The Fungus Gnat Fight, Whats Your Weapon of Choice

TokinPeace

TokinPeace

New member
Curious as to how most of you deal or have dealt with fungus gnats ?


Mosquito Dunks BTI - have heard it has alot of salt

Diatomaceous Earth - read it raises PH & calcium levels, but adds silica

Fine Sand - cheap alternative

Fine Perlite - seems some have luck

BTI Bacillus Thuringiensis Gnatrol - costly

Azatrol/Azamax - also very expensive as a drench



Please post your experiences and knowledge.
 
I've tried just about everything but the sand.. Every bag of Roots Organics Soil I get comes with fungus gnats.. They are my nemesis.

I've had moderate success with "mosquito bits" mosquito dunk pellets mixed into top 1" of soil as soon as plant is transplanted.

They laughed at the go gnats, DE is great until you have to water again, and azatrol/max only worked so-so for me.. Sand would be the ticket if there wasn't drainage holes in the pots for them to breed in
 
Gnatrol WDG

Gnatrol WDG (Water Dispersible Granule) biological larvicide offers the same effective control of fungus gnat larvae that growers expect from Gnatrol, but with added product benefits.
  • Increased shelf life - now 2 years! (liquid formulation was only 1 year)
  • Much more concentrated; less product packaging to carry around and to dispose of
  • Increased convenience and application accuracy
  • Easier to measure and won't leave a residue like the liquid formulation
  • Can be used on vegetables, bulb crops, bedding plants and a wide variety of ornamentals
  • Fungus gnats stop feeding almost immediately after it is digested, and death occurs 24 to 48 hours later
  • OMRI listed
Gnatrol WDG is a biological control for fungus gnat larvae. It contains a variety of bacillus thuringiensis bacteria that kills most gnat larvae. Apply as a soil drench or add to the nutrient solution of your growing system. Does not kill adult fungus gnats, but once the larvae is killed, the adults will quickly die off.
Can be used up to the day of harvest on all edible plants.
Use 0.25 to 3.25 teaspoons (0.9 to 7.3 grams) per gallon of water depending on severity of infestation.


I have no report yet .I have the pest just not the product . As you can see a lil goes a long way and can be used right up to harvest .
 
root aphids have long strait wings and a long torso with 3 black stripes on it... gnats are smaller wings usually to side and have a much smaller torso. Important to be able to identify between the two.
 
the root aphids i had had round tank bodies. note the dual pipes out the back:
corn_root_aphid.gif


fungus gnats have longer, wasp like bodies:
L_IMG_fungus_gnat.jpg
 
Hey Forty, were the aphids easy to spot in the medium? Keepin an eye out for those.

Whatever I'm spraying right now seems to be keeping them at bay, think it's the einstein oil. Also used the crushed up dunks in the past with good results. Their not fungus knats, their fucker knats.
 
in coco

1.) smartpots (no drain holes)
2.) A layer of Hidromite/dynarok/fine perlite 1" thick on top of the medium as a physical barrier.
3.) Pyganic 5%/evergreen 5% on hand at all times to be

a. sprayed on the surface of the soil to get flyers as needed
b. applied as a soil drench at an application rate of 20ml/gal (NO MORE!) in the case of a really bad outbreak (rare these days for me).

4.) Homemade Sticky Traps- a bin of tanglefoot and yellow tagboard is far cheaper than the premade ones and works every bit as well; you can also make any size/shape you like.

Used to use Gnatrol, but it only addresses the larvae; I had good success using it in combination with pyganic spray for the flyers.
 
Fungus Gnat Destroyer – Hypoaspis miles

“Hungry Hungry Hypos”
hmiles.jpg

Hypoaspis miles are a fairly large predatory mite that target fungus gnats in the soil. Hypoaspis miles can consume up to 8 small fungus gnats per day. These predatory mites establish themselves in the soil in various root environments and other growing media, including potting compost and rock wool. They are especially fond of dark, damp places and are not highly tolerant of dry conditions. Hypoaspis miles can move quite rapidly, and the depth at which they are found in the soil depends on humidity, type and how compact it is.
The body and legs of this mite are brown, whilst the jaws are darker brown. The females are larger than the males and can be as long as 1 mm, and have a visible white stripe on the terminal body segment. The eggs, larvae and first nymph stages are white, with nymphs becoming light brown as they age.
Hypoaspis miles have a long lifespan and can survive for some time without food. Adults can survive 3-4 weeks without food, and much longer if they have fed adequately beforehand. However in the absence of food, egg-laying ceases.
Release Instructions – Apply this product evenly on the soil or in 5 ml (1 tsp) piles at the base of each infected plant. 250 grams will cover up to 20 medium plants. The soil should be moist but not too wet.
*It can possibly take several weeks (depending on the introduction rate) until the Hypoaspis is established in the soil. In a greenhouse setting it is more effective to introduce this product at the beginning of the crop. For house plants, introduce this product at least twice a year (every six months) and when re-potting.
 
I vote for the Gnatrol. An occasional incorporation from the onset of the plants life into the feeding water keeps them under control and mostly out of my hair.

A
 
only thing i've ever used was the dunks = 100% eradication, never had a need to buy anything else

my garden/veg is small so i just take a piece of a dunk ..say mabye a 1/8 of one and
put it in a gallon of water ..let the water sit overnight, then just use that water to irrigate your plants..i add more dunk after 3 refills of the gallon, cheap and easy and fungus gnats all gone within a week or so :clap:



mj
 
what farmergiles said is working for me now; next summer will be Gnatrol and what fg said.

That being said, I have another question....is there a discussion : maintenance schedules?
I seem to always be dragging one foot, trying to get ahead, ya know what I'm saying?
Peace, love, dope and waterbeds.....
Sark
 
I was really hopeing for for my order to show up .I ordered 45 grams of it .Thats enough to make 180 gallons of Drench for $49.00 also ordered some black strap mol. total bill 79 bucks with shipping ,and duties are goig to be XTRA
Im keeping them at bay for now but it was/is crazy time with the new seedlings :(
But I have put on a strong front with sticky strips and swatting Canadian style :hockey:
 
If you have Gnatrol, yay!

For the rest of us... Azadirachtin.

One could purchase "Safer Grub control" at the local nursery, remove the hose-end sprayer (it's meant for lawns). Decant 2.5oz/gal& use as a drench. Apply to containers that are al;ready moist (water first, wait, then drench).

PUrchasing the Safer product is about half as expensive as buying the AzaMax/Azatrol at the hydro store. (Grub control costs $3.00/gallon vs Azamaz is $10/gal - after you mix it - and it's the same active ingredient/same concentratiopn.)

Also, a light spray of Permethrin (syntheric pyrethrin) to the surface of the containers, especially 4" containers, helps prevent adults from gettin jiggy in the tops of the little containers.
 
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Dipel is a great source of BTi. Something like 51% BTi, 49% other. Dunks work as well though never thought about salt content. Water in the BTi now and then and you won't see them.
 
Fungus gnats have become an afterthought for me since using Mosquito Bits. When making my final transplant into 5 gallons, I'll sprinkle around the collar and bury roughly 2 inches deep. Never have experienced accumulated salts or population re-emergence. It's the silver bullet for my garden. Personally, I've always thought it's kinda silly wasting cubic inches on DE that otherwise could be filled with more media and consequently more nutritients.

-Kanza
 
i used those mosquito dunks a couple times, crushed up, sprinkled on top of the soil, and have not have a fungus gnat in several years.
 
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