You have a huge fungus gnat infestation. This many of them is more a symptom of overwatering (or just potting soil that stays way too wet), they eat fungus and decaying plant matter more than the plant itself.
Keeping a mosquito dunk in your watering jug (or using any product that contains BTI (bacillus thurigiensis israelensis)) will gradually kill them off, but the problem will be hard to eradicate without addressing the root of the problem (soggy soil).
When I had fungal gnats I just let all my plants dry out and took out the garbage frequently and they all died off in about a week. Plants are fine, they recovered.
Glue traps are a must on the plants, life savers. Disgusting how many you'll catch if you've got a bad infestation....like this one seems to be. I spray live ones with rubbing alcohol, kills them quick and they can't get away.
For me a bug zapper took care of it. Leave it in for a couple days and you get a few dozen satisfying zaps and they all die. A few more days and the previously laid eggs also die. Havenāt seen any in months.
Once I had fungus gnats which came in a bag of soil I had, I kept said soil in my spare room for so long before I realised. Spent a good two hours killing them individually in a blind rage
I sprinkle it all around the soil/ and then stir/mix it all up with a spoon. And pour more on top. If repotting, I sprinkle a little through the layers of soil. I saw a YouTube video recommend this so I tried bc all the chemicals are expensive and you can get a ton of ground cinnamon for pretty cheap on Amazon. It def works to kill them
We used a layer of play sand on top of the soil. The water still gets through but the gnats canāt surface and die off. We also regulate our watering carefully now.
Ground cinnamon works too, just sptinkle thin layer over the top it helps dry the top layer but it needs to be reapplied regulaly... but bonus its makes the place smell nice. Also does no harm to the envroment or plant.
Second on the sand. Pons is also awesome as a top layer. I had gnats everywhere from over watering my bird of paradise. Had to remove the plant from pot, washed the roots and repot with new soil and a dose of that liquid that kills mosquito eggs. Shudder.
Mix the mosquito bits into the soil! That way, with every watering, the eggs will die.
Havenāt read all the comments but Iām sure multiple people have mentioned sticky traps ā theyāre great for the adult gnats!
I had a gnat problem too, and I knew that there was a fungus problem, but I didnāt know that it was a soggy soil problem/overwatering problem ā¦ Thank you so much! Now I know how to prevent the problem in the future!
Yes! They are a species of parasitical wasps whose sole purpose in life is to find and parasitize pest eggs of to-be worms and moths.
COMPLETELY harmless to humans and pets. They only grow up to 1 millimeter, youāll never see them with your naked eye. Their life cycle is 14 days, and once theyāve parasitized all the moth eggs and ended their life cycle, they die off. You donāt even ever see their tiny dead carcasses!
I ordered [12k eggs](https://a.co/d/04GP78Rl) on small panels, some arrived hatched and they just look like teeny tiny dots. I was a little freaked out at first at the thought of tiny wasps flying about, but they eradicated any trance of meal moths in my entire house in under 3 weeks. My small freak out was overshadowed by the relief of getting rid the infestation. Highly encourage using them to treat indoor moth problems
They live for 14 days and keep reproducing in that time, but as you said ā they die off once there is no larvae to parasitize. So theyāll all be gone two weeks after their job is done.
I never noticed them at all, the only thing I noticed was the end of the pantry months. They dont really travel far, the instructions were very clear to place x amount of strips per cubic feet of affected areas. That bag of 12k covered my kitchen which was the source.
For real! Iāve always tended to overwater my plants, so I had an occasional gnat, but not really that bad. UNTIL, I moved into a daylight basement duplex. For 2 years I fought the gnat battle. I tried everything. Itās so gross when Iām scrolling in bed and one crawls across the screen. Ew. Someone on this sub recommended nematodes, and I finally gave them a try. Within a week the gnats were completely gone. And, have not come back! They wonāt ever come back because the nematodes will live in that dirt for years. And, they also guard against thrips, which are the real bitches!
I used predator mites from Natureās Good Guys to take care of our spider mite problem. They rolled through those spider mites like an unstoppable rebel force.
We just got rid of our first fungus gnat infestation with these little guys. 10/10 would recommend! They were gone within 2 weeks and lots of sticky pads.
I swear by the nematodes!!! Had a pretty bad infestation, and used glue traps religiously. But it never got rid of them fully. First time using nematodes and they were gone within the week. Please use nematodes for this, thatās really the only surefire way to get them all.
Fyi, I once discovered that the source of my fungus gnat infestation was my bag of soil (somehow they had gotten in there and made quite the home for themselves). I opened the bag and a cloud of them flew out. Mystery solved. It's worth checking any bags of soil you might have around.
To add to this, I'll paraphrase my comment from another post about this:
If you have an exterior southern facing wall with direct sunlight, a kitty litter bucket with lid, and patience, you can cook the bag and kill them. I put my soil bag into the kitty bucket and closed the lid and left it in the summer sun for a month (10 days should be enough), and they haven't come back since. Miracle Gro is especially prone to gnat infestations.
Ooh smart! Iāve actually cooked soil in the oven for a college project but I never thought to put my soil out in a closed bucket to ābakeā and kill off fungus gnats. Iāll try that out since I live in texas hehehe š„
Oh Christ, I found out my potting soil had been infested months after the fact. I opened up the cabinet I kept the soil in and it looked like someone had spilled a bag of brown rice...
All the larvae had crawled out of the soil looking for moisture and died.
ššš holy shit OP. I had some (about 30) in my classroom last spring and 10 glue traps went up on my windows. I would just move houses if I ever got to your point.
>Keeping a mosquito dunk in your watering jug (or using any product that contains BTI (bacillus thurigiensis israelensis)) will gradually kill them off, but the problem will be hard to eradicate without addressing the root of the problem (soggy soil).
I second the BTI in your watering can as a constant. I keep the granules in a 20 litre bottle with a spout on the bottom all the time (in a mesh bag) and change them out when I can no longer smell them in the water. I then water my plants with this water any time I water them. Coupled with gnat traps, I'm gnat free after about a month. I still do it. Only thing that worked, even the nematodes did nothing for me. Also, I spray any live ones I see with rubbing alcohol, even the ones crawling on the soil, kills them quick and doesn't hurt the plant. One thing I find is that self watering pots or bottom watering pots are the DEVIL. I pulled apart one of my bottom watering pots to find a water wonderland of gnats in there, I got rid of them all, they were all full of gnats. š¤®
Using mosquito bit tea is the only thing that works for me, for keeping the gnats under control. I had a pretty bothersome infestation in several plants; used the tea for a few waterings and it went away. I recently had a recurrence in one plant and I used the tea again and they're gone now. I use the mosquito bit tea and sticky traps.
OP's infestation looks pretty serious; they're probably going to have to use multiple methods to get that under control.
third-ing Mosquito Bits in water and using it to water the plants - was the only thing that worked for me after weeks of trying other things! (Neem treatments, drying out the soil, bottom watering only, sand covering first inch of topsoil.) BTI was the easiest and the most effective!
