Foolproof Fungus Gnat Killer That Actually Works - Houseplant Pest Control
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- čas přidán 10. 06. 2024
- In this video, I'll show you two easy steps that I personally took to get rid of pesky fungus gnats. You’ll also learn how to identify and prevent infestations by taking a few preventative measures. Get ready to say goodbye to fungus gnats forever.
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I used tea tree oil 20 drops and peppermint oil 20 drops in 750 ml water spray on soil not on leaves. no more flies.
I just put a cup of beer on the table near my plants. They like the sweet smell and end up drowning in the drink leaving my plants alone. It took 3 days to completely remove them from my home.
Interesting
What kind of beer did you use?
Gnats prefer Natty light😂
@@badgurl1612same kind I’m going to drink when I come home from our d4te
I put a cup of beer on the table and 5 minutes later...it's gone...and gnat still there ....
Hung a plant bug zap lite for about a month and enjoyed hearing them zap! After the zaps stopped, took lite down. A year now, and all gone! Good Luck! Rev. J 😊
I tried a similar treatment that finally got rid of my year-long fungus gnat problem in my home. I'd suggest using the mosquito-bits tea on all your houseplants, for about a month, not just the ones that appear infected. The product isn't super expensive, and it doesn't hurt the plants and it's easy to do, so I just continued the regimen for several weeks to a month to make sure it got them all. I even used the mosquito-bits tea on all my outdoor patio plants, just to be sure. BTW a large stainless steel tea-ball works great for steeping the bits in water.
They’re also in bagged potting soil
That’s Exactly where I suspect they are coming from.
Miracle grow potting soil is infested with them.
@@marthawiggins9105 they were out of MG and got Frog Farm and same problem. They say it’s in the added compost. I know I never had problems until last year.
@@dustyflats3832 I think someone is contaminating soils w various things
This is how my infestation began 😢😠
Thank you. Very informative.
Best video I have found on fungus gnat treatment.
Diatomaceous earth sprinkled on the soil helps kill the larvae, too
It won’t kill the larvae as they are underneath the soil but it kills the adults trying to burrow down to lay more larvae.
I just bought a bag of potting soil including fungus nats. Going to start either microwaving or baking my soil. Ive done it before and who doesnt love a home that smells like dirt!!
Miracle Grow is the worst! I don't buy it anymore!!!!! 😊
Why not water it with boiling water?
Your garden looks very beautiful and your plants also look very fresh and healthy.
Thank you.
Excellent video thank you!!
Awesome comprehensive video. I really appreciate that you break down the gnat life cycle and highlight how you can use that knowledge to control the outbreak. Thanks man.
Glad you found it useful. 👍
Thank you for explaining it so well 👍
My pleasure 😊
I have been looking for this info and this is the best so far. From the product, application and the information. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful! Thank you very much for your comment.
To trap more adult gnats I cut the sheet lengthwise to get two strips. The strips are wrapped around the top of a mason jar 3/4 full of apple cider vinegar. I add a little Scotch tape to tape the outside exposed ends together so the sticky paper doesn't pop off.
Put a cinnamon stick in the pot. Lay it on the soil or stick in a bit.
Helpful information! Thanks 🎉
Glad it was helpful! You’re welcome.
I live in Australia. I went to my local garden centre to ask what I should do to get rid of them and I was told to sprinkle ant sand on the top soil of the pot. It worked almost immediately. The gnats just stopped flying everywhere. I don't know if you can get ant sand in other countries. Of course it works a treat on getting rid of ants outside as well.
Is "ant sand" a fine white powder? If so, we call it diatomaceous earth. It's the fossilized shells of tiny diatoms.
The shells are like tiny razor blades to insects and other pests with exoskeletons.
What is ant sand😮
Could you clarify what ant sand is?
Ant sand here in the US is an insecticide and I wouldn’t recommend anyone use this on edible plants
lol, I apparently couldn’t get rid of them last year and did all this and other methods. This year started indoor lettuce and they are back again. Never had to sterilize potting soil and maybe they come from winter veg. I don’t know, but they are a pain. I think the key word is control as they never go away until the seedlings go outside. After that I never see them on houseplants.
