10 Ways Prevent & Kill Fungus Gnats in Seedlings and Houseplants
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- čas přidán 18. 03. 2021
- In this video I will give you 10 organic gardening solutions for preventing and killing fungus gnats. These strategies will work on your seedling as well as your indoor house plants. I will also share with you how they live and reproduce so you will understand their life cycle and how to put a halt to it.
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Big FYI on using mosquito bits. I love them BUT the granules themselves can mold when used on soil in seed trays or on houseplants. Better to soak 3 tablespoons in a gallon of water for about 4 hours, then use the “tea” to water your plants. Got rid of a major infestation within 3 applications over a couple weeks!
Yeah, I did get mold from that
Got rid of a major problem with one application. I’ve been messing around all winter with overwintering pepper plants and this did it.
What to do with leftover "tea" can it be stored or should I discard it?
The directions on the package said add 4 tablespoons to each gallon and let it soak for 30 minutes. I did 6 gallon jugs like that today. It was really after more than 45 minutes before the water was foggy... I assume with that bacteria. I might let it soak longer next time.
Good to know, thanks
Here is what worked for me, in combination:
- Garlic granules and cinnamon powder. Several spoons per pot, evenly mixed with top soil, then gently sprayed with water to soak for 1-2 hours. Then pouring water evenly to the pot, until it starts coming out through the pot hole.
- Sticky tape.
- I stopped putting pots in decorative pots. Gnats love that area between the 2 walls. Instead, I drilled holes in all decorative pots, planted the plants directly in them, and started using saucers.
- Stopped using excessive amounts of compost. Almost every compost comes with gnat eggs.
- Stopped using compost which didn't compost completely.
- Started using 50% perlite in every soil.
- Stopped overwatering.
Garlic and cinnamon do not affect grownup gnats (that's why you have sticky tapes), but larvae can't stand that. Gone in 2 days.
All I generally have to do, generally, is smash up a couple cloves of garlic in a small amount of water, use, steep more, repeat. Allium greens and papers are seem similarly useful too in a concentrated form.
Do you think it would be effective just to put send Amon powder and garlic granules on the topsoil and leave it, this is for tiny little starts
Flame thrower worked for me!
Yep that will do it 😂
Every time !...lol
Can you explain this more? @@colinerikstanhouse6385
What do you do with it?
My hero..🇨🇦
I’ve also found once you’ve treated with one of these methods put some alcohol on a cotton ball and rub it along the rim of the pot once a week. I’ve found that this keeps them away.
Hands down I love starting my seeds in sand on a self watering tray system. This has been a game changer for me and I will never buy seed starting mix again. I rinse the sand with boiling water before I plant the next group of seeds and just use the sand over and over again.
I've never heard of that, interesting!
I use vermiculite..no need for boiling water..transplant seedlings with the vermiculite left in seedling trays with new soil..boffo good..🇨🇦
I wish I could "like" this video more than once. I've been having this problem with houseplants and now beginning with my seedlings.
The dish soap/apple cider vinegar trap does not work for fungus gnats, it works for fruit flies. Unfortunately, the internet is ablaze with this myth but no real fact checks
Yup, I got sucked into that, and I can attest that it does not work
I cover the soil of my plants with used coffee grounds (that I dried out first). + Coffee grounds are food for plants, poison to gnats (+ snails), chase aphids (they hate the smell) and harmless to bees etc as they don't eat it and harmless to animals who would consume others who ate coffee grounds (e.g. birds eat snails, cats eat birds...)
Really?
@@Sense2024 Coffee is BS. any serious gardener knows...
Couple of tips: only tear off one side of the sticky traps at a time, you get double the life, as you will find out, both sides at once isn't that much more effective. And another: put a small half French fry size slice of raw potato on top of the soil, the larva will flock to it, and a couple of days later check, if there is holes in the potato, it did its job, and flush the larva in the potato down the toilet.
Great idea!
You seem to like potatoes
thank you!!!
Thank you for this. Your facial expression mimics how I feel about these bugs. If anyone gifts you a plant quarantine it & treat it first to be sure it won't infect and even kill all your houseplants.
AMEN! Rev. J
I’ve battled fungus gnats all winter from a plant I brought in last fall. I didn’t want to start my seeds until I got them under control. Thanks for the information!
Very good tips. I use the sticky traps and I recycle the bright yellow styrofoam container that hold the meat from the grocery store and put a couple of drops of dish soap and fill with warm water. I set it under the lights near my seedlings. You would be surprised how many you can catch in a few days. Hope this helps!