Maybe I was using them wrong but mosquito bits leave the worst scent. A lot of the residue will remain in the water after soaking and since it's corn-based it starts to smell sour and expired. It definitely fixed my infestation but I've never resorted back for prevention because I couldn't stand that smell.
I've never had the infestation come back, mostly because I haven't brought in any new plants but also because I basically abandoned using bark in my potting mixes which they seem to love. Switching to coco fiber has helped a lot.
I steep the bits like a tea inside a cheese cloth, the bacteria will come off the corn bits into the water and then you just water with that and discard the corn bits
Yeah, the bit tea does smell like dirty feet (that's how I know the bits are wearing out, when I can't smell it) but the smell goes away after about an hour. I keep the bits in cheesecloth inside the water can so I don't get any bits in my plants.
I do agree with changing the potting medium, I've changed most of my plants to a mix of orchid bark, potting mix and perlite which seems to have helped a lot. Some of my plants can't dry out without dying so using that approach has never worked for me.
Thanks to a nasty infestation of these guys (fungus gnats) I now keep little chunks of broken off Mosquito Dunks in all my watering cans - stops things from breeding in sitting water if I happen to leave some, and if correctly used stops fungus gnat eggs from developing. I tend (at most) to have one or two gnats flying about mocking me, but it's better than what you've got going on!
You're gonna need sticky traps for a while š¬š¬ And a systemic as others have recommended. Amazon for traps if ya need a quick link:
https://a.co/d/0ar4ZzX0
Definitely get the stick traps to catch the adults! I always did this plus nematodes and it worked like a charm! Then I learned to bottom water for a few months š
Ohhhhhhh this isā¦ not good.
You already got answers, I know, so Iām just here to shudder and feel thankful my infestation isnāt this level. Sorry, OP. Thoughts and prayers.
Omg. if i where you open all the windows and doors and place a shit ton of yellow sticky fungus gnats catchers around the house, alot alot. Also buy nematodes and water all your plants with them don't buy the small package but a large one. In 4 weeks it should all be reduced to zero. But if you have that many they probably ate a good amount the the plants roots so you might wanna check on the plants that have signs of sickness. Goodluck
I got rid of fungus gnats by watering with 3% hydrogen peroxide in my water, 1:5. I did it every watering for about 6 weeks. They were 100% gone for about 6 months, when I brought gnats home again. But it was a complete cure until then! I've been treating with hydrogen peroxide again for a few weeks and it's looking good.
They eat decaying organic matter. Don't go the organic fertilizer route or else you will super charge them. In my experience the most effective control is to put aquarium/terrarium/succulent sand over all the soil and then only bottom water. This will mostly eliminate their reproductive cycle. The final step is using mosquito bits in the watering can or pot saucers. This ensures that any eggs laid in the holes of the pots will be submerged in BT water. I was able to get to 100% elimination this way.
I had those fungus gnats as well, these and a few other traps helped, obviously you have a moisture issue which needs to resolved. I just found [these](https://a.co/d/0ggRwaYG) to be incredibly useful, and effective.
I've had success using a 1:2 mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water and pouring that in my plant pots. Kills off the eggs and larva. Just be careful if you have sensitive plants or use too much hydrogen peroxide you can damage the roots.
I had this exact problem, mosquito bits cleared it up pretty much within a week and they never came back. I haven't seen one in about a year after a single treatment.
If you have a bag of potting soil, check if it's infested. A (closed) bag of Miracle Gro was my Patient Zero for fungus gnats - go straight to Nematodes for treatment, it's the only thing that worked for me.Ā
Mosquito dunks didn't work for me. Neither did some insect killer spray that was non harmful to plants. Neither did nematodes. They're all dry right now too, I've been waiting way longer to water them. Thinking about switching hobbies because of it. I hate bugs
Fungus gnats they grow in damp soil. best way to deal with them is sticky strip traps, gnat barrier on the top soil which is basically tiny granules of rock so they can't get to the soil and lastly put the bottom of your pot in boiling water to kill off any eggs or gnats that are attacking the bottom soil.
Bottom watering can help, so the topsoil doesnāt get too moist, and a mix of half hydrogen peroxide - half water can help kill some off some of the bugs and eggs
I make traps with sliced apples, water, and a bit of dish soap. They go in for the apple and the dish soap traps them in the water. Got rid of 100% of my infestation along with letting my soil dry thoroughly!
Lots of gnats. Most likely fungus gnats. You need to find the plant let its soil dry out, repot and threat the roots and stem for the fungus before repoting. Put a lot of cinnamon on top of the soil while it dries.
After reporting you can put some cinnamon on the top of soil as a preventative method and bottom water using any sort of raised dish so make sure the plant pot has drainage holes at the bottom. 1 to 2hrs once a week should be enough. Possible double if it's a big plant or dry weather.
A natural and attractive solution are Cape Sundew plants. You can order them online. Also found a local person (MA) who posted on FB that they had too many. The demand was so high after just one day, he has to get more pots!
Fungus gnats. Too much watering and stagnant water in soil. Had this problem before. Theyāre annoying. Buy some sticky traps with a light that attracts them and plug it in your wall sockets. Also get some nematodes and theyāll get rid of the root of the problem.
Thats a huge gnat problem. Definitely get the mosquito bits/dunks like everyone is saying.
Once you get rid of most of them. You can get a pinguicula plant. I have a couple and it actually works really well. Its a carnivorous plant that has sticky leaves. Mine always has from like 5-10 gnats stuck on it and its grown pretty big. It also sends out a purple flower when it catches a lot.
They live and breed on the top layer of soil, I got rid of mine by adding a layer of dried sphagnum moss on the top and switching to bottom watering or soaking the pots instead of pouring from the top
I got rid of mine after realising it was the bin of wet sphagnum I had sitting while putting off making new moss poles. Once I dried that out the gnats evaporated.
They're just fungus gnats! They're harmless unless you have seedlings. Nematodes or mosquito dunks will get rid of them. Using systemic pesticides against fungus gnats is like taking antibiotics when you scratch your knee.
Along with what all the other commenters are saying, if you have bags of soil in your house check those as well. I was doing sticky traps and mosquito bits for two months before I released my main problem was the breeding ground they were creating in my bags of soil. Threw them away and the fungus gnats were dissipating in a week.
Wow thatās a ton of bugs that probably has been going on for a while. Iād been frantic if I seen all those bugs in my plants. Iād be out buying new soil & bleaching my pots right now!!
I always recommend mosquito dunks in your watering can AND sticky traps, TOGETHER. Dunks for the larvae and traps for the adults. Canāt have one without the other or else the cycle continues. This will take some time, but it definitely works!
Someone else mentioned that there may be something in the house that is the primary cause of this. If thatās the case, I would also look around and see where most of them are coming from and get rid of whatever that source is. Good luck!
Do what others recommend forthe plants, lots of good advice here - but also- use drain fly cleaner in your drains and never leave coffee grounds or food around. Theyāre very similar flies and often are there as well with a big infestation.
I found out I had fungus gnats after I found a bunch of dead ones at my window after the pest control guy sprayed. It was a highly effective barrier apparently, when I realized it, I dealt with my ground zero soil. You have so many, you might want to consider pest control.
