Fungus gnats

BigBallzWillie

BigBallzWillie

BE THE BALL
I was thinking, besides the holes for habitat, there is much more air getting to any BT that has soaked down that far, which greatly effects it's longevity, which may parallel what you are saying about the food source. The food source is accessible thru those holes.
 
SCJedi

SCJedi

Synergist
I second Red's suggestion. Just keep up the soaks until they are gone but combine the use of yellow sticky traps to catch egg-laying adults as well.
 
Capt C

Capt C

Saltwater Cowboy
VICTORY from the jaws of defeat. Checked several times today and no sign of survivors. New yellow sticky on each plant and no black dots.Will probable dunk the pots again in about a week. @stiickygreen is the man it was his suggestion to submerge the whole pot ( Radicle bag) in the BTM solution. Plus i was not messing around today i put 10 drops per gallon. Capt. C 1 Fury basterds 0.
 
jpcyan

jpcyan

Really Active Member
Now, once they are totally gone, just remember in between times, allow that soil to dry as much as you can without affecting the plants/roots health. Then hit them again hard if they return. Its that saturated muck they love.
congrats on the win Capt C.
Good stuff all.
 
Capt C

Capt C

Saltwater Cowboy
jpcyan said:
Now, once they are totally gone, just remember in between times, allow that soil to dry as much as you can without affecting the plants/roots health. Then hit them again hard if they return. Its that saturated muck they love.
congrats on the win Capt C.
Good stuff all.
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I am in coco and in the past i treated like soil letting it dry out between irrigations. However this year i have started keeping my coco pretty moist. I am also discovering that growth has increased significantly. I just do not think i was getting the coco soaked enough with the BMT because of the radicle bags. Sure am glad i had everyone's help. Thanks to all who contributed.
 
jpcyan

jpcyan

Really Active Member
Yeah. sometimes re-wetting coco or peat based mixes is difficult to impossible in the pot once they are too dry. A long dunk is about the only way once the pot has roots in it.
Just dont keep it overly saturated. That's an invitation for a re infestation.
Plants like the wet/dry cycle as seen in the success of.. for instance HydroReds ebb n flow setup that many are using and rockin!.
You got some damn good advice from many experienced minds for sure. From a teamwork of inputs you were able to piece together a great solution. But killing gnats is never quick or easy. Congrats on it. Stay vigilante they are sneaky! ;)
 
SCJedi

SCJedi

Synergist
A thread about fungus gnat control really shouldn't be this long. This is approximately a 14-day long process. A viable fungus gnat has a breaking point of its life cycle at 14 days, max.
  • The gnats develop from egg to adult in 3 to 4 weeks.
  • The larvae feed for about 2 weeks
  • Pupae near the soil surface within thread chambers for 3 to 7 days
  • Adults emerge and live for about 8 days.
1) Stop over-watering, and keep drainage good and any runoff contained for removal.
2) Clean up fallen leaves or other decaying organic materials, etc. It is a fungus gnat haven.
3) Mix together enough of a BT product at full strength to get run-off from all containers and for #4.
4) Put some of #3 in a sprayer and heavily spray the sides of your net pots to guarantee full coverage.
5) Repeat #3/#4 twice a week
6) Liberally place yellow sticky traps in the air, on the media surface, walls, in every pot, everywhere you see adults.
7) If diligent and patient wait two weeks and claim victory

Yellow trap for adult mitigation and drenches to control larvae.
 
Capt C

Capt C

Saltwater Cowboy
SCJedi said:
A thread about fungus gnat control really shouldn't be this long. This is approximately a 14-day long process. A viable fungus gnat has a breaking point of its life cycle at 14 days, max.
  • The gnats develop from egg to adult in 3 to 4 weeks.
  • The larvae feed for about 2 weeks
  • Pupae near the soil surface within thread chambers for 3 to 7 days
  • Adults emerge and live for about 8 days.
1) Stop over-watering, and keep drainage good and any runoff contained for removal.
2) Clean up fallen leaves or other decaying organic materials, etc. It is a fungus gnat haven.
3) Mix together enough of a BT product at full strength to get run-off from all containers and for #4.
4) Put some of #3 in a sprayer and heavily spray the sides of your net pots to guarantee full coverage.
5) Repeat #3/#4 twice a week
6) Liberally place yellow sticky traps in the air, on the media surface, walls, in every pot, everywhere you see adults.
7) If diligent and patient wait two weeks and claim victory

Yellow trap for adult mitigation and drenches to control larvae.
Click to expand...
Thanks for posting this @SCJedi. Great information for all to take note. I am sure i would have gained control sooner had i carried out #4. I could see them going in and out anywhere they wanted on those grow pots but i was not sure what to spray them with.
 