The boiling water to pre-moisten is my go-to for seed starts. Very effective. Unfortunately, I think I had eggs in paper-white bulbs (grow indoors) and gnats showed up! My gnats are drinkers and prefer red wine to vinegar!😜
😂
😂😂
I learn something with every video! As many problems as I have had with mosquitos I have never ever heard of Mosquito Bits. Wow! I am totally spreading this all over my yard and garden this year. I can hardly go outside without getting bit many times. Those dang things love me!
They love Emilie too
I'm dealing with this right now. Great timing! Thank you.
I swear, the man can read minds. Lol
😄
Me too
Same here
At the risk of sounding crazy I’ll say I’m firmly convinced that our phones listen to us even if we’re not talking on it. It only needs to b in the room and it can here u talking. I know this sounds absolutely crazy but I’ve tested this many times then realized this was what that guy that used to work for the ClA talking about. Sorry I forgot his name but he’s on the most wanted list as a whistle blower. Kinda crazy stuff
I poored boiling hot water on my old potting soil. Once it cooled down I poured a bottle of 3% peroxide on it. Watching the soil boil from that was interesting. I waited a week then planted my starts. I still see the gnats but not nearly as many so I topped the soil with cinnamon. Might be overkill but kill is my goal🤷🏾♀️
Yup cinnamon kills the fungus the creeps love to eat I also used ginger with it
Your timing couldn’t have been more perfect! I did the soil drench yesterday with peroxide and water, but will use other methods tomorrow. Thanks!
I've also used 70% isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) as a spray. It seems to work well if you use it once a week for about three weeks.
Ooo that's my favorite 70% in a spray bottle
I raise only snake plants. Opened a box in my plant room of a plant ordered on line, and out they flew! Hung a large bug zapper in my plant room, and the cracking started right away! I had to empty the "dead bug tray" a lot, but after a few weeks, it was silent. Still left it for a week, but never heard another sound! Only water my guys once a month(all size pots) no more gnats.Hope this helps you, sounds too easy, but it was! Bless you and all your plant babies! Rev. Jackie 😊❤
I learned a lot today! I bought sticky traps but I found that some of my delicate leaves got stuck on the trap. Ouch. I love the paint chip + Vaseline DIY trap. I already sterilize my potting soil (bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 200 degrees). I'll do the boiling water method, so much easier. THANK YOU! 💚
I detest fungus gnats!! With 95 houseplants, 11 house tomatoes, 9 dormant peppers, seedlings etc, Ive had my share of fungus gnats,esp when bringing in a new plant 😬😄 Ive used most of these preventative and killing measures except I pour boiling water over a pan of soil, then bake it in the oven for 30 minutes Total deal changer!! 😊👍 If even one zips past me, Im on the hunt 😄 The apple cider trap has never worked for fungus gnats for me, but works very well for fruit flies! 🤢 Yellow sticky traps saved my sanity over winter 🤣 I only bottom water so no current issues, but Im sure they'll be back 🤨😆😀 TGIF! and have an awesome weekend! 🌻🌼🏵
Thank you. You have a good weekend too!
I badly needed this. I didn't have any until I opened a new bag of soil. Its has been an ongoing battle
Ugh. That’s what just happened to me. Years of starting seeds, I’ve never had them, but have taken precautions in the past, like the boiling water pre soak. This has been a hard year and I was in a rush to start my peppers. I skipped the soak. Ugh. Now I have the pesky gnats. So far, have used sticky traps, cinnamon and DE to no avail. Going for the hydrogen peroxide next- and ordering the bits.
Considering dumping the whole tray and starting over. Ugh.
@@leewillis2908 I now have sundews they have really nocked down the number of fungus nats.
Those sundews are interesting. I've never given them much thought for pest control.
I needed this. I’ve been so frustrated with these darned nats. It’s time to take action!
I also have a fan going on them on low for a week or so then on medium. Can also use perlite on top if you don't have vermiculite. And don't overwater too often
Best way to get rid of gnats in house plants:
1. Repot with new soil (even in existing pot). Throw the soil in a garbage bag and seal tightly, to dispose of eggs, larva and junior gnats in the soil.
2. Spray roots with Garden Safe Insecticidal Soap. Make sure to spray in the remaining soil on the roots.
3. Refill pot with new soil, making about 1.5 inches for room on the top of soil for sand.
4. Add a thick layer of 1.5” - 2” of sand. Pat down to keep it tightly packed.
5. Water the plant. If sand moves to expose soil, add more sand at the top.
I tried everything and couldn’t get rid of gnats in my plants, until I tried this method with sand. This worked, no more gnats going on 2 months. Gnats can’t dig into tightly packed sand, nor can larvae or gnats crawl up through the sand if packed tightly.