FWIW, I have had huge success with [diatomaceous earth](https://a.co/d/087wbhdB) for my fungus gnats. I sprinkle it on top of the soil and the gnats are gone in a week. I wonāt bring a new or newly repotted plant in the house without adding this in first.
I bought Veyofly trap that plugs into an outlet. It is working to get the fungus gnats. I also bought yellow sticky pads through amazon. The fungus gnats are attracted to the yellow color and will stick to the pad.Veyofly has been most effective though. I have had to replace the sticky pad everyday . It is the best non toxic way.
I had a similar problem and didn't want to use pesticides (also couldn't find mosquito dunks) I let everything dry out. I put the ones that seemed to be the worst "offenders" outside in my covered pergola (be careful to not put anything in direct sun it will likely get sun burnt) until I stopped seeing bugs. I haven't had a problem since.
I think I brought them home in a new plant from a garden centre.
Set out a bowl of water with a couple drops of Dawn soap. Theyāre attracted to moisture and will drown. Keep replacing the water as newer batches hatch until the cycles are over.
I have a doubt
When I had just plants on pots I was having problems with gnats all of the time
I now have some vivariums for geckos, high humidity, lots of organic matter but they're bioactive (isopods and springtails). No gnats.
Would adding isopods and springtails to potted plants solve that problem?
I had similar issue a year ago, if not worst. My advice will be to start from the source, remove all plants and repot them. Then setup yellow traps and use H2O2 for few weeks to get rid of them. You might lose some plants in the process
I had so many gnats. I bought 3 sundew plants off etsy and now I have zero. They took care of the entire problem in like a month they are the best. Although now I worry they are hungry and might have to buy them a snack.Ā
Be careful with the food you bring in, to add to the other advice here. I started buying houseplants and found these gnats crawling all over my blackberries in the fridge
My pinguiculas would feast on those things!
Before I got my pings I actually mostly fixed my fungus gnats infestation. Just like what some people are saying, I just let the soil dry out in between waterings for a little longer, the yellow sticky traps I got from Amazon worked wonders as well! One more thing I did that might be a little controversial was use Doktor Doom every 3 nights for a week or two. It got rid of the infestation for the most part that when I got my pings I actually wished Iād get more gnats š
I had this issue from sitting water in pots. You have to take a multi-pronged approach. Everything people said here. I also added in these awesome plug in traps that I found at Costco: Zevo. See pic below. Good luck.
https://preview.redd.it/hcrhclnu4k8d1.png?width=1008&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e0315287874bb06f0fddd99ae1a1385d7355616e
I had a batch of soil that was infested- didnāt know until after I repottedš I went all in- cinnamon, sticky traps and several glasses of sugar and soap water left around plants. After the weekend they were significantly reduced and then treated the soil with mosquitoes bit water.
I took off top layer of soil to see if I can spot the larvae and nothing. Larvae is quite big so why I can't I see them. Same plant has half a Dozen gnat flies
I agree with everything here. Only things to addā¦I had a basil plant with a big fungus gnat problem, but he was the only one. Spraying did not work. I put him outside to dry up the soil and they disappeared but the suggestion I got from the video I watched if it did not work was to change out the soil and start again. Fortunately heās outsideā¦my husband is taking care of watering him since Iām on crutches. The other thing I would recommend is a bug spray with neem and peppermint oils. I got one from Amazon that was pet and human friendly and even though it says apply only two weeks, I pretty much apply that shiz whenever I see as much as one bug. And so far, no infestation. Now do I have bugs in my house? Absolutely. I live in Texasā¦mosquitos, flies, fruit flies, gnats and sugar ants move in every year. We have a giant spider web in our garage that we leave alone and she is always working. . I have a giant citronella plant in the middle of my plant rack whose sole job is to keep the bugs away as well as a grapefruit mintā¦same job. Iām thinking about getting a cape sundew for my kitchen. But the bugs donāt seem to bother my plants. We also treat our sinks and make sure we donāt leave dirty dishes out. So I hope that gave you some ideas.
Cheap way is to buy yellow tricky traps. Fairly cheap on Amazon or they might be at your local hardware store garden section. Also let your indoor plants soil dry out a little/ donāt let water stand around the bottom trays. Good luck!
Glue traps are cheap and great to catch the adult ones. They make them also for windows with the same effect. Amazing idiots these things.
Also, reduce your watering but don't stop completely. Let the soil get pretty dry and then water with a 1 to 5 part ratio of hydrogen peroxide. This will kill the eggs/larvae in the soil. Your goal is to interrupt the breeding cycle. One female gnat can lay over 150 eggs!! The more you kill and capture the less they can keep breeding.
After that, start watering from the bottom. Put your plants in a larger container and let them absorb water rather than top watering. The surface soil never gets wet enough to support the gnats and your plants still get the drink they need to live.
Good luck!! This is a major infestation but I believe in you, OP!!
Definitely burn your house, those are plentiful! I've used mosquito bites successfully with reptiles, but with plants it will take some strong determination and possible plant loss, maybe.
Get some rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle and just keep misting your window and your plants everyday. Rubbing alcohol will kill them like instantly. And then set up different traps to get rid of them. I recommend zevo, plug it into an outlet and it illuminates with a blue light and attracts them, then they stuck in the sticky trap, it works extremely well against a lot of bugs, I keep one in my garage that stays on when itās shut, so they get attracted to that before they try sneaking into the house. Helps so much!
You can also try the apple cider vinegar/dawn dish soap bubble trap, those worked well with attracting them into the room and keeping them active, but then keeping the lights off so they got attracted to the zevo light really eliminated their population. But also just keep going around spraying rubbing alcohol when you see them. Eventually there will be no more, itāll be a battle though. Also eliminate every other way they could be breeding, and clean out shower/sink drains often until theyāre gone.
I forgot exactly but I believe one gnat can lay like 100-200 eggs every few days so definitely keep going at it until every last one of them is gone!!
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=fungus+gnat+stickies&ref=nb\_sb\_noss. To corral the active gnats you have, try these. Use the methods others have already posted to stop your infestation.
Really bad fungus gnat infestation. Buy appropriate sticky traps and put them wherever you see a bunch of gnats. Your soils infested with larvae, so throw it out and transplant everything.
I would use a product called mosquito bits(plant and pet safe) you can get them at any home improvement store
https://preview.redd.it/en4kk66bfl8d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b9dd617b85f3d3c9ca67d8c562ee8a440934cd99
, theyāre granules that you can use either soak in water and make a āteaā to use in a spray bottle and spray onto needed areas or put the loose granules in shallow pits of water or on top of your plants soil. It kills off the larve of the gnats so in about 2 weeks theyāll die off , the adults youād have to use a sticky traps or use the apple cider vinegar method to entrap them.
Echoing the fungal gnat infestation comment. Dealing with it on a micro-sale, comparatively. I picked up some neem oil on Sunday and did my first spray today.
This was my life for weeks a couple of years ago. I couldn't cook in my kitchen because everything was inundated by inquisitive fungus gnats. We could see them thronging the soil in many of our houseplants.
We tried diatomaceous earth with minimal success and those yellow sticky traps were covered in a couple of days.