CINNAMON, it just takes a good thorough coverage of cinnamon powder sprinkled onto the soil surface. And, of course, let the soil dry out! Be patient, the gnats do not disappear in a day, but as long as the initial cinnamon application fully covered the soil surface you should not need to reapply the cinnamon.
Yes, it's true. Very effective.
@@bernadetteward8235is it safe for springtails and isopods?
Tried it. Doesn’t work. 🤷🏽♀️
Cinnamon controls fungus, as does anything containing tannins. The relevance of this is that the fungus gnats "farm" the fungus. So, using both b.t. and tannins, one can effectively control both the pest, and their food source.
Just store bought cinnamon spice will work? @@JustinDOehlke
When you pot/repot your plants, cover the soil with an inch or so of aquarium gravel or perlite. NEVER leave your soil bare!
Try this
Great video I do a living soil for my plants where I add my crones and I water with a living, compost tea to build up the micro biology of the soil. Would anybody happen to know if these dunks would kill all that stuff as well as the Nats I think a lot of that stuff may live off those little Nats things, butboy I sure have a lot of those gnats they come in the potting soil it seems like but this was a great video. I was just like to reach out to anybody on this reading this. Does anybody know if this would kill all the micro organs in there?
This is all cool and everything probably does work but all you guys and everybody needs for this fungus nut situation. I have never had one ever and I have over 100 plants and I've had them for over 15 years. I've never had that problem. I've never had a pest problem and it's because I use cinnamon, ground cinnamon and for bigger plants you can get cinnamon sticks, break them up and stick them in the dirt,You're welcome😊❤
Ill do that now
Yea well I have had houseplants for 40 years and just got my first pests.. fungus gnats. I use cinnamon on cuttings or breaks and I can tell you I have seen them walk right through the cinnamon I sprinkled on my soil. It's driving me nuts and the Mosquito Bits haven't helped much at all
They are here less for sure but I think I'm going to get the pest sticks to stick in my plants and in the bourse
Thanks for the info
No problem 👍
i stopped using bark based mix and no more fungus gnats. zero gnats for years now. no need for all these measures. fungus gnats love fine bark potting mix. use desired grade coir or peat based mix with perlite. as a bonus you will have a heathier mix for your plants, that will not go off.
I found that the flies still manage to go into your soil from the bottom of the pot if it is suitable for them, I would recommend still keeping few of the yellow traps to reduce the population of the adults that can breed further
Yes, especially root pruning cell packs. Never got rid of them and did this and several other methods. Only thing was to try and control them. They hide everywhere.
Do you know if the mosquito bits stuff you are recomending to use is free of all corn + corn derivitives? As I have a corn allergy. I also need to avoid other grains like wheat due to celiac. If I buy the wrong soil in the past (which unfortunately had happened once) I was scratching like crazy as it had a corn cob derivitive added to it. Corn hides in so many things its a nightmare to avoid!
i dont understand the need to bottom water in between this treatment as well. is the top watering while treating not enough or just depends on plant needs?
They are especially bad on coir and any soil with lots vermiculite or perlite in , i found well packed heavy soil defeats them if the plants can manage . Sometimes badly stored bags of garden potting compost can get pre infested . Deep pots can work as anecdotally when the roots get deep enough they seem out of munch range .
For 35 years that I have been indoor gardening, this year is the first time I have fungus gnats in my house, and it was a nasty infestation. Couldn’t buy Mosquito bits in Canada. I spent $$$ spraying on the plants, even changed the soil of some of the pots. Nothing fixed it. Gnats flew from one pot to another. Lived in sink and shower drainage. Then I removed all the soil, baked them, yes, I killed all the normal flora of the soil. Washed and sterilized all the pots. Washed all the plants with soap and water, using artist’s brush to go in between leaf and stalks, soaked the roots in water with hydrogen peroxide for 20 minutes. I sprayed all sink and shower drainage with insecticide. Then I mixed the baked soil with composted manure to bring back good flora. I am now free of fungus gnats. It was a wild idea, and long-tedious process but worth it. I love my plants and I am so proud of how they thrive right now.
Sad to hear you went through all that, but glad to know you did what you did to get what you wanted and were successful in the end. Thank you for sharing your story.