I have a opened bag of children’s sand over a year now outdoors,
To make sure nothing is living in the sand ( for indoor plants ) could it be microwaved for a few seconds maybe?
@@carolgrace6573 soil and sand can be microwabed, yes. i also looked this up as a way to get rid of mine too. i am going to try it this week :)
Silca sand should work.
Will it work in a raised bed veg garden
So here's a very sad lesson I learned that I pray none of you have to learn. I love the sticky traps. They work like a champ to get rid of adults. But not only do the gnats stick to it, so will bees, butterflies and small birds. :( It's heartbreaking! I still use them, but now I cover my outdoor beds with tulle and/or netting so the only thing able to get stuck on them are those stupid, pesky fungus gnats!
And your hair will stick to them if you get to close to one! Ask me how I know?! 😳🤦🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️😂
@@denipar69 Truth!!
Use olive oil to help the birds get out. Butterflies. So sad they are too delicate to help.
Suggestion
Use sticky trap inside and mosquito bits outside. The hair issue will only happen 1 time
Oh oh oh, such a perfect timing! Love your work, thank you, Brian!
I pour boiling water on my seed starter mix to get it wet. Then I run it through the microwave for (2) one minute cycles in a slow cooker or oven bag. Then I let it cool before planting seeds. I have not seen any to date!
In the past, I have had to use cinnamon for fungus.
I catch way more gnats in an open try of red wine vinegar, dish soap, and water. The wider the surface are the more gnats you will catch. Home made sticky traps with petroleum jelly didn't work at all. I had a real problem this year because of some bad store bought potting mix--and I didn't know to use the boiling water first. A thick layer of sand placed on top of established plants helped a lot, too.
Man you are always right on time. Thank you so much!
Wow, this is so timely! Such valuable help. THANK YOU!
Any chance of you making an insect identifying video. Turning and tilling my soil, I'm finding bugs and I have no clue if some are friend or fiend. Like a a 'top ten' or something?
The vinegar trap has NEVER worked for me. Those gnats drove my husband & I absolutely bananas. Sticky traps kinda worked. Those Mosquito Bits worked wonders!
**Tries to fly into your nose over and over while you type**
The apple cidar vinegar works for fruit flies, but not so much for fungus gnats.
I need this so much right now! Thanks!
Just to add to mosquito bits recommendation, you can also soak them over night and water with the water as well. Works great! Thanks for care guide, nice to have all the info in one place!
Excellent information and tips on this matter. Thank you for all the hard work that you put into your videos.
Tried all the best way ,,,Top the plant pot with 2-3 inch fine play sand work 100%
@@lesliehenderson7866
I would not use Silica sand it can be a health hazard if it is inhaled or ingested. Use fine play sand
This has not worked for me, I have no idea how they can still come through 3 inch's of sand, I do have those yellow sticky things to catch them as they fly around. I will repot this one when it gets a bit warmer as its a plumeria One of my other plants seemed to have the same problem so I replanted it washed the roots, new soil.. I was SHOCKED at how many gnats came out of the soil deep down :( I love plants so much but I may have to go back to faux ones if I cannot get control. The funny thing is.. they don't live in all of the planted pots only certain types of plants
would perlite work?
This was fantastic video. Thanks so much for all the tips!
As usual, you know just what to say and when to say it! Great and useful info. Thanks!
I LOVE the paint swatch trick. Great idea!!!❤😊
The "bane of my existence" in these gnats showed up this year but not last year, yet they killed everything starting in my little greenhouse 3y ago & I had no clue what they were. Thank you for all of this info! I will work on multiple things to get them dead & gone, just like the slugs which I haven't seen for 2 weeks. Thanks & Blessings for all you do!!
Thank you my gardening angel!! Gosh you're full of priceless info!!🙏🌱🤞💖
Tried a few of those methods and this year I did actually put boiling water on my old soil from last year that I'm reusing this year. Should have done that on my seedling mix though so I'm going to have to try the peroxide method. I am not a fan of fungus gnats, I fought them last year and became very frustrated. Vaseline on yellow paper ...works great.👩🏽🌾🌱💚
I have used the Neem Oil and used the soak method with great results!