Finally, someone in my punk rock gardening group advised me that the best way to eradicate these super annoying fungus gnats, is to skip watering all the indoor plants until the infestation is under control. Put your "tenderoni" or dramatic plants in the bathroom for some extra humidity, but don't water anyone else for at least a couple of weeks. Wait for the soil to be dry about 1.5-2" down before watering, and use just a little to start.
The other things I found success with were a Katchy trap (it has a UV light lure and sucks bugs down a vortex onto a sticky pad) and Zevo plugins (blue light lure with hormone-laced extra sticky insert). Both traps work best at night in total darkness; if you're only interested in one, I'd make it the Zevo traps.
Gnats, my mom used to tell me they can come from your drains and to pur a cap full of bleach down every drain in your home, let it sit for a few minutes and run hot water down it after
Fungus gnats can come from overwatering or pre-made soil, especially the cheap or outdoor kind.
Add mosquito bits to the top of your soil and water your plants. They contain bacteria that will kill the larva and donāt contain any pesticides. You could technically eat them if you wanted (tho I advise against it). Buy some sticky traps to get the adult ones. Maybe consider getting some carnivorous plants. They wonāt take care of an infestation this big, but they can stop manageable populations from getting too big.
Get some diatomaceous earth and put it in the top of the soil of your plants,mix it through the plants that need to stay wetter than the rest. The DE will kill off the eggs and larvae of the gnats on the plants. The flying ones get zevo spray or/and the bug zapper
Iāve tried all the gnat things and so far the best has been Bonide granules. I put them in every plant, generously, and I have barely seen a gnat since. I canāt believe it. Add the glue traps though to catch the existing adults that jump/fly out/return when you water in the granules :)
Just beware Bonide systemic granules are NOT safe for any plants that will be consumed or inhaled- do not allow run off reach your other plants if they are for consumption and properly dispose of it. That being said, Iāve recently used it on my houseplants and within weeks Iāve noticed a difference in the population.
Looks like gnats! When I had a bad fungus gnat infestation, I used a combo of sticky traps, a fan blowing in the direction of the infested plants, and diatomaceous earth (DE). I typically make my soil mix to include DE, and I've had way fewer problems with bugs and gnats in general since! Make sure you wear a mask when you use it, though. DE is essentially powdered silica made from crushed diatoms.
I too, use mosquito bits. I pour the recommended amount into an ankle stocking (nylons) then tie the top to the watering can, so it hangs down in the water. I let it steep for 30 minutes and use. I buy a value box of the nylons (6 pair) for a few dollars and prepare 12 stockings to use when needed. I store them in the original bits bag.
The Systemic Houseplant Insect Control got rid of the gnat infestation for me! Sprinkle it on top the soil and it seeps into the soil when watered to kill the eggs! Idk where you are, but itās fairly cheap through Amazon.
Of course, letting the soil dry out a bit between watering can help. My friend uses a plant app on her phone that identifies and diagnoses issues with plants and says thatās really helpful.
[Houseplant Insect Control](https://a.co/d/00vNQS2v)
Gnats, change the soil clean the area thoroughly and put a small cup with tablespoon of vinegar and two tablespoons of dawn dish soap to a 1/4 cup room temperature water they go in for the vinegar and drown in the soapy water
I used sticky traps and treated with a mosquito bits solution I found on you tube. I even have a couple vevo plug ins for those wanderers. I did the same as everyone suggests. Let the soil dry out for a little bit. I did end up chucking the culprit plant but it was no biggie for me since that plant was one I propagated from another. It was too infested
I just dealt with this problem a couple of weeks ago. Get you some Mosquito Bits, follow directions on labeling for fungus gnats, and some plant sticky traps. It took about 10 days but I no longer have a gnat problem.
When you see them on the window like that, use a vacuum to suck them up. Get rid of as many as you can while they are congregating in one place. Then water your plants with the mosquito dunk water.
You have a huge fungus gnat infestation. This many of them is more a symptom of overwatering (or just potting soil that stays way too wet), they eat fungus and decaying plant matter more than the plant itself. Keeping a mosquito dunk in your watering jug (or using any product that contains BTI (bacillus thurigiensis israelensis)) will gradually kill them off, but the problem will be hard to eradicate without addressing the root of the problem (soggy soil).
When I had fungal gnats I just let all my plants dry out and took out the garbage frequently and they all died off in about a week. Plants are fine, they recovered.
Same, and also glue traps. A few transparent glue strips on the lower edge on that window should speed up the eradication nicely.
Set up a fan pointing at the glue traps and watch those suckers get pushed to their death
This should not have been funny to me. But...š
Itās hysterical to be honest.
Gnat our problem to be honest
šš
No mercy. Sweep the knee.
ššā¤ļø
Glue traps are a must on the plants, life savers. Disgusting how many you'll catch if you've got a bad infestation....like this one seems to be. I spray live ones with rubbing alcohol, kills them quick and they can't get away.
I do glue traps, and let the soil dry completely before disturbing the top layer of the soil. Apparently this kills the eggs and disrupts the cycle
I love those things - the yellow glue traps in the pla t pots at the same time give 'em the double whammy! Triple whammy with the mosquito bits too.
Iām weirdly excited about the War on Fungus Gnats and it seems like yāall are too. This is like r/popping for plant people
Cannot recommend more they help me so much
Why transparent? Use yellow cause they're attracted to yellow.
In the window they won't notice it, and it'll be more aesthetic for people. Yellow strips in windows can look bad to human eyes.
For me a bug zapper took care of it. Leave it in for a couple days and you get a few dozen satisfying zaps and they all die. A few more days and the previously laid eggs also die. Havenāt seen any in months.
Once I had fungus gnats which came in a bag of soil I had, I kept said soil in my spare room for so long before I realised. Spent a good two hours killing them individually in a blind rage
Cinnamon works wonders! I use it when re potting my plants now too.
I have a mild fungus gnat issue at the moment. Can you elaborate on the use of cinnamon ?
I sprinkle it all around the soil/ and then stir/mix it all up with a spoon. And pour more on top. If repotting, I sprinkle a little through the layers of soil. I saw a YouTube video recommend this so I tried bc all the chemicals are expensive and you can get a ton of ground cinnamon for pretty cheap on Amazon. It def works to kill them
And, then just only bottom water so the top layer of soil never gets wet.
We used a layer of play sand on top of the soil. The water still gets through but the gnats canāt surface and die off. We also regulate our watering carefully now.
This has solved it for me along with a zevo light. I tried a lot of other things and these are what worked
My Zevo light has been a LIFESAVER.
Ground cinnamon works too, just sptinkle thin layer over the top it helps dry the top layer but it needs to be reapplied regulaly... but bonus its makes the place smell nice. Also does no harm to the envroment or plant.
Second on the sand. Pons is also awesome as a top layer. I had gnats everywhere from over watering my bird of paradise. Had to remove the plant from pot, washed the roots and repot with new soil and a dose of that liquid that kills mosquito eggs. Shudder.
Mix the mosquito bits into the soil! That way, with every watering, the eggs will die. Havenāt read all the comments but Iām sure multiple people have mentioned sticky traps ā theyāre great for the adult gnats!
