gnats

[demcc3]

Good morning fellow growies! I'd like to hear what some of you use to reduce/remove those gnats that arise from some organic soils. They don't seem to be harmful...just a bit annoying. Thanks and have a great day.

Oh...btw..im an indoor grower, in a spare closet

[3Berries]

I try to add a tablespoon of this to each gallon I use.

[Gingerbeard]

Get a fan blowing across the top of your soil so the gnats can't land.

[demcc3]

OMG!! I love this: "....The only thing you should test on animals is BBQ sauce!"

[NuggetMan]

get some sticky traps.

[User420111]

I spray some neem oil in water on the soil. Not on the plant. Seems to work great I usually only need to do it once

[NuggetMan]

I tried the Neem oil and to me (my own opinion) the yellow sticky traps worked better (for me) and yes you can spray Neem Oil directly onto the plant, not just the soil (I guess it depends on what brand you use).

[quirk]

While the ones flying around seem annoying, the real damage is being done out of your sight. Each female can lay up to 200-300 eggs in damp soil. These will hatch in three days and the larvae begin feeding on root hairs, organic material and fungi. Their numbers will increase quickly and exponentially cause real root damage if not cut off at the pass. As suggested above, 24/7 air circulation to keep the medium on the surface dry and make it difficult to land and lay. Mosquito bit drench, before, and during grow. When I premoisten my 5gal airpots before planting, I do so with a mosquito bit drench to eliminate and prevent fungus gnat larvae.

[alltatup]

I use Mosquito bits in my hydroponic setup when I see a gnat. I sprinkle it in the LECA and make sure to water it daily to kill the larvae. I also put a yellow sticky paper with the plants to attract the adults. And I act as soon as I see one gnat, because as quirk says, they get bad real fast if you don't nip them in the bud, so to speak.

[Rwise]

Orange peel on the soil can help, they dont like oranges.

[TjckTock]

Nip it in the bud as soon as you see 'em. They are not harmless. They damage the roots and get stuck in the buds during flower. Bug zapper is not the aroma most of us are looking for. I use 1" of sand on top of my soil (prevents them from emerging from the soil during that phase of growth) - and keep Neem oil spray handy to hit the couple that somehow find a way through.

[OldManGrower]

These work GREAT! they're quite inexpensive and I only use about 1/3 of a sheet at a time. These plus controlled watering and I have almost no gnats. https://www.amazon.com/Gideal-20-Pac...ies-Leafminers

[alltatup]

OldManGrower I clicked on the link, but there was no there there...

[3Berries]

https://www.amazon.com/Gideal-20-Pack-Dual-Sided-Whiteflies-Leafminers/dp/B07QKLHH5X

But this doesn't stop the larvae from eating the roots. That's the real issue.

[NuggetMan]

Kill the parents, no eggs, no larvae.

[3Berries]

You will never get all the adults.

[Going2fast]

Fungus gnats are only a problem at sprout and early veg. They will stunt a young plant if too many. Diatomaceous earth powder sprinkled around the plant and keep it dry. Problem solved. Food grade as well as ag or in my case aquarium grade works fine.

[NuggetMan]

I only had this issue 1 time, just my 2 cents...