Some additional things I've tried that seem to help a lot: (1) a small oscillating fan makes it tough for fungus gnats to get around, dries out the top of the soil faster, and helps strengthen stems. (2) a watering schedule (ideally with weighing pots if you have a lot of the same type), usually 5 to 7 days for 2.5" to 3.5" pots; and (3) yellow sticky traps, they can catch a fair percentage of the adults, but are even more useful for monitoring for fungus gnats and figure out where they are or are coming from.
Mosquito bits for soil. Dunks for water. I have container pots outside that would have issues when it was the rainy season. I sprinkle this per direction. No more issues. Safe for us too.
YES! It is organic and a different strain of Bt, the organic control for catapellers especially attacking brassicas. I dissolve them in warm water and water my plants with it, this way uses less dunks with the same results.
Good to see someone mention the mosquito bits. I've used the bits for years. Whenever I start seeds indoors I'll sprinkle some bits on the soil surface (or mix them in) and give it a good watering. It's rare that I'll see a gnat in the grow room these days.
Yeah, I use the bits, but it’s not the best. There’s also hydrogen peroxide in the water, and beneficial nematodes, and I’ve tried them all. A year later, there’s less, but they’re still here. There’s no one clear answer.
The only way I found to work was to microwave the soil before I pot AND once potted, cover the top 1 inch of soil with all purpose sand mix. Peroxide didn't work.
I ordered nematodes that are parasites on fungus gnat larvae and the amount of gnats I see now have completely collapsed. Feels like a superior option as it allows you to have a living soil with plenty of beneficial life.
Do they stay alive even when the number of fungus gnats diminished ? I search a long term solution and I want to try nematodes but bying them at each fungus gnats infestation is too much for my bank account because I have dozens of plants
I've had fungus gnats kill so many of my plants over the years and never knew what they were for the longest time, then I couldn't find a good way to get rid of them. Last time I got them from an herb plant i bought at the grocery store (i thought it being in the store it would be clean). I really appreciate this video Luke! Many Blessings from Deborah in West Virginia!
I had a horrible herd of gnats that were sooooo obnoxious!! They'd purposely flitter right in front of my face, landing my coffee🤨 They enjoyed the ACV swimming pool....until they fell in. Game Over! Another tidbit is since I've had the fan running on the plants nonstop to keep the air circulating in the closet, their numbers have dramatically reduced to barely perceptible. They don't like wind🌬🌬🪰
I fought with gnats for over two years and what worked for me was Raid mosquito plug-in. Give it two or three days and you will get rid of those flying monsters.
It took me awhile to realize I was over watering but once I provided more ground mulch to retain water and stopped watering as often the gnats went away. But thank you for these extra measures.
Great video!! Thank you! I know you said that vinegar doesn't help but I get a LOT of gnats with a shallow dish of: 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, 3 teaspoons of red wine vinegar, a drop or two of dish soap and the rest can be water. Mix well. I find it satisfying to get the little buggers.
@@emkn1479 I use 1 tbsp for 1 gallon water. I usually use Luke warm water. I shake it really well and water the soil. You can water weekly until you see less and then as needed.
Sticky traps and Mosquito Bits soaked in water works well. Water in as directed on instructions. It might take a while to break the cycle but Mosquito bits/sticky traps works well for me. If you have them bad don't expect to just eradicate them overnite.
Luke, you should have mentioned BTI, bacillus thuringiensis israelensis, mosquito dunk or bits. It doesn't smell like neem oil will and it is the ONLY thing I personally have found to be 100% effective. The sand on the soil definitely helps prevent them but so does bottom watering and also not overwattering. I put the dunk, usually broken into quarters, in a gallon of water let sit a couple hours and use it to water from the top where the larva predominately are located. I can refill the bottle many times before it starts breaking down and needs a new one. I have not had any problems since I've been using it. I also sterilize my soil using the boiling water rehydration method you suggested. Between those two things no gnats here! BTW, tried neem, stunk up the house and really didn't work that great, for me anyway.
We have been using Mosquito Dunk and it works for the most part, it was the only thing we were able to get in our area. We also have the yellow sticky traps.
