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Flies in the Soil

Chemichael

Chemichael

New member
So I've got some flies in my soil likely due to over watering the large pots early on when setting things up. Today one of my sticky traps fell on my largest girl. Luckily I was able to get the trap off, but shes left with some stick on her. Nothing looks wrong right now- but damn am I concerned.

Concerning the flies, besides the tape, I am not 'over watering' - letting the top 2 inches fully dry. I guess thats working since they are all coming up from the soil since its so dry- so I guess keep 'drying' them out and use wind- and tape - and make it harder for them to burrow the next watering?

Since the top is dry- but I know there is a ton of moisture below the root area- I think I can let the roots dig without watering another day or so... will the sticky crap on my plants leaf set be an issue for this young 2 week old?
 
There is a product called gnat Nix you might want to look it up and do some reading about it it'll probably help you out
 
The problem with fungus gnats is not the adult flyers. It's the larvae that feed on your roots. If you keep the top 2" of media dry for about 2 weeks, any fungus gnat larvae should die of dehydration.

Ive heard of using a dredge (a big syringe with a blunt tip) to poke into the soil several inches and slowly inject water or solution into the soil.

Alternatively there's diatomaceous earth you can sprinkle on top to kill the bugs. It cuts into their soft exoskeleton and causes them to dehydrate and die.

I I think some on here have suggested replacing the top few inches of soil or baking it to kill any baddies and reintegrate it back in. I'm not familiar with this process though.

Lastly I've read you can use a steamer to steam treat the top few inches of soil. It seems like it would work.

All in all, gnats are mostly harmless as long as you keep them in check.

I I have no idea what that sticky stuff from the trap will do to your leaves.
 
My buddy had gnats and they got too her roots slowed down growth tremendously. Ended up being a lot shorter than the others as well.
 
I vote for the diatomaceous earth...it is a safe organic control, and seems to have done the job stopping the larvae on my grows. 😊
 
I've got them little bastards too! I use the yellow sticky stuff to catch a bunch of em, but they keep on coming!
 
Dude...Coco is awesome... a lot of people use coco coir and mix it with perilite coco Loco is already mixed with perilite it's awesome it's neutral I just love it can't say enough good things about it.
 
Do you think that coco husk link is the same as the brick stuff? I have to think that it is. Im interested- not just for the bugs- but for more healthier roots and air etc.

Then jeez got me thinking - its so easy to build me a DWC - might be doing that with my next experiment... maybe slow down - jaja
 
It probly is...that would work with dwc I guess ...probly pretty well....I would do more reading on it first.....good ideal
 
You can get gnats in your coco just as easy as any soil.

Some say that the flavor you get from soil is unparalleled. I agree to a point, I still have more "testing" to do.
 
Ehhh...I don't believe that to be true...(gnats in coco)

could be true....... but from my experience and peer knowledge coco is bug free.....
 
I know of people that have bought coco loco before and got gnats a week later. Obviously it wasn't stored properly but it can happen.
 
Tons of really great responses in here! If you want to check it out, we made a tutorial about how to get rid of fungus gnats. The best thing you can do is make sure you let the top inch or two of soil dry out in between waterings. Fungus gnats can only survive if the larvae can live in wet topsoil. Like Carlsoti said a fan blowing over the soil helps it dry out quickly and makes it harder for gnats to land. The yellow sticky traps won't get rid of them, but they help bring down their numbers and also tell you when they're gone (since you won't see them on the traps anymore). If you want to get rid of fungus gnats fast, water your plants with something that has bacillus thuringiensis bacteria, like Mosquito Dunks, Mosquito Bits, etc. However, just watering the plant less often, combined with a fan, will usually get rid of them!
 
I agree with Green on the damage caused by gnats. I've battled them and the larvae can damage the roots and stunt growth very quickly, especially during seedling and young veg stages. I now have them controlled, although they seem to find my grow no matter what I do for preventive steps. I start from seed, in soil. All soil is pre-treated with Gnatrol, which uses bacillus thuringiensis bacteria that Nebula mentioned. From what I've read, bacillus thuringiensis bacteria is organic and harmless for flowering / edible plants. It's also affordable IMO. I add extra perlite for better drainage. I use gnat nix as a top layer, dry between waterings, yellow stick traps, good airflow. For the run I just completed, I used Gnatrol every other watering (about every 8-10 days). The gnats came once or twice but were gone very quickly. I am thinking of trying Coco, but I've heard gnats can attack in Coco too.
 
NebulaHaze said:
Tons of really great responses in here! If you want to check it out, we made a tutorial about how to get rid of fungus gnats. The best thing you can do is make sure you let the top inch or two of soil dry out in between waterings. Fungus gnats can only survive if the larvae can live in wet topsoil. Like Carlsoti said a fan blowing over the soil helps it dry out quickly and makes it harder for gnats to land
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Thx. I read that. Im doing all thats needed- its just that when I see any of them trying to dig of come out of the dry soil I get nervous. Im thinking they come from the wet organic woody matter in most of the organic soil bags. And wet soil awakens them. Ive read other places where they say its just fine as long as roots arent attacked by larva. Gosh im like on an under watering mission now. I am drying regularly and all looks I guess as best as it can. Still battling
 
I guess the BT gets eaten by the larvae. The BT then multiplies rapidly in the larvae's gut and consumes the larvae from the inside out.

It'd be like eating a bunch of flesh eating bacteria and having it....well you get the point.
 
Interesting. I spotted a single gnat inside my grow box but didn'the know about fungus gnats. I need to read up on them and keep an eye out. Anyone know the gestation period for larvae?
 
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