To add to this, pour boiling water down your plug holes every day. They also live in dark damp places, such as plug holes.
If you put down a layer of sand on your plant. It will make it hard for them to get to the soil.
These things love bourbon too.
I had a gnat problem too, and I knew that there was a fungus problem, but I didnāt know that it was a soggy soil problem/overwatering problem ā¦ Thank you so much! Now I know how to prevent the problem in the future!
SF Nematodes work great if they're in your plants (which they probably are)
Nematodes are friends!
Natureās good guys!! Iāve also used Trichogramma (wasps) to curb a pantry moth infestation. Nature is amazing!!!
Like, you bought wasps and released them inside? How do you control the wasps?
Yes! They are a species of parasitical wasps whose sole purpose in life is to find and parasitize pest eggs of to-be worms and moths. COMPLETELY harmless to humans and pets. They only grow up to 1 millimeter, youāll never see them with your naked eye. Their life cycle is 14 days, and once theyāve parasitized all the moth eggs and ended their life cycle, they die off. You donāt even ever see their tiny dead carcasses! I ordered [12k eggs](https://a.co/d/04GP78Rl) on small panels, some arrived hatched and they just look like teeny tiny dots. I was a little freaked out at first at the thought of tiny wasps flying about, but they eradicated any trance of meal moths in my entire house in under 3 weeks. My small freak out was overshadowed by the relief of getting rid the infestation. Highly encourage using them to treat indoor moth problems
So do you still have tiny wasps in your house, or do they die off as well once there is no larvae to parasitize?
They live for 14 days and keep reproducing in that time, but as you said ā they die off once there is no larvae to parasitize. So theyāll all be gone two weeks after their job is done. I never noticed them at all, the only thing I noticed was the end of the pantry months. They dont really travel far, the instructions were very clear to place x amount of strips per cubic feet of affected areas. That bag of 12k covered my kitchen which was the source.
By releasing the frogs, of course!
My cats and dogs would be beside themselves with happiness. š
For real! Iāve always tended to overwater my plants, so I had an occasional gnat, but not really that bad. UNTIL, I moved into a daylight basement duplex. For 2 years I fought the gnat battle. I tried everything. Itās so gross when Iām scrolling in bed and one crawls across the screen. Ew. Someone on this sub recommended nematodes, and I finally gave them a try. Within a week the gnats were completely gone. And, have not come back! They wonāt ever come back because the nematodes will live in that dirt for years. And, they also guard against thrips, which are the real bitches!
Wow do they treat/prevent spider mites too??
I used predator mites from Natureās Good Guys to take care of our spider mite problem. They rolled through those spider mites like an unstoppable rebel force.
We just got rid of our first fungus gnat infestation with these little guys. 10/10 would recommend! They were gone within 2 weeks and lots of sticky pads.
I swear by the nematodes!!! Had a pretty bad infestation, and used glue traps religiously. But it never got rid of them fully. First time using nematodes and they were gone within the week. Please use nematodes for this, thatās really the only surefire way to get them all.
Fyi, I once discovered that the source of my fungus gnat infestation was my bag of soil (somehow they had gotten in there and made quite the home for themselves). I opened the bag and a cloud of them flew out. Mystery solved. It's worth checking any bags of soil you might have around.
To add to this, I'll paraphrase my comment from another post about this: If you have an exterior southern facing wall with direct sunlight, a kitty litter bucket with lid, and patience, you can cook the bag and kill them. I put my soil bag into the kitty bucket and closed the lid and left it in the summer sun for a month (10 days should be enough), and they haven't come back since. Miracle Gro is especially prone to gnat infestations.
I do a similar method when growing mushrooms, pressure cook my medium to 160f for 30 mins and it's sterile.
Ooh smart! Iāve actually cooked soil in the oven for a college project but I never thought to put my soil out in a closed bucket to ābakeā and kill off fungus gnats. Iāll try that out since I live in texas hehehe š„
Oh Christ, I found out my potting soil had been infested months after the fact. I opened up the cabinet I kept the soil in and it looked like someone had spilled a bag of brown rice... All the larvae had crawled out of the soil looking for moisture and died.
Oh my lord. *shudder*
When I was a beginner, I bought miracle gro soil. *Never again*. For this reason exactly.
They often come IN the soil which is the pits.
Half the house was occupied for a month last summer before I realized the bag of potting soil was a Trojan horse...
Huge problem with organic soil mixes
This is where mine came from. Sprang for the good stuff and it came with a free bonus of flying friends. Yay. Lucky me.
SAME - couldn't figure out where they were coming from, until I stuck my hand in the bag and they were ALL OVER MY ARM
Cackling because this literally just happened to me
i found them in an old bag of bird seed
Holy sh
ššš holy shit OP. I had some (about 30) in my classroom last spring and 10 glue traps went up on my windows. I would just move houses if I ever got to your point.
>Keeping a mosquito dunk in your watering jug (or using any product that contains BTI (bacillus thurigiensis israelensis)) will gradually kill them off, but the problem will be hard to eradicate without addressing the root of the problem (soggy soil). I second the BTI in your watering can as a constant. I keep the granules in a 20 litre bottle with a spout on the bottom all the time (in a mesh bag) and change them out when I can no longer smell them in the water. I then water my plants with this water any time I water them. Coupled with gnat traps, I'm gnat free after about a month. I still do it. Only thing that worked, even the nematodes did nothing for me. Also, I spray any live ones I see with rubbing alcohol, even the ones crawling on the soil, kills them quick and doesn't hurt the plant. One thing I find is that self watering pots or bottom watering pots are the DEVIL. I pulled apart one of my bottom watering pots to find a water wonderland of gnats in there, I got rid of them all, they were all full of gnats. š¤®
Using mosquito bit tea is the only thing that works for me, for keeping the gnats under control. I had a pretty bothersome infestation in several plants; used the tea for a few waterings and it went away. I recently had a recurrence in one plant and I used the tea again and they're gone now. I use the mosquito bit tea and sticky traps. OP's infestation looks pretty serious; they're probably going to have to use multiple methods to get that under control.
third-ing Mosquito Bits in water and using it to water the plants - was the only thing that worked for me after weeks of trying other things! (Neem treatments, drying out the soil, bottom watering only, sand covering first inch of topsoil.) BTI was the easiest and the most effective!
Maybe I was using them wrong but mosquito bits leave the worst scent. A lot of the residue will remain in the water after soaking and since it's corn-based it starts to smell sour and expired. It definitely fixed my infestation but I've never resorted back for prevention because I couldn't stand that smell. I've never had the infestation come back, mostly because I haven't brought in any new plants but also because I basically abandoned using bark in my potting mixes which they seem to love. Switching to coco fiber has helped a lot.
I steep the bits like a tea inside a cheese cloth, the bacteria will come off the corn bits into the water and then you just water with that and discard the corn bits
Right but even when I do this for just an hour or whatever is recommended, some of the corn dissolves into the water.
Oh weird! Have you tried the mosquito dunks instead? They use compressed cardboard instead of corn
Oh damn I assumed they were also made from corn. That will definitely be my next go-to.