You didn't mention the most effective preventive measure I've found so far as a new grower-- moving air (i.e. overhead household fan on a high setting, or a cheap oscillating fan etc). Fungus gnats are bad fliers and are unable to penetrate the wall of moving air to even get to the plants, much less be able to land on them in the wind. Not practical for a large operation, but works for a small group of plants in a room with a regular overhead household fan on a HIGH setting.
What about a shallow dish with water and a little bit of soap? I put it out and within a few days are full of drowned gnats. When the water evaporates I just refill with water since the soap is still in there.
We get them. I'm gonna try some of your ideas. Just remembered my grandmother use to pour a cup of soapy dishwater into her potted geraniums to kill the flies.
I would add that to you ideally want to combine multiple methods. For me it was a mosquito dunks and nematodes in the water. I'd start with but letting the tap water sit out for a couple days to dechlorinate and then add 1/8th of a dunk, leaving it for a couple more days. once the water had the right smell (kinda fruity), I would remove the dunk and just before I watered, I'd add the nematode bag. Usually got a few uses out of each dunk piece. I'm less convinced on the nematodes, but they were part of stopping the invasion. I continue to apply water with mosquito dunks as a preventative measure, along with good watering habits.
I bought an electric kettle to sterilize my mix. Many brands are 1.7 litter. Happens to be perfect amount for 72 cell, 10x20 seed starting tray. When potting up use dry mix, then bottom water. 1.7 litters again in 10x20 tray. Approx 15-18 4" pots fit in tray. Top of soil will stay dry, preventing conditions favorable for fungus knats and algae/mold.
I was overwhelmed with them last year so this year I did the boiling water method but also added mosquito bit and peroxide to the mix. So far no fungus gnats.
I hung bug zapper lites near my plants. The zaps started right away! I smiled! Left them up for 2 months, was not hearing any more zaps, took them down, no gnats for over a year now! Dont forget to empty the dead ones out of the bottom trays! Good Luck! Rev. J. 😊
The struggle is real. I’ve been fighting them since before two Thanksgivings. We had a ton of rain the really warm weather. We were getting our floors done and the workers needed the door open. One guy was in our small bedroom that doesn’t have a screen. And we didn’t know he had the window open and the light was on. When they left there were hundreds oh them everywhere and of course groups in the wall near the light. After trying many things I got yellow sticky traps, mosquito bits and a bug zapper. I finally have it down to only the plants in my room. And I’ve almost one the battle🤦♀️ I will be adding some sand too🙌🏻
Agreed 100% - mosquito bits used as directed and yellow sticky traps finally stopped the cycle in my greenhouse. I tried numerous other methods with varying results.
For indoor plants, a container with a little dish soap or laundry detergent left by the base of the plant works like a sticky trap. I put about an 1/8th inch of soap in tea saucers around the base of the plants and caught tons of them the first day, the amount began to dwindle pretty quickly and now I barely see any after about 6 weeks. Not a total cure, but it's something you can do right now for pretty much free to help get rid of them.
So thankful for this video. I've been dealing with these for a few months now and couldn't identify what they were. Im so stoked to finally have a plan of action against them. Thank you 👍
I was completely overwhelmed indoors with these foggers last season. They came in through a bag of soil. I’ve been gardening for several years and last year was the first year I’ve had them. I tried most remedies and nothing worked. I used Mosquito Bits too. That did nothing. I have a few this year but those sticky traps are keeping it under control (so far)
After repeated infestation with fungus gnats in my orchids, I bake all potting soil and orchid bark that I bring into my house. Orchids in bark are especially hard to treat. The gnats can live in all of the gaps between the bark pieces and don’t have to come to the surface. Gnatrol, together with sticky traps, kept the numbers low but to eliminate them all, I had to treat with an insecticide, too.
I also have found that placing yellow sticky paper around the seed punnets helps with catching quite a few of the fly gnats. You can put small fish tank pebbles around the tops of the soil once your seeds have fully germinated into plants.
I simply changed all the plants' soil outside, removing them from the old gnat-infested soil and refilling them with new soil in the bathroom. I placed the plants in a bucket of water and covered them with plastic until replanting in new soil and a clean flower pot. Gnats gone.