@@monstrofarm Ive been wondering if I should start growing ButterWorts as a long term control solution, but getting them is not easy or cheap in Canada.
Yes, for some reason they do not sell in Canada. I had to buy the pond rings instead and wizz them to powder in the blender. It's ridiculous.
I've been battling fungus gnats for 2 months now! I used nematodes, cinnamon, sticky traps, and hydrogen peroxide /water spray. All the soil I have been using to pot up my seedlings I have now baked in the oven at 200F for 20 minutes.
In Canada, you can get mosquito dunks, which are the same as the bits-they just come in a disc! I got some at a hardware store.
I find that I get them when I buy soil, they be in the soil.
Maybe try another brand of soil, but give this a try if you're having a hard time with them. Good luck.
Mosquito dunks are awesome. I get them from potting soil. So i now treat the soil before using
Buy Nematodes bred just for the gnat larva.. It works and I use it all the time for my plants and seedlings. I even use them for ant colonies outside lol works great!!
Use lavendar spray to ward them off and sello-tape wrapped around plant pots rims they get easily stuck there while swarming around
Helpful thank you
Glad it helped
Would this kill centipedes too ? My peace Lilly loves the dirt wet. I noticed I have centipedes coming out the bottom even I water her. I let her dry out a bit since she’s huge and idw wet dirt for too long. But I saw about 4 gnats and I’m a bit concerned there will be more in the near future and the centipedes will come out the pot .
I never had any in my plants. Then I decided to repot some plants and went to Walmart for soil. I repotted 2 plants and put the rest of the mixed soil in an airtight container. In about 3 days I had some gnats! 😢
I got rid of mine by sprinkling used coffee grounds on top of the soil. It took a while for them to completely go away because it was a bad infestation but they haven’t been back and it’s been at least 6months since my last application. I will do it again closer to spring as a preventative measure.
I covered my plants with two inches of sand. Then I placed a low tub of water with a tsp. of detergent and a cup of distilled white vinegar. I drowned about a hundred of those gnats. A week later they were all gone. Still haven’t returned.
@@BuddhaBeaniehow much water was there?
From what I've researched, neem cake water is touted now. All I use is the yellow sticky. I grow in 5-gallon containers all winter in my grow room. The sticky's have worked for me. When they appear, they get stuck. No contributing to the life cycle. I've tried the product you mention, vinegar, drenches, soaps, neem oil sprays, and probably more. Nope.
the eggs probably survive all that. you will need to do the treatment every week for a while.
@@ChrisWijtmans Sticky's work for me. Stick in container once and forget it.
i do both, sticky tape when a lot of them are flying around AND treat soil. When you see one or two fly around just do soil treatment. I have replaced sticky tape with pinguicula plants for indoors. Needless to say i occasionally see one or two fly now, probably some left over eggs. I have also used UV insect lamps kills a ton of them too. (tripple solution and got rid of them takes a while, the eggs are survivors, and you will have a lot of them in the soil)
@@C3Voyage
Have to agree! Tried everything last year. They are in potting soil-never use to be.
I bought some organic potting soil for my orange trees and it was infested with gnats. They were everywhere and getting into everything. They were even starting to spread to other plants and at that point I took a tub and soaked every single plant in a solution of water and pesticide. That finally got rid of them
Yes, tried every organic method on seedlings and could only control them-never got rid of them.
If you cant find the mosquito bits, use nematodes (get the right ones) and or sprinkel diotomatious earth on the top soil.
Anyone else have absolutely no where to quarantine 😂
Do the best you can. Even the other side of a studio would help. Good luck.
@@monstrofarm I have heard of people tying a bag around their plants. Does that work? Or were they just full of it?
I wouldn’t. If your space is tight, you might consider quarantining your plant in the bathroom. Just make sure it gets sufficient light. Thanks for watching.
✋🏼 😂
I would think bottom feed as often as you should with a small plant and with 2/3rds of the plant under water, you would drench the soil and when you drained it off would leech out all your nutrients and biology.