Capt C

Capt C

Saltwater Cowboy
Thought i would post some interesting findings on the fungus gnats. After eradicating the fungus gnats from the flower room last cycle and cleaning well. I treated my moms that are close by in a separate room with the BT which worked much better in the hard pots. I had not seen one in over a month so i am pretty sure they were gone. I then started my next flower cycle. So going into my third week i noticed maybe a dozen fungus gnats on the yellow sticky's surrounding the garden. So i did a BT soak right away and put yellow sticky's at the base of each plant ( 12 plants ). A few days have gone by and what i noticed was there was not 1 fungus gnat on any of the yellow stickies at the base of each plant. The only difference between this grow and the last is i am using 2 ml a gallon of hydro guard. I remember someone saying that about the hydro guard and fungus gnats is the reason for posting.
 
BigBallzWillie

BigBallzWillie

BE THE BALL
Capt C said:
Thought i would post some interesting findings on the fungus gnats. After eradicating the fungus gnats from the flower room last cycle and cleaning well. I treated my moms that are close by in a separate room with the BT which worked much better in the hard pots. I had not seen one in over a month so i am pretty sure they were gone. I then started my next flower cycle. So going into my third week i noticed maybe a dozen fungus gnats on the yellow sticky's surrounding the garden. So i did a BT soak right away and put yellow sticky's at the base of each plant ( 12 plants ). A few days have gone by and what i noticed was there was not 1 fungus gnat on any of the yellow stickies at the base of each plant. The only difference between this grow and the last is i am using 2 ml a gallon of hydro guard. I remember someone saying that about the hydro guard and fungus gnats is the reason for posting.
Click to expand...
Are you using the radicle bags this round?
 
E

Eye4Eye

New Member
Capt C said:
Thanks for all the tips guys. I am going to start tackling them today. Glad i had those yellow sticky traps to see them when they first showed up. I had better pass on the propane torch as i am not allowed to play with fire
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Get the dunks over the bits. Works better
 
E

Eye4Eye

New Member
BigBallzWillie said:
:) Lol...I disagree completely (for dirt). Bury the bits an inch or two, for lasting performance. You could do that with dunks if you crumble them up. BT on the surface lasts a few days, buried, it could go month(s). Add some thuricide to your water every so often...they are done.
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It fine to disagree. I've used the dunks crushed as preventative for over a decade with soil. When you get into commercial scale that gets pricey. We were excited when the jars of bits came out. We used them and started scouting gnats again. Went back to dunks. Never looked back and haven't seen a gnat since.
But I'm glad to hear they worked well for you.
Cheers
 
Capt C

Capt C

Saltwater Cowboy
BigBallzWillie said:
:) Lol...I disagree completely (for dirt). Bury the bits an inch or two, for lasting performance. You could do that with dunks if you crumble them up. BT on the surface lasts a few days, buried, it could go month(s). Add some thuricide to your water every so often...they are done.
Click to expand...
I had them show up again willie like clock work 3rd to forth week of flowering on this round. I started treatment immediately with the Microbe-lift BMC. I saw them on the yellow stickies that surround the garden. Right after the first treatment i put yellow stickies in each plant and only caught a couple out of 12 plants. I am pretty sure the hydroguard is helping with the gnats.
 
NoWaistedSpace

NoWaistedSpace

I'm Hoarding Skunk
Capt C said:
I had them show up again willie like clock work 3rd to forth week of flowering on this round. I started treatment immediately with the Microbe-lift BMC. I saw them on the yellow stickies that surround the garden. Right after the first treatment i put yellow stickies in each plant and only caught a couple out of 12 plants. I am pretty sure the hydroguard is helping with the gnats.
Click to expand...
Were you able to get treatment on the roots at the bottom of the pot where the drain holes are. That is where they live. From my understanding.
 
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