I had a problem with Fungus gnats on my vegetable seedlings sown indoors. Used Neem Meal which looks like coffee granules. Dissolved some in my watering can and top dressed the pots with the meal. Watered from the base, gnats no more in 7-10 days. Love this stuff!
Wish I would have seen this video before I brought my herbs in for the winter. I was infested with them. I tried yellow sticky traps, they helped a little and were full of gnats. I ended up taking my plants outside and will try all your tips this spring on my new plants! Thank you
all tricks work, the easiest most reliable way is to cover the pot with material, old shirt, sheet, any thing, this prevents the gnats from getting in and, more importantly out.
OH MY GOSH!! You have NO IDEA how wonderful stumbling across this video has been!! I literally have been seeing these tiny little black fly type gnats. I got some potted indoor plants from my niece for Christmas. I figured out they were coming from them. I didn’t have a clue what they were. Fungus gnats. Ha! Who knew! I didn’t know what to do about them because it was before finding this video and I didn’t know what a fungus gnat was. So I treated each of my spiked plants with a mixture of assorted essential oils and that seem to help tremendously. Thank you so much for sharing this!!
I also use the boiling water method but I use an electric fly zapper, works great if & when some do hatch. I did not know about the sand method, great idea! WHAT TYPE OF SAND? Thank you.
Oh my fungus gnats are the bane of my life! I swear I’m about to incinerate my house! I have a plant over wintering in my house and it’s infested with the little buggers. I’ve tried nematodes, all sorts. Yesterday I put down a hefty layer of diamataceous earth and then a layer of sand. That’s helped already! I am doing all of my plants over the next few days, letting them dry out before hitting them with neem oil on the next watering! Thank you for this video.
Hey Luke, what kind of sand would you recommend? Looking at Home Depot, I see quikrete, play sand, and a washed play sand. I'm not sure which is safest for a vegetable garden.
Great vid man.. I use Neem cake instead of Neem oil (Crushed seed).. Easier to disolve in water or soak, you can dump it on the top of the soil (Kills gnats and fertilizes the plants). I like neem oil for foliar spraying if i have insect problems.. Try neem cake with gnats 😀
That’s what those are! We have gotten the sticky fly trap that looks like a night light. It has caught soooo many. This video came at the right time. Now I can get rid of them. Yahoo! Thanks a bunch❤
Thanks for the video! I used a spray bottle of peroxide last year and it worked really well! The plants weren't hurt at all from the peroxide. I find that Neem Oil has an odor that I don't like having in the house. I only use that outside.
Definitely, I've had luck with them, though ideally you'd want to combine a few methods. I would cut the dunk into 1/8 pieces, fill up a container with water, give it two days to dechlorinate (assuming your tap water is chloramine) and then leave the piece in for a day or two (you'll know if it's working by the kinda fruity smell). Usually got a few uses out of each piece.
Just 10 days ago I planted my Hosta seeds. They were topped with the fine vermculite, watered in and put on a heat mat. The flats had the clear covers on them. Three days later I checked on them and they were crawling with fungus gnats. I put two yellow sticky traps with each flat and returned the plastic covers. The sticky traps are now full of the critters, but I still see some jumping around in there. Next up, the mosquito bits if I can find them!
I got a package of yellow sticky traps yesterday to have on hand. Fungus gnats are sometimes a problem in house plants. I'm going to try sand for my seedlings.
So I've taken all my plants to the garage. I'm repotting everything with some of your methods. How many days can the adults live in my home before it's safe to bring the plants back in ??
There are methods he didnt mention. Along with the sand you want to water from the bottom keeping the pot in water allow it to wick up without saturating the top. I generally dont like sterilizing my soil but you can mix peroxide and water and water your soil top, the peroxide kills the eggs, Do it a few days in a row and there gone. When i did this i killed all the fungus gnat....but then i got brown fungus growth on the surface of the soil. My ultimate answer was sand on top and watering from bottom i still get a few but no fungus no mass population.
This is my first time dealing with fungas gnats. I had repotted a few of my tropical indoor plants and unknown to me these gnats were in the new bag of potting mix.. At first I had thought they were sour flies but quickly realized they were buzzing around my plants. Looked it up + fungas gnats! I am trying a few methods + just ordered those sticky yellow papers from Amazon: will arrive on Tuesday. I have treated with hydrogen peroxide water + have placed a layer of cactus mix on the top of the plants. I will see what works.