I constantly getting new plants mostly from the grocery store and I just spray the new plant with Bengal insect control and let it outside for a few hours
Thanks for the video. I am unsure if this will work out, but will pouring boiling water over potting mixture then letting it cool down before repotting the plant be appropriate. I understand that I will kill off the positive microbes, but I will also kill the fungus gnats and eggs. The roots of the plant will naturally have these microbes, and will propogate given enough time.
Glad you enjoyed the video. You could try the method you have described, but I think that even if you used that method, eventually you may get fungus gnats in an established plant and you will need to treat the plant similar to what I described in this video. Thanks for watching and commenting.
I used anti-mosquito fumigator plug and watered the plants with camomile tea for several times. So far they seem to be gone, but I know they'll be back sooner or later. Better to know all the ways to get rid of them 😊
Also I saw comments under other video that people use hydrogen peroxide with water and it works, but you can't use it too often or it might harm the plants
Is this safe for indoor herb plants? Is this toxic in other words. Eventually the herbs will be eaten.
My fungus gnat problem came from compost I bought ,I lost all my seedlings later
If u put sand over the soil they wont have anyway to get into the soil to lay eggs
Or for the new hatches to escape out of
What about larger plants that are in ceramic pots? Is the bottom watering ideal for these as well?
If you can lift them and the water wicks some of the way up, depends on the composition of the soil. If not, then try mosquito bits and try to let the soil dry out a little more between waterings. Good luck.
That's something I'd try if almost all the plants I grow weren't intended for human consumption. So a different route was required for my greenhouse. Putting a thin layer of sharp coarse sand on top of the soil pretty much got rid of them. Whenever I see a fungus gnat now, I find the pot with the exposed soil and cover it. Haven't tried it, but diatomaceous earth is also supposed to work.
normal dry garden sand at the bottom of pot and the top layer . they cant burrow through it.
All my fungus gnats came from the drainage holes, so bottom watering method does not work.
What about using mosquito bits on herbs such as basil? Any danger there with edibles? Thanks!
its not toxic so no danger.
have an infestation of them I've got 30 houseplant and these flies are so annoying I got sticky pads for the flying ones and it gets like 100 a day on one pad it's crazyyy
Try this 2 step method and it works. Good luck.
do you have a amazon link for the stuff you use??
@@monstrofarm is it hydrogen peroxide and how many %?
@@cal7281 check out my link in bio to my Amazon page.
No. It's mosquito bits. @@cal7281
Do you have videos that address treatments for pests? Or talk about preventative treatments? Also, how do you feel about Neem oil?
I have more content on my social media channels. Please look there and I will continue to post more videos to help. I use neem oil depending on the pest, plant and situation, but after using it for a few days the smell can really get to me, even when I mix a with a little peppermint oil. Thanks for watching.
Didn’t work for seedlings and plants tend to not like it.
I use Mosquito Bits and they absolutely work.
لدي طريقة سهلة لجمع البالغين في وعاء ومن ثم التخلص منها
I do all that when the top of the soil is dry i cover the top with diatomaceous earth and small volcanic rocks
I put two cheap ultrasonic devices in my main room with about 50 plants and 70 spider plant babies in water and I haven’t seen any.
Ultrasonic device work good against gnats flies?
# 1 reason I bottom water. All my plants are in plastic liner pots and then sit in pretty catchpots. I lift them out and line them up in a plastic container I put about 2 inches of water in and let it get to room temp. I leave them in there for about 15 mins then lift out to drain.
I can't find the bits anywhere is it a state thing??
Not sure. Have you tried Amazon?
Beneficial bugs always works, buy them to target the larvae and also the hatched adults
I just use sand. They cannot get into the soil (or escape) and a USB fan. I bottom water.
Is that technique safe for fruit bearing shrub?
Yes
I tried this and it did not work.I used the disks. I only eliminated them when I move d the plants outdoors for planting. I now have an infestation of aphids when I bought some veg seedlings for my hydroponics.
They were probably eliminated when you took them outside because the top layer of soil had a chance to dry out sooner than indoors. Did you also try bottom-watering? This method and/of watering or cutting back on the frequency will help.
Redo it. I learned my lesson on taking plants outside and bringing them back in when I found my variegated ivy was infested with scale.