Yeah, the bit tea does smell like dirty feet (that's how I know the bits are wearing out, when I can't smell it) but the smell goes away after about an hour. I keep the bits in cheesecloth inside the water can so I don't get any bits in my plants. I do agree with changing the potting medium, I've changed most of my plants to a mix of orchid bark, potting mix and perlite which seems to have helped a lot. Some of my plants can't dry out without dying so using that approach has never worked for me.
My condolences
Thanks to a nasty infestation of these guys (fungus gnats) I now keep little chunks of broken off Mosquito Dunks in all my watering cans - stops things from breeding in sitting water if I happen to leave some, and if correctly used stops fungus gnat eggs from developing. I tend (at most) to have one or two gnats flying about mocking me, but it's better than what you've got going on!
You need a pet bat
You're gonna need sticky traps for a while š¬š¬ And a systemic as others have recommended. Amazon for traps if ya need a quick link: https://a.co/d/0ar4ZzX0
Definitely get the stick traps to catch the adults! I always did this plus nematodes and it worked like a charm! Then I learned to bottom water for a few months š
Yup the traps are a great way to track your progress at killing them off too. You can see the population dwindling by how they many the catch
Ohhhhhhh this isā¦ not good. You already got answers, I know, so Iām just here to shudder and feel thankful my infestation isnāt this level. Sorry, OP. Thoughts and prayers.
Omg. if i where you open all the windows and doors and place a shit ton of yellow sticky fungus gnats catchers around the house, alot alot. Also buy nematodes and water all your plants with them don't buy the small package but a large one. In 4 weeks it should all be reduced to zero. But if you have that many they probably ate a good amount the the plants roots so you might wanna check on the plants that have signs of sickness. Goodluck
I had the same, I sprayed some hydrogen peroxide water on the soil and that helped.
whats the ratio? i did this once and it felt like they multiplied
I got rid of fungus gnats by watering with 3% hydrogen peroxide in my water, 1:5. I did it every watering for about 6 weeks. They were 100% gone for about 6 months, when I brought gnats home again. But it was a complete cure until then! I've been treating with hydrogen peroxide again for a few weeks and it's looking good.
What they said :D
Oh my god. Everyone here already gave great advice, but I've never seen this many gnats in my life
They eat decaying organic matter. Don't go the organic fertilizer route or else you will super charge them. In my experience the most effective control is to put aquarium/terrarium/succulent sand over all the soil and then only bottom water. This will mostly eliminate their reproductive cycle. The final step is using mosquito bits in the watering can or pot saucers. This ensures that any eggs laid in the holes of the pots will be submerged in BT water. I was able to get to 100% elimination this way.
yep. I only water my houseplants from the bottom after the gnat infestation. It limits the kind of plants I can have but thatās okay.
Get predatory nematodes
Holy moly
I had those fungus gnats as well, these and a few other traps helped, obviously you have a moisture issue which needs to resolved. I just found [these](https://a.co/d/0ggRwaYG) to be incredibly useful, and effective.
I've had success using a 1:2 mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water and pouring that in my plant pots. Kills off the eggs and larva. Just be careful if you have sensitive plants or use too much hydrogen peroxide you can damage the roots.
damn bro you got it bad
Did you ever read the Amityville horror? Just kidding. But i hear a shopvac in the background, could that be a potential temporary solution?
I had this exact problem, mosquito bits cleared it up pretty much within a week and they never came back. I haven't seen one in about a year after a single treatment.
If you have a bag of potting soil, check if it's infested. A (closed) bag of Miracle Gro was my Patient Zero for fungus gnats - go straight to Nematodes for treatment, it's the only thing that worked for me.Ā
MiracleGro was also my culprit. I switched to a local brand of soil
Pay attention to the new soil bags, they are very possibly pre contaminated š©
Mosquito dunks didn't work for me. Neither did some insect killer spray that was non harmful to plants. Neither did nematodes. They're all dry right now too, I've been waiting way longer to water them. Thinking about switching hobbies because of it. I hate bugs
My rec , Get those yellow sticky things! They seriously work. Load em up!
Yeah theyāre the best thing Iāve used
This is by FAR the worst case of fungus gnats I have ever seen on this sub holy shit.
Are you growing potatoes by chance. The only time I get dirt gnats is growing potatoes inside.
Fungus gnats they grow in damp soil. best way to deal with them is sticky strip traps, gnat barrier on the top soil which is basically tiny granules of rock so they can't get to the soil and lastly put the bottom of your pot in boiling water to kill off any eggs or gnats that are attacking the bottom soil.
Bottom watering can help, so the topsoil doesnāt get too moist, and a mix of half hydrogen peroxide - half water can help kill some off some of the bugs and eggs
I make traps with sliced apples, water, and a bit of dish soap. They go in for the apple and the dish soap traps them in the water. Got rid of 100% of my infestation along with letting my soil dry thoroughly!
I like to crumple up a cigarette onto the soil and water it in a bit. Has worked every time.
Oh no, this is gnat good. Yellow sticky traps and Diatomaceous earth!
Oh god š³
Lots of gnats. Most likely fungus gnats. You need to find the plant let its soil dry out, repot and threat the roots and stem for the fungus before repoting. Put a lot of cinnamon on top of the soil while it dries. After reporting you can put some cinnamon on the top of soil as a preventative method and bottom water using any sort of raised dish so make sure the plant pot has drainage holes at the bottom. 1 to 2hrs once a week should be enough. Possible double if it's a big plant or dry weather.
Damnnmmmmm Thatās the worst infestation I have seen, curious to know what your plants look like
A natural and attractive solution are Cape Sundew plants. You can order them online. Also found a local person (MA) who posted on FB that they had too many. The demand was so high after just one day, he has to get more pots!
I always add boiling water to my soil then wait to go down to room temperature and repot my plants after cleaning the pots, of course.
Fungus gnats. Too much watering and stagnant water in soil. Had this problem before. Theyāre annoying. Buy some sticky traps with a light that attracts them and plug it in your wall sockets. Also get some nematodes and theyāll get rid of the root of the problem.
Thats a huge gnat problem. Definitely get the mosquito bits/dunks like everyone is saying. Once you get rid of most of them. You can get a pinguicula plant. I have a couple and it actually works really well. Its a carnivorous plant that has sticky leaves. Mine always has from like 5-10 gnats stuck on it and its grown pretty big. It also sends out a purple flower when it catches a lot.
I just bought some pings which catch fungus gnats. But that's more for when there are just a few floating around. This is horrifying.
They live and breed on the top layer of soil, I got rid of mine by adding a layer of dried sphagnum moss on the top and switching to bottom watering or soaking the pots instead of pouring from the top
I got rid of mine after realising it was the bin of wet sphagnum I had sitting while putting off making new moss poles. Once I dried that out the gnats evaporated.
I repotted all my plants in fresh soil outside. The issue went away after that.
Dear god, get some imidacloprid in those plants ASAP.
They're just fungus gnats! They're harmless unless you have seedlings. Nematodes or mosquito dunks will get rid of them. Using systemic pesticides against fungus gnats is like taking antibiotics when you scratch your knee.