I got myself a butterwort, a carnivorous plant. It eats them, yeah. Pretty cool. Also they recommend Neem cake solution to water plants. Safe and effective.
This is a new problem for me. One plant introduced these suckered and I'm trying to a handle on it before it gets to my other plants. It's the bedroom and bathroom plants that have the issue. Heading to plant store now
I had the gnats under control, then took one of the domes off the seeds I was starting, a bunch came out and I was so disappointed. I'm going to try just watering the plants this time, I really dont want to move all of my plants again to spray them with neem. i got the aphids dealt with, now just battling gnats!
Need additional gnat help. How do I deal with the gnats invading my hydroponic lettuces and micro greens? I assume I start with treating all of my house plants. Is neem oil safe for growing hydroponically grown food plants? Does it concentrate in that environment? I am growing the micro greens on silicon screens. The lettuces start in the peat seed starting cubes and clay spheres. Again is it safe to simple add boiling water or neem oil water mix to the peat in the same way I would potting mix?
Thank you for differentiating between fruit flies and fungus gnats … I thought I had fruit flies last year & wondered why they didn’t go for the vinegar & went for the sticky fly paper instead. Great advice !
It was finally dry soil on top, combined with bottom watering for me (houseplants after transplant starts finished). If it happens again, like the idea of not letting eggs hatch perhaps with neem oil, but maybe my favorite wood food oil, Conrads.
Luke, wouldn't the boiling water kill the good microbes in the potting soil too?. If so, do we need to reconstitute with worm castings and other soil amenders after?. Thanks
My first indoor garden was infested to the point that I pulled everything up and moved the soil outside. It was from a big box store. Second, I went with coconut coir in hopes of not having the gnat issue again. I have another infestation. I've used peroxide and now I am planning to put the sand layer. The question is what type of sand. I'm seeing "don't use fine sand" but the sand you used in this video looks like the play sand I purchased. What sand are you using?
Thanks for the sand tip. A very economical solution. Also I will try Neem in the water. I always used a sprayer, with mixed results. I plan to try a sand layer in my seed starter trays. I'm a big fan of your videos!
Hi Luke, Always enjoy your videos, very informative! I grow in USDA zone 4 in Canada. I had a major Fungus Gnat infestation last year and was desperate to find and and have looked for Neem oil and mosquito bits. It turns out they are not legal for sale in Canada! Will use boiling water to sterilize my soil before using it and sand or vermiculite. Hopefully it will keep them away. I
We have them at our office... I water once per week and my coworker who is new to plants is worried about her plants getting too dry so waters more frequently. Going to try to encourage her to let me water her plants with neem oil so if hers are the ones hatching I don't get the flies.... solve it for both of us since our offices adjoin each other.
I use mosquito dunks, we have the ‘puck’ version here in Canada that are meant to be tossed into swampy areas to control mosquitos by killing off their tadpoles with a bacteria. For in house use, because our water is chlorinated, I set out my plant water for at least 24hrs before use before I add a small chunk of my ‘dunk’ and let that sit overnight before I water my plants.
Is neem seed meal the same as neem cake? The reason I am so interested it ease of application. Getting our neem oil liquid takes time in hot water (were in the 60s in the nursery right now due to winter) and the more effort something takes, the less likely it makes it into the routine. Really dig the advice here. I put 1/2" to 1" of white volcanic rock pebbles (like used in bonsai) on top of our plants' soil. Seems to help protect somewhat from fungus gnat. Hard to be certain... always starting new seedlings so there is always something that we cannot cover with rock in the nursery.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Some additional things I've tried that seem to help a lot: (1) a small oscillating fan makes it tough for fungus gnats to get around, dries out the top of the soil faster, and helps strengthen stems. (2) a watering schedule (ideally with weighing pots if you have a lot of the same type), usually 5 to 7 days for 2.5" to 3.5" pots; and (3) yellow sticky traps, they can catch a fair percentage of the adults, but are even more useful for monitoring for fungus gnats and figure out where they are or are coming from.