Never had gnats or aphids until last year and it was awful! I tried this method and every other to only control them, never got rid of them. Took seedlings out to harden off and sprayed with horticultural oil and that was much better-or they just flew off.
I just mixed the mosquitoe bits in with the soil and I'm fungus gnat free
I’ve been doing this for months. I still have them. I water each and every one this way. So what do you think is next . They are way better. But always still around. So none of this works long term. 😊
After thoroughly watering with water soaked in Mosquito Bits, I sprinkle fresh bits on the top of the soil when I do the next watering and leave the bits there. This is especially important in humid areas or in the summer. If you have a persistent problem, you'll need to put up multiple sticky traps to get the adults and interrupt the reproductive cycle. Leave the traps each room where you have plants and don't remove them until your problem is gone. Replace the traps, if need be. Over this time, keep using the Mosquito bits.
Raid!. Wait a few hours and then wash your plant. Problem immediately solved. Wash your fruit from the store, that’s how they get in, eggs on bananas.
I agree, the organic methods control them, but not totally gone. Only when I took seedlings outside did I get rid of them. I thought maybe they came from winter vegetables, but they appeared after I started indoor lettuce-it’s the crap potting soil and doesn’t matter what brand.
@@dustyflats3832 Thank You for that, from now on, I am going to quarantine new soil outside for 2 weeks, until eggs hatch, and they fly away.
Will this be ok for my in home grown lettuce and mint for people consumption? Or will it do harm in the human body like pesticides.
It is organic, but I would refer to label for any question like that.
As the producer of the AI, BTI, it is completely harmless to non target species. That includes humans, fish, animals, etc. Species that are affected by the BTI, are black fly larva, mosquito larva, midges and fungus gnats larva. BTI does not affect any of the adults on that list.
It is a bacteria that is beneficial and is not taken up by the roots. Wash your produce when harvesting of course.
I set bowls of milk out near the plants and ir is full of drowned knats
Mosquito bits in your water is all you ever need. 100% guaranteed and 100% organic.
Those warnings look scary. Any organic options?
No, I’ve tried them all and it only controls them. When I took seedlings outside to harden off I sprayed horticultural oil and it was either that or they flew away. Inside I think the heat contributes to the cycle.
I watered mine with 5%apple cider vinegar, it was good for most plants but killed my bay cuttings
Fungus gnats severely reduced
Use an old nylon for the mosquito bits. Don't use bits on food plants. Also use mosquito nets. Cover and then spray dietameouse earth. I couldn't find the net so I used a sheer curtain.
The bits are suppose to be BT and ok for food. 😂, doesn’t matter anyways because nothing organic totally gets rid of them except maybe pesticide.
damn things,I got them with the soil I bought, it was last January, still fighting them, yellow sticky things buying multiple times, I tried oil sprays too :(
Try these steps. You’ll get it.
Use indoor potting mix w no organic matter, ie wood chips, and water from below not allowing top to be saturated. The buggers will disappear in no time.
Thank you!
Will this treatment affect Thrips larvae as well? This is so excellent. Thank you
No this doesn’t work for thrips
Nematodes.. job done.
Took the plant out of pot and washed off all the soil off the roots till its stringy and repotted with fresh soil
Yes. You can do that, but make sure to correct your watering practices or they will be back. Try bottom watering. Good luck.
@@monstrofarm thankyou. Im watering from botton now x
I really wanted to do that but it is winter here and I don't have a spot inside to clean the soil so I will have to wait until spring. Meanwhile I scooped about an inch of the soul off the top of the plant and dumped it outside. Then spread cinnamon on top. I hope it works.
The larvae stage is the nightmare if u have a wet few weeks then a humid few weeks, without lights or artificial heat they eat holes all through the base of the trunk and taproot then after that they fly up and become a whole new problem. I messed up though,i took in a plant from a questionable place and put it with my alocasia elephant ears..just to be a real moron 🙄🤦 lol oh the carnage 😭 i had to throw out and replace over 20 plant pots,soil, every substrate known to man...that was a hard lesson i never did that again hahaha 🌱💚 cinnamon as preventative,but water was the ultimate reason it spread and i speraticaly water now it seems to help 🤷
I watered mine with the mosquito bits but left the bits on top of soil. (Didn't skim them off or make a tea) and it seems to be working. Is that a wrong move to make to leave bits on the soil?