I’m new to your page and I love all the different suggestions for these darn gnats. Thank you
Can't thank you enough for this great info!! This is my first year with growing seeds and I have the entire set up with grow lights, heat pads and shelves. I'm hoping I won't have these nasty critters but I will go a head with some of the preventative. Thanks Brian!!
This was so useful--thank you!
Great video. I used hydrogen peroxide last year and sand when I had the issue from some home dept houseplants. Now when I buy houseplants i quarantine then and put peroxide on the soil with water. I never heard of mosquito bits, thanks for sharing
Thank you for the Consolidated list and explanation, it is handy to have around so I saved it for future reference. Though I don’t have any fungus ants now because the preventative measures I’ve taken so far, today when I took out my egg plants out for some sun, there was some type of bugs flying around. Thanks.
I've never used Mosquito Bits and I don't have a bird bath but knowing I can use them in there, knowing now that hey contain BT and it works on mosquitoes, is pretty awesome. If I can save my tomatoes AND murder mosquitos, I call that a win.
20 years of container gardening and never experienced what I am now. One bag of potting mix had the eggs. You need to keep at it even when you think you have them under control. I've been watching many videos and yours yesterday. The yellow sticky pads work; mosquito bits as far as I know works but they will come back. Some tomatoes and peppers looking pretty bad with yellowing leaves at the bottom. I finally reverted to using Insecticidal Soap on the adults just so I could kill them off. Every hour I go at them with either the insecticidal soap or my hand. Tried the apple cider vinegar and nothing yet; been 24hrs. I will be getting some Neem Oil tomorrow. Seen other people say cinnamon works and others say "No"; and yet others say it has to be real cinnamon - Ceylon Cinnamon - which is hard to find. Thanks for the clear, no nonsense video.
I feel your pain. I tried EVERYTHING!!!!! And I think the only thing that works for house plants is to bottom water and I put my new soil in boiling water then let it cool down (about 3 hours) then use it to pot my plants. Problem solved.
I have used boiling water, sticky traps and mosquito bits to good effect.
I container garden too. I have a Grand Bell Sweet Pepper plant in a container that i started 2 years ago and take inside in the fall and put it on my livingroom radiator and put outside in late spring. I live in Maine. I have a few gnats and i think its from overwatering. I don't do anything about it since it doesn't bother me or my wife. I am doing an experiment to see how many years the Sweet Pepper plant will live for. So far so good with some peppers even in the winter.
This has always been a struggle! Thanks!
Could you possibly do an episode on organic prevention of fruit flies?
Thanks
Thank you Brian lots of great information!!!!! Mosquito bits is new to me.
Awesome Brian!! Thank you!
Great tips. I usually cook my soil in a low temp in my oven. I like the cinnamon and hot water tip
Can I ask how long you bake it for and at what temperature?
@rosebayer114. I used 250* for an hour. Seems to have worked. PLEASE NOTE - Your house may stink after this so try to do it on a warm enough day to open windows & use exhaust fan & fans in windows to get good cross breeze.
Great video. I've started noticing them around my seedlings the last few days. Will try the vinegar trick right now.
Excellent timing Brian! Yellow sticky tape was not enough, now I’ll try some of your other suggestions. Thank you!!!
Great information. Thank you!
Love the sticky traps! Got them from Amazon. Did not realize how many gnats I had til they stuck to those! Getting other things you mentioned next! 😊
Thank you so much for all the advice and solutions. I will definitely try some!
hands down one of the best, well explained videos on this subject I have seen....keep up the great work and I will look forward to more of your stuff!
Thanks Brian for confirming using of DE in soil
Great video! I wrote it all down to use. I’ve had gnats indoors for several years. Now I know how to get rid of them. Thank you!
I’m dealing with this now. I use a bug zapper, it helps a lot but I think I’ll start using other methods also to completely get rid of the problem. Thanks for sharing the ideas. Good timing 😀
Thank you for the information!
Perfect timing for this video! Thank you!!
You're welcome
Thank you for all the good advice
Tanglefoot on yellow stock works well too. White flies love em also.
I really love using a mixture of neem oil and water🌿🌿🌿
Ohh man I needed this. Thank YOUUU!!! 👏👏😅
Great information! Big Thanks!!
I learned a LOT!! Thank you for being so direct with information. I like instructions without a lot of "fluff". I will use your channel again!!
Perfect timing... battling these in my basement right now with my seedlings!
Me too!!! 😖
Another one just starting to find out how they come in the soil or something. Looking at your traps, found out another one that seems to work pretty good. They are little drunks. Every time I bring a mug of beer out, with full intention to drink, end up with ten or more in there, but only if I intended to drink the beer. Put an old peanut jar lid over the top of the mug kind of thing which brought up the next idea. Barrier.