Mosquito bits for soil. Dunks for water. I have container pots outside that would have issues when it was the rainy season. I sprinkle this per direction. No more issues. Safe for us too.
YES! It is organic and a different strain of Bt, the organic control for catapellers especially attacking brassicas. I dissolve them in warm water and water my plants with it, this way uses less dunks with the same results.
Good to see someone mention the mosquito bits. I've used the bits for years. Whenever I start seeds indoors I'll sprinkle some bits on the soil surface (or mix them in) and give it a good watering. It's rare that I'll see a gnat in the grow room these days.
The dunks are a life saver- and they're pet safe. We use it in the chicken waterer.
Yeah, I use the bits, but it’s not the best. There’s also hydrogen peroxide in the water, and beneficial nematodes, and I’ve tried them all. A year later, there’s less, but they’re still here. There’s no one clear answer.
The only way I found to work was to microwave the soil before I pot AND once potted, cover the top 1 inch of soil with all purpose sand mix. Peroxide didn't work.
Best explanation I've seen for getting rid of fungus gnats...THANK YOU for this comprehensive explanation!!!
Glad it helped! Happy gardening!
This is the 1st time I’ve heard of Neem being helpful with the gnats. And thank you for clearing up how the sand would be helpful.
Sticky traps & watering with Gnatrol has worked best for me. I’ve also used the sand as well & that helps too.
I ordered nematodes that are parasites on fungus gnat larvae and the amount of gnats I see now have completely collapsed. Feels like a superior option as it allows you to have a living soil with plenty of beneficial life.
Do they stay alive even when the number of fungus gnats diminished ? I search a long term solution and I want to try nematodes but bying them at each fungus gnats infestation is too much for my bank account because I have dozens of plants
I've had fungus gnats kill so many of my plants over the years and never knew what they were for the longest time, then I couldn't find a good way to get rid of them. Last time I got them from an herb plant i bought at the grocery store (i thought it being in the store it would be clean). I really appreciate this video Luke! Many Blessings from Deborah in West Virginia!
Thanks for your support!
I had a horrible herd of gnats that were sooooo obnoxious!! They'd purposely flitter right in front of my face, landing my coffee🤨 They enjoyed the ACV swimming pool....until they fell in. Game Over! Another tidbit is since I've had the fan running on the plants nonstop to keep the air circulating in the closet, their numbers have dramatically reduced to barely perceptible. They don't like wind🌬🌬🪰
I fought with gnats for over two years and what worked for me was Raid mosquito plug-in. Give it two or three days and you will get rid of those flying monsters.
It took me awhile to realize I was over watering but once I provided more ground mulch to retain water and stopped watering as often the gnats went away. But thank you for these extra measures.
Great video!! Thank you! I know you said that vinegar doesn't help but I get a LOT of gnats with a shallow dish of: 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, 3 teaspoons of red wine vinegar, a drop or two of dish soap and the rest can be water. Mix well. I find it satisfying to get the little buggers.
I add Neem oil to the soil when I water and it’s reduced the population significantly. I try and bottom water when possible too.
What sort of dose do you use? I’m overrun by gnats over here and need to try this!
@@emkn1479 I use 1 tbsp for 1 gallon water. I usually use Luke warm water. I shake it really well and water the soil. You can water weekly until you see less and then as needed.
@@thenextlevel2888 thanks so much!
Sticky traps and Mosquito Bits soaked in water works well. Water in as directed on instructions. It might take a while to break the cycle but Mosquito bits/sticky traps works well for me. If you have them bad don't expect to just eradicate them overnite.
Luke, you should have mentioned BTI, bacillus thuringiensis israelensis, mosquito dunk or bits. It doesn't smell like neem oil will and it is the ONLY thing I personally have found to be 100% effective. The sand on the soil definitely helps prevent them but so does bottom watering and also not overwattering. I put the dunk, usually broken into quarters, in a gallon of water let sit a couple hours and use it to water from the top where the larva predominately are located. I can refill the bottle many times before it starts breaking down and needs a new one. I have not had any problems since I've been using it. I also sterilize my soil using the boiling water rehydration method you suggested. Between those two things no gnats here! BTW, tried neem, stunk up the house and really didn't work that great, for me anyway.