Glad it's working for you. Try the bottom watering for extra control. I don't think the bits sitting on the soil will hurt. Some people incorporate them in soil when they do a repot, but I suggest always following the label. Good luck and thanks for watching.
@@monstrofarm As the producer of the BTI sold to and used in the bits, I would not use the corncob on the top of the soil or in it. Since it is an organic (corn), it will mold and cause other problems. Best thing to do is soaking the bits in the water if that is the product on hand. Or you can get our liquid version which solves all the worries!
Gnatrol WDG is all you need--far better than the Mosquito Bits.
Peroxide and dish soap and water in a dish next to plant
Terro brand flea trap, gnats are attracted to light and warmth. it has a plastic cage that holds a 7 watt clear light bulb (the old style christmas light base)and comes with 2 sticky cards that sit at the bottom of the cage.overnite there was 50 gnats on it after a week i had to change the sticky card.gonna keep changing cards until the little bastards are gone! ps, if you open windows the newborns can fly thru a screen! i close drains when not in use, poured a quart of bleach water into the basement floor drain and covered it tight for now!
using dish soap and oil in the water also kills them
What if it's a carnivore plant that constantly needs to be wet
You could try adding a little sand to the top of the soil mix to prevent them from laying eggs.
Shouldn't that insure a co stant food source for the plant?
Let me start my say I grow weed plants, and so many people have these issues.
If you teach yourself how to not get them in the first place, you'll have better grows.
Yes cinnamon and neem oil work, but if you make a top layer on perlite you have less overall chance to see them at all.
Also another tip to not getting gnats, is run your fingers through the soil.
When they fly up you squish them.
Or they will come back.
😊
And I scooped out the top soil layer to trash
Cinnamon
Pls let me know what kind of flies is it? It is greenish in color. When I kill it, it somehow or rather there is blood or its red in color. Pls advise.
No that's not a fungus gnat 😮
Stop overwatering.
Agreed. Too water will do it.
I live in europe and there is no such thing as mosquito bits oder bti in general 😩 does a mixture of neem oil and some kind of soap also work?
Very Nice video and very helpful tips for bottom watering 👌🏼😊
When in comes to fungus gnats the only thing that worked for me was this combination, not to say the others won’t but I have not tried that combination for fungus gnats. Is that active ingredient just not available in europe, perhaps under another brand? Thanks for watching. Much appreciated. 🙏🏻🙏🏻
i read about nematodes, you can buy them in small sachets and add them to your water. they feed of the eggs and larvae. they helped me quite a lot.
what helped me also is storing your potting soil outside during winter, so anything living keeps freezing UP and DIES 😊 fresh soil was nearly always the worst, full of bugs and unwanted guests that ate up all my beloved plant friends.
@@madamerage8518 I've heard of them too but completely forgot, thank you I will give it a try 😊
if you live in germany u could try neudomück stechmücken-frei
@@sleepydog4205danke für den Tipp 😊 enthält das diesen BTI-Stoff?
would hydrogen peroxide work as a replacement for mosquito bits?
I have heard of some people having success fungus gnats and hydrogen peroxide, but have not tried myself. Thanks for watching. Much appreciated.
2 table spoons blue dawn dish soap in a gallon of water... water 2 times with this and no more gnats
The flies are greenish in color. What are they? At first there are lots of mites. Does it turn into the greenish flies?
no fungus gnats are black. they are sometimes called black flies. little green flies could be aphids.
Aphids. Had those for first time ever last year along with gnats. It’s the potting soil and never use to have problems.
Good information. However, don't say, plant parents again.
All you need is the yellow sticky traps.
False. I've gone through almost 100 sticky traps in the last month for 1 plant infestation. They fill up with gnats, I replace them, they fill up again, I replace them, and on & on. More gnats appear every day.
Nah!
Mosquito dunks get rid of them. Every single time you water use it.
It really does.
I'm at the point of desperation.
Try this works for me.
Sorry, none of these methods work when you have many veggie seedlings
Best to keep them down w the sticky tapes. Then transplant everything w new potting mix outdoors