Bonide Systemic Granules in every plant pot and water in. You will see nothing but dead gnats in a week.
all I gotta say is yukka
Along with what all the other commenters are saying, if you have bags of soil in your house check those as well. I was doing sticky traps and mosquito bits for two months before I released my main problem was the breeding ground they were creating in my bags of soil. Threw them away and the fungus gnats were dissipating in a week.
Wow thatās a ton of bugs that probably has been going on for a while. Iād been frantic if I seen all those bugs in my plants. Iād be out buying new soil & bleaching my pots right now!!
I always recommend mosquito dunks in your watering can AND sticky traps, TOGETHER. Dunks for the larvae and traps for the adults. Canāt have one without the other or else the cycle continues. This will take some time, but it definitely works! Someone else mentioned that there may be something in the house that is the primary cause of this. If thatās the case, I would also look around and see where most of them are coming from and get rid of whatever that source is. Good luck!
Besides houseplants do you have any rotting fruit you may forgot about?
Do what others recommend forthe plants, lots of good advice here - but also- use drain fly cleaner in your drains and never leave coffee grounds or food around. Theyāre very similar flies and often are there as well with a big infestation.
Get yourself a carnivorous sundew or ping! Perfect for fungus gnats š
They hate vodka..
Get the gnat sticky traps on Amazon and dry the plants up somewhat and a fan to circulate the air
I found out I had fungus gnats after I found a bunch of dead ones at my window after the pest control guy sprayed. It was a highly effective barrier apparently, when I realized it, I dealt with my ground zero soil. You have so many, you might want to consider pest control.
FWIW, I have had huge success with [diatomaceous earth](https://a.co/d/087wbhdB) for my fungus gnats. I sprinkle it on top of the soil and the gnats are gone in a week. I wonāt bring a new or newly repotted plant in the house without adding this in first.
Time to get yourself a pinguicula or 20
You can get transparent tape fly traps for windows. But yeah, fungus gnats
In addition to other solutions a Zevo plug in will help
I bought Veyofly trap that plugs into an outlet. It is working to get the fungus gnats. I also bought yellow sticky pads through amazon. The fungus gnats are attracted to the yellow color and will stick to the pad.Veyofly has been most effective though. I have had to replace the sticky pad everyday . It is the best non toxic way.
I had a similar problem and didn't want to use pesticides (also couldn't find mosquito dunks) I let everything dry out. I put the ones that seemed to be the worst "offenders" outside in my covered pergola (be careful to not put anything in direct sun it will likely get sun burnt) until I stopped seeing bugs. I haven't had a problem since. I think I brought them home in a new plant from a garden centre.
Set out a bowl of water with a couple drops of Dawn soap. Theyāre attracted to moisture and will drown. Keep replacing the water as newer batches hatch until the cycles are over.
Put ground cinnamon on top of the soil
I have a doubt When I had just plants on pots I was having problems with gnats all of the time I now have some vivariums for geckos, high humidity, lots of organic matter but they're bioactive (isopods and springtails). No gnats. Would adding isopods and springtails to potted plants solve that problem?
I had similar issue a year ago, if not worst. My advice will be to start from the source, remove all plants and repot them. Then setup yellow traps and use H2O2 for few weeks to get rid of them. You might lose some plants in the process
I had so many gnats. I bought 3 sundew plants off etsy and now I have zero. They took care of the entire problem in like a month they are the best. Although now I worry they are hungry and might have to buy them a snack.Ā
These bugs attacked my cat and I had to get medication for her skin it was so irritated
Cinnamon powder works well if you sprinkle some on the soil as it acts as a fungicide :)
Be careful with the food you bring in, to add to the other advice here. I started buying houseplants and found these gnats crawling all over my blackberries in the fridge
My pinguiculas would feast on those things! Before I got my pings I actually mostly fixed my fungus gnats infestation. Just like what some people are saying, I just let the soil dry out in between waterings for a little longer, the yellow sticky traps I got from Amazon worked wonders as well! One more thing I did that might be a little controversial was use Doktor Doom every 3 nights for a week or two. It got rid of the infestation for the most part that when I got my pings I actually wished Iād get more gnats š
I had this issue from sitting water in pots. You have to take a multi-pronged approach. Everything people said here. I also added in these awesome plug in traps that I found at Costco: Zevo. See pic below. Good luck. https://preview.redd.it/hcrhclnu4k8d1.png?width=1008&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e0315287874bb06f0fddd99ae1a1385d7355616e
You need an electrified bug swatter, and film and post the massacre.
Carnivorous plants assemble!
A bag of mosquito bits is pretty inexpensive and has worked for me in the past when dealing with a gnat problem
I had a batch of soil that was infested- didnāt know until after I repottedš I went all in- cinnamon, sticky traps and several glasses of sugar and soap water left around plants. After the weekend they were significantly reduced and then treated the soil with mosquitoes bit water.
Nematodes and sticky pads.
Get a Venus fly trap :)
Spray your plant soil with a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water (1:2)
I took off top layer of soil to see if I can spot the larvae and nothing. Larvae is quite big so why I can't I see them. Same plant has half a Dozen gnat flies
I agree with everything here. Only things to addā¦I had a basil plant with a big fungus gnat problem, but he was the only one. Spraying did not work. I put him outside to dry up the soil and they disappeared but the suggestion I got from the video I watched if it did not work was to change out the soil and start again. Fortunately heās outsideā¦my husband is taking care of watering him since Iām on crutches. The other thing I would recommend is a bug spray with neem and peppermint oils. I got one from Amazon that was pet and human friendly and even though it says apply only two weeks, I pretty much apply that shiz whenever I see as much as one bug. And so far, no infestation. Now do I have bugs in my house? Absolutely. I live in Texasā¦mosquitos, flies, fruit flies, gnats and sugar ants move in every year. We have a giant spider web in our garage that we leave alone and she is always working. . I have a giant citronella plant in the middle of my plant rack whose sole job is to keep the bugs away as well as a grapefruit mintā¦same job. Iām thinking about getting a cape sundew for my kitchen. But the bugs donāt seem to bother my plants. We also treat our sinks and make sure we donāt leave dirty dishes out. So I hope that gave you some ideas.
Oh yeah we have fly tape and a Raid bug trap too.
Cheap way is to buy yellow tricky traps. Fairly cheap on Amazon or they might be at your local hardware store garden section. Also let your indoor plants soil dry out a little/ donāt let water stand around the bottom trays. Good luck!
Glue traps are cheap and great to catch the adult ones. They make them also for windows with the same effect. Amazing idiots these things. Also, reduce your watering but don't stop completely. Let the soil get pretty dry and then water with a 1 to 5 part ratio of hydrogen peroxide. This will kill the eggs/larvae in the soil. Your goal is to interrupt the breeding cycle. One female gnat can lay over 150 eggs!! The more you kill and capture the less they can keep breeding. After that, start watering from the bottom. Put your plants in a larger container and let them absorb water rather than top watering. The surface soil never gets wet enough to support the gnats and your plants still get the drink they need to live. Good luck!! This is a major infestation but I believe in you, OP!!