The BTI is inside of the Mosquito Bits, isn’t it?
@@desertflower9557 yes
Uh oh, are they censoring the word "tobacco"?
How much do you use after you mix? Like the whole gallon or is just a little bit good enough?
@FC2ESWS I mix it by the gallon and just top water the effected plants and use it for at least a month
We have been using Mosquito Dunk and it works for the most part, it was the only thing we were able to get in our area. We also have the yellow sticky traps.
You didn't mention the most effective preventive measure I've found so far as a new grower-- moving air (i.e. overhead household fan on a high setting, or a cheap oscillating fan etc). Fungus gnats are bad fliers and are unable to penetrate the wall of moving air to even get to the plants, much less be able to land on them in the wind. Not practical for a large operation, but works for a small group of plants in a room with a regular overhead household fan on a HIGH setting.
So helpful! It’s a constant battle.
What about a shallow dish with water and a little bit of soap? I put it out and within a few days are full of drowned gnats. When the water evaporates I just refill with water since the soap is still in there.
We get them. I'm gonna try some of your ideas.
Just remembered my grandmother use to pour a cup of soapy dishwater into her potted geraniums to kill the flies.
I’ve occasionally cupped soapy lather and coated leaves and stems with it do attempt to kill bugs such as aphids. Limited success.
I would add that to you ideally want to combine multiple methods. For me it was a mosquito dunks and nematodes in the water.
I'd start with but letting the tap water sit out for a couple days to dechlorinate and then add 1/8th of a dunk, leaving it for a couple more days. once the water had the right smell (kinda fruity), I would remove the dunk and just before I watered, I'd add the nematode bag. Usually got a few uses out of each dunk piece. I'm less convinced on the nematodes, but they were part of stopping the invasion. I continue to apply water with mosquito dunks as a preventative measure, along with good watering habits.
I bought an electric kettle to sterilize my mix. Many brands are 1.7 litter. Happens to be perfect amount for 72 cell, 10x20 seed starting tray. When potting up use dry mix, then bottom water. 1.7 litters again in 10x20 tray. Approx 15-18 4" pots fit in tray. Top of soil will stay dry, preventing conditions favorable for fungus knats and algae/mold.
I was overwhelmed with them last year so this year I did the boiling water method but also added mosquito bit and peroxide to the mix. So far no fungus gnats.
I hung bug zapper lites near my plants. The zaps started right away! I smiled! Left them up for 2 months, was not hearing any more zaps, took them down, no gnats for over a year now! Dont forget to empty the dead ones out of the bottom trays! Good Luck! Rev. J. 😊
I really needed to see this video! Thank you for the advice!
The struggle is real. I’ve been fighting them since before two Thanksgivings. We had a ton of rain the really warm weather. We were getting our floors done and the workers needed the door open. One guy was in our small bedroom that doesn’t have a screen. And we didn’t know he had the window open and the light was on. When they left there were hundreds oh them everywhere and of course groups in the wall near the light. After trying many things I got yellow sticky traps, mosquito bits and a bug zapper. I finally have it down to only the plants in my room. And I’ve almost one the battle🤦♀️ I will be adding some sand too🙌🏻
Can I put a layer of perlite on top of the soil instead of sand or vermiculite?
Surprised you didn't mention misquote bits it works quite well, it killed about 99% of mine within a week
Agreed 100% - mosquito bits used as directed and yellow sticky traps finally stopped the cycle in my greenhouse. I tried numerous other methods with varying results.
Luke never fails to educate and entertain
Thanks for this great video. Can perlite be used instead of vermiculite on top of soil?
For indoor plants, a container with a little dish soap or laundry detergent left by the base of the plant works like a sticky trap.
I put about an 1/8th inch of soap in tea saucers around the base of the plants and caught tons of them the first day, the amount began to dwindle pretty quickly and now I barely see any after about 6 weeks.
Not a total cure, but it's something you can do right now for pretty much free to help get rid of them.
So thankful for this video. I've been dealing with these for a few months now and couldn't identify what they were. Im so stoked to finally have a plan of action against them. Thank you 👍
I was completely overwhelmed indoors with these foggers last season. They came in through a bag of soil. I’ve been gardening for several years and last year was the first year I’ve had them.
