneficial-nematodes

Also found;
Neem Oil has many other functions - it serves as a fungicide, a bactericide, and it kills Plant Parasitic Nematodes but is compatible with Beneficial Nematodes.

[MrPNW]

These are my sticky traps in the mother tent and a photo from a government site. I haven’t seen but a few adults left. I’m sure the nematodes have done their job. I’ll put the rest in soon.

[MeEasy]

That's how my pineapples were after a week until I did the soaking mosquito bits thing now I've had the same pineapples for nearly a month now and still don't have half the gnats of the middle one. I will be adding one of those balls to my next Amazon order to double down on the gnat bastards

[MrPNW]

Just after I took the pictures today I put some new sticky traps flat on the soil per the recommendation of the government site I added. A few hours later there is not a single gnat on all three. That’s a good sign.

[MrPNW]

Update: on the 8th I put in my nematodes and the gnats disappeared until a couple days ago. I now see a bunch of new gnats walking around on the soil. Only a few will fly. My sticky traps are catching most that fly.

so I read the instructions again and like a dummy I did the first application and forgot to do a second 7-10 days later to catch the next generation. I had enough from my order to treat the propagation plants in the small tent. There’s been virtually no gnats in the flowering tent so the single treatment must have done jobs.

i went ahead and order more Death Stars to do another treatment 7 day from now just to make sure I get them all.

[MrPNW]

Diatomaceous Earth and Beneficial Nematodes

This article states that these two items are compatible. No chemicals needed to destroy gnats.

https://www.planetnatural.com/forums/topic/nematodes-diatomaceous-earth/

Diatomaceous earth, a fine powder made from tiny fossilized algae-like plants. Gnats larva cannot live in it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072J8Z28F

Death Star full of beneficial nematodes. Attack, infect and destroys larva.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WSDX4XC