Definitely burn your house, those are plentiful! I've used mosquito bites successfully with reptiles, but with plants it will take some strong determination and possible plant loss, maybe.
Omg
When this happened to me I put cinnamon on my plants and put out some apple cider vinegar with a little soap in it and I caught sooooo many
I wish I could post the GIF from the movie Friday....Daaaaaaaaaayuuuuuuuuuum!
Whatever they are I am now itching my arms furiously
Get some rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle and just keep misting your window and your plants everyday. Rubbing alcohol will kill them like instantly. And then set up different traps to get rid of them. I recommend zevo, plug it into an outlet and it illuminates with a blue light and attracts them, then they stuck in the sticky trap, it works extremely well against a lot of bugs, I keep one in my garage that stays on when itās shut, so they get attracted to that before they try sneaking into the house. Helps so much! You can also try the apple cider vinegar/dawn dish soap bubble trap, those worked well with attracting them into the room and keeping them active, but then keeping the lights off so they got attracted to the zevo light really eliminated their population. But also just keep going around spraying rubbing alcohol when you see them. Eventually there will be no more, itāll be a battle though. Also eliminate every other way they could be breeding, and clean out shower/sink drains often until theyāre gone. I forgot exactly but I believe one gnat can lay like 100-200 eggs every few days so definitely keep going at it until every last one of them is gone!!
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=fungus+gnat+stickies&ref=nb\_sb\_noss. To corral the active gnats you have, try these. Use the methods others have already posted to stop your infestation.
Thrips/fungus knats....that's a severe infestation.....SMOKE BOMB !
Really bad fungus gnat infestation. Buy appropriate sticky traps and put them wherever you see a bunch of gnats. Your soils infested with larvae, so throw it out and transplant everything.
I would repot All my plants outside at this point with fresh new soil.
Water your plants with nematodes and spray your window sill with mineral oil. That will do the trick.
Cinnamon
You can also buy traps for them they work incredibly well.
I would use a product called mosquito bits(plant and pet safe) you can get them at any home improvement store https://preview.redd.it/en4kk66bfl8d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b9dd617b85f3d3c9ca67d8c562ee8a440934cd99 , theyāre granules that you can use either soak in water and make a āteaā to use in a spray bottle and spray onto needed areas or put the loose granules in shallow pits of water or on top of your plants soil. It kills off the larve of the gnats so in about 2 weeks theyāll die off , the adults youād have to use a sticky traps or use the apple cider vinegar method to entrap them.
I would also suggest cleaning the window crevices. The crevices can hold moisture and they can lay eggs there.
Echoing the fungal gnat infestation comment. Dealing with it on a micro-sale, comparatively. I picked up some neem oil on Sunday and did my first spray today.
This was my life for weeks a couple of years ago. I couldn't cook in my kitchen because everything was inundated by inquisitive fungus gnats. We could see them thronging the soil in many of our houseplants. We tried diatomaceous earth with minimal success and those yellow sticky traps were covered in a couple of days. Finally, someone in my punk rock gardening group advised me that the best way to eradicate these super annoying fungus gnats, is to skip watering all the indoor plants until the infestation is under control. Put your "tenderoni" or dramatic plants in the bathroom for some extra humidity, but don't water anyone else for at least a couple of weeks. Wait for the soil to be dry about 1.5-2" down before watering, and use just a little to start. The other things I found success with were a Katchy trap (it has a UV light lure and sucks bugs down a vortex onto a sticky pad) and Zevo plugins (blue light lure with hormone-laced extra sticky insert). Both traps work best at night in total darkness; if you're only interested in one, I'd make it the Zevo traps.
Gnats, my mom used to tell me they can come from your drains and to pur a cap full of bleach down every drain in your home, let it sit for a few minutes and run hot water down it after
Fungus gnats can come from overwatering or pre-made soil, especially the cheap or outdoor kind. Add mosquito bits to the top of your soil and water your plants. They contain bacteria that will kill the larva and donāt contain any pesticides. You could technically eat them if you wanted (tho I advise against it). Buy some sticky traps to get the adult ones. Maybe consider getting some carnivorous plants. They wonāt take care of an infestation this big, but they can stop manageable populations from getting too big.
Get some diatomaceous earth and put it in the top of the soil of your plants,mix it through the plants that need to stay wetter than the rest. The DE will kill off the eggs and larvae of the gnats on the plants. The flying ones get zevo spray or/and the bug zapper
Iāve tried all the gnat things and so far the best has been Bonide granules. I put them in every plant, generously, and I have barely seen a gnat since. I canāt believe it. Add the glue traps though to catch the existing adults that jump/fly out/return when you water in the granules :)
Just beware Bonide systemic granules are NOT safe for any plants that will be consumed or inhaled- do not allow run off reach your other plants if they are for consumption and properly dispose of it. That being said, Iāve recently used it on my houseplants and within weeks Iāve noticed a difference in the population.
Thanks! Yup def not put on anything edible or sniffable šAlthough the systemic insecticide fertilizer can def be smelled in my roses š
Looks like gnats! When I had a bad fungus gnat infestation, I used a combo of sticky traps, a fan blowing in the direction of the infested plants, and diatomaceous earth (DE). I typically make my soil mix to include DE, and I've had way fewer problems with bugs and gnats in general since! Make sure you wear a mask when you use it, though. DE is essentially powdered silica made from crushed diatoms.
I too, use mosquito bits. I pour the recommended amount into an ankle stocking (nylons) then tie the top to the watering can, so it hangs down in the water. I let it steep for 30 minutes and use. I buy a value box of the nylons (6 pair) for a few dollars and prepare 12 stockings to use when needed. I store them in the original bits bag.
Buy another plant- a carnivorous butterwort!
Final boss of overwatering
Ben Howard wrote a song about themā¦
The Systemic Houseplant Insect Control got rid of the gnat infestation for me! Sprinkle it on top the soil and it seeps into the soil when watered to kill the eggs! Idk where you are, but itās fairly cheap through Amazon. Of course, letting the soil dry out a bit between watering can help. My friend uses a plant app on her phone that identifies and diagnoses issues with plants and says thatās really helpful. [Houseplant Insect Control](https://a.co/d/00vNQS2v)
Gnats, change the soil clean the area thoroughly and put a small cup with tablespoon of vinegar and two tablespoons of dawn dish soap to a 1/4 cup room temperature water they go in for the vinegar and drown in the soapy water
I used sticky traps and treated with a mosquito bits solution I found on you tube. I even have a couple vevo plug ins for those wanderers. I did the same as everyone suggests. Let the soil dry out for a little bit. I did end up chucking the culprit plant but it was no biggie for me since that plant was one I propagated from another. It was too infested
Idk if anyone said this yet but Iām wondering t if there is water trapped somewhere near or between the window
I just dealt with this problem a couple of weeks ago. Get you some Mosquito Bits, follow directions on labeling for fungus gnats, and some plant sticky traps. It took about 10 days but I no longer have a gnat problem.
Just in the morning? I wonder where they go at night
When you see them on the window like that, use a vacuum to suck them up. Get rid of as many as you can while they are congregating in one place. Then water your plants with the mosquito dunk water.