I tried most remedies and nothing worked. I used Mosquito Bits too. That did nothing.
I have a few this year but those sticky traps are keeping it under control (so far)
After repeated infestation with fungus gnats in my orchids, I bake all potting soil and orchid bark that I bring into my house.
Orchids in bark are especially hard to treat. The gnats can live in all of the gaps between the bark pieces and don’t have to come to the surface. Gnatrol, together with sticky traps, kept the numbers low but to eliminate them all, I had to treat with an insecticide, too.
Thanks for the tips Luke! 👍
Really helpful video Luke. Thank you!
I also have found that placing yellow sticky paper around the seed punnets helps with catching quite a few of the fly gnats. You can put small fish tank pebbles around the tops of the soil once your seeds have fully germinated into plants.
I use perlite on top of all my seedlings and indoor plants, stopped the problem.
I simply changed all the plants' soil outside, removing them from the old gnat-infested soil and refilling them with new soil in the bathroom. I placed the plants in a bucket of water and covered them with plastic until replanting in new soil and a clean flower pot. Gnats gone.
I repotted all my house plants last year with non organic compost and still have a problem! I hate them so much!
Thanks, Luke-- once again I learned helpful stuff!
I had a problem with Fungus gnats on my vegetable seedlings sown indoors. Used Neem Meal which looks like coffee granules. Dissolved some in my watering can and top dressed the pots with the meal. Watered from the base, gnats no more in 7-10 days. Love this stuff!
Wish I would have seen this video before I brought my herbs in for the winter. I was infested with them. I tried yellow sticky traps, they helped a little and were full of gnats. I ended up taking my plants outside and will try all your tips this spring on my new plants! Thank you
all tricks work, the easiest most reliable way is to cover the pot with material, old shirt, sheet, any thing, this prevents the gnats from getting in and, more importantly out.
OH MY GOSH!! You have NO IDEA how wonderful stumbling across this video has been!! I literally have been seeing these tiny little black fly type gnats. I got some potted indoor plants from my niece for Christmas. I figured out they were coming from them. I didn’t have a clue what they were. Fungus gnats. Ha! Who knew!
I didn’t know what to do about them because it was before finding this video and I didn’t know what a fungus gnat was. So I treated each of my spiked plants with a mixture of assorted essential oils and that seem to help tremendously.
Thank you so much for sharing this!!
I also use the boiling water method but I use an electric fly zapper, works great if & when some do hatch. I did not know about the sand method, great idea! WHAT TYPE OF SAND? Thank you.
Oh my fungus gnats are the bane of my life! I swear I’m about to incinerate my house! I have a plant over wintering in my house and it’s infested with the little buggers. I’ve tried nematodes, all sorts. Yesterday I put down a hefty layer of diamataceous earth and then a layer of sand. That’s helped already! I am doing all of my plants over the next few days, letting them dry out before hitting them with neem oil on the next watering! Thank you for this video.
Hey Luke, what kind of sand would you recommend? Looking at Home Depot, I see quikrete, play sand, and a washed play sand. I'm not sure which is safest for a vegetable garden.
Great vid man.. I use Neem cake instead of Neem oil (Crushed seed).. Easier to disolve in water or soak, you can dump it on the top of the soil (Kills gnats and fertilizes the plants). I like neem oil for foliar spraying if i have insect problems.. Try neem cake with gnats 😀
That’s what those are! We have gotten the sticky fly trap that looks like a night light. It has caught soooo many. This video came at the right time. Now I can get rid of them. Yahoo! Thanks a bunch❤
Thanks Luke!I'm going to put sand on my houseplants.I don't have them now&I want to keep it that way since it is dirt buying season.
I have made a spray using Tree Tea oil and dish soap and water. I spray the top and the bottom of the pot. Works great.
I’d like to try that! What’s the amounts of tea tree oil and dish soap to water? Thanks!
Thank you Luke! Blessings 🙏💞
Thanks for the video! I used a spray bottle of peroxide last year and it worked really well! The plants weren't hurt at all from the peroxide. I find that Neem Oil has an odor that I don't like having in the house. I only use that outside.
Neem oil definitely has a very interesting smell.
Did you mix the peroxide with water? And if so how much did you use
I’m the 1st one today…. Woo Hooo! Keep at it buddy, you’re great!
Very helpful thank you.💕💕🎶🎶
Just watched your very helpful video on fungus gnats and you mentioned the egg laying process.
The organ of egg laying is called an ovipositor.
Shake the container a bit to even the sand out and spread it right up to the stems. Can you use mosquito dunks to control fungus gnats?
Definitely, I've had luck with them, though ideally you'd want to combine a few methods. I would cut the dunk into 1/8 pieces, fill up a container with water, give it two days to dechlorinate (assuming your tap water is chloramine) and then leave the piece in for a day or two (you'll know if it's working by the kinda fruity smell). Usually got a few uses out of each piece.
Just 10 days ago I planted my Hosta seeds. They were topped with the fine vermculite, watered in and put on a heat mat. The flats had the clear covers on them. Three days later I checked on them and they were crawling with fungus gnats. I put two yellow sticky traps with each flat and returned the plastic covers. The sticky traps are now full of the critters, but I still see some jumping around in there. Next up, the mosquito bits if I can find them!
Definitely going to be trying this as we always fight with the gnats and just can't seem to win.
I got a package of yellow sticky traps yesterday to have on hand. Fungus gnats are sometimes a problem in house plants. I'm going to try sand for my seedlings.
So I've taken all my plants to the garage. I'm repotting everything with some of your methods. How many days can the adults live in my home before it's safe to bring the plants back in ??
So fantastic! I only knew about the boiling water. Will definitely use vermiculite and neem. 💕
There are methods he didnt mention. Along with the sand you want to water from the bottom keeping the pot in water allow it to wick up without saturating the top. I generally dont like sterilizing my soil but you can mix peroxide and water and water your soil top, the peroxide kills the eggs, Do it a few days in a row and there gone. When i did this i killed all the fungus gnat....but then i got brown fungus growth on the surface of the soil. My ultimate answer was sand on top and watering from bottom i still get a few but no fungus no mass population.
This is my first time dealing with fungas gnats. I had repotted a few of my tropical indoor plants and unknown to me these gnats were in the new bag of potting mix.. At first I had thought they were sour flies but quickly realized they were buzzing around my plants. Looked it up + fungas gnats! I am trying a few methods + just ordered those sticky yellow papers from Amazon: will arrive on Tuesday. I have treated with hydrogen peroxide water + have placed a layer of cactus mix on the top of the plants. I will see what works.
I got myself a butterwort, a carnivorous plant. It eats them, yeah. Pretty cool. Also they recommend Neem cake solution to water plants. Safe and effective.
Your video saved me. Thank you and I'm now subscribed
Thank you for all the information. I’ve used other products which did not help. I will try each of your suggestions right away
Neem oil has been very helpful in my outdoor garden. Thanks for the video, Luke!
Thanks
Can you show how you catch the water that comes out of the green stalk?
This is a new problem for me. One plant introduced these suckered and I'm trying to a handle on it before it gets to my other plants. It's the bedroom and bathroom plants that have the issue. Heading to plant store now
I had the gnats under control, then took one of the domes off the seeds I was starting, a bunch came out and I was so disappointed. I'm going to try just watering the plants this time, I really dont want to move all of my plants again to spray them with neem. i got the aphids dealt with, now just battling gnats!
Need additional gnat help. How do I deal with the gnats invading my hydroponic lettuces and micro greens? I assume I start with treating all of my house plants. Is neem oil safe for growing hydroponically grown food plants? Does it concentrate in that environment? I am growing the micro greens on silicon screens. The lettuces start in the peat seed starting cubes and clay spheres. Again is it safe to simple add boiling water or neem oil water mix to the peat in the same way I would potting mix?
Thank you for differentiating between fruit flies and fungus gnats … I thought I had fruit flies last year & wondered why they didn’t go for the vinegar & went for the sticky fly paper instead. Great advice !
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for this video, really helpful!
It was finally dry soil on top, combined with bottom watering for me (houseplants after transplant starts