More asking if anyone has tried this yet, but ordered some of the double sided sticky stuff in sheets. Should be beg enough to cover the top of the planter so planned to cut a slit and then a small circle to go around the stem (already transplanted into cloth pots - that probably being the soil they came in). Barrier in place, no easy way in, nor out and bottom water for now on.
Thank you for taking the time to put this video up. I for one sincerely do not like sharing my beer with these since they seem very antisocial. None of them ever offered to buy the next round, but sincerely, now I know how the got in and what I did wrong. Two pronged counter attack approaches/combination is next.
3% hydrogen peroxide is the best! I have tried all the methods and none of them worked, but peroxide man...I could hear those annoying little bs sizzle away instantly... After one watering the problem was almost completely resolved.
I always use 3% hydrogen peroxide and water spray on top of sowed cells. But first, I use boiling water in seed-starting mix. Also, I use vermiculite on top of sowed cells before I spray them. I never have any problems with mold or gnats. I'm in Indiana so I have my seed trays in my heated garage
I do the same with the hydrogen peroxide and boiling water but I still get gnats. I guess I’ll have to try putting vermiculite on top. I didn’t do that because I guess I understand how the first two ideas would work but not how putting vermiculite on top would stop the gnats. 🙂
Layer of fine sand on top could be easier to find at no cost; sand only if possible, dirty sand tends to have more "openings" in it 👍
I've tried sand but didn't work
@@tamararoberts9307 Since the problem is with plants I have to keep wet, he sand just kept the soil wetter and killed the plants I put it on.
I learned some great new tips thanks
As always, great content!
Very helpful thank you!
Nice. Thanks! BTW, The neem oil I bought had no instructions, but indicated 100% neem oil. I researched it online and the consensus of those who had been using it on their gardens was 1 tsp pure oil per 1 qt water, & most added a few drops of liquid detergent as (I expect) a surfactant to improve mixing of the oil and water. I haven't tried this yet, but the people using it were happy, so...
I use BT with a syringe and a needle that you can get at an animal feed store. Mine happened to be a 5 cc syringe with an 28g needle. Draw up the liquid BT and inject it under the surface of the soil. I don't have a specific measurement but I usually use 1-3. syringes full depending on the size of the seedling. This takes care of the eggs of the gnats only which is what I have the most problem with. Thanks for the info of taking care of the gnats on the surface!
I almost lost the battle last year 😣 really nasty, I have done at least half of this tricks but this isn't over 👍🏼 thanks!
Great video. Thanks brian
I didn't know about the mosquito pellets and that they are BT! I am getting some tomorrow for all over the garden!! Thank you!!
Thank you sooooo much for this!!! I have had them for about a week now and its time to deal with this this weekend! Great videos very helpful!
Thank you 😊
Perfect timing! I was just looking for help... My laundry room/indoor greenhouse that’s housing all my seedlings is being attacked by these flying insects... I tried the cinnamon but prolly not enough. Will try adding more and some diluted hydrogen peroxide. Thank you for all your “to the point” info.
Good energy. Thank you
Great teaching,clear and concise, thankyou I've subscribed ❤
I make a similar bowl trap for fruit flies when they appear in summer. A bit of wine and/or beer with some warm water and a couple of drops of dish soap. The dish soap removes the surface tension so flies attracted to the aroma of beer or wine will sink when they come to sip.
Great help, thanks.
My fungus gnats never fall for the vinegar traps. I use the sticky traps, bottom water, DE, cinnamon (on my edibles), and mosquito bits.
*I use peroxide too, and prefer the soak.
I thought the vinegar traps were only for fruit flies. Never had it work for gnats either.
Love this video great information!,,👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻💕
Loved these tips.
Thank you for your videos I have learned a lot I appreciate it
Such a helpful video! 👏
I bake my home made starter soil (get to 165° and hold for 20 min in foil baking trays... Reuse trays) and use the sticky traps.
Havent seen a gnat yet.
I have been wanting to try baking the soil.
Thanks for the fyi.
Zone 6B
@@montibrown1408 It seems absurd... But dammit I can't complain about the results.
165°F or 165°C?
This was very informative, thank you
Great tips! Thank you 😊
I get the yellow fly trap sticky paper. I lay it on the top of the soil of large plants and hang a piece from the top canopy of my plants in my grow room to catch any stragglers. Seems to work.
Great!
They are in my greenhouse and driving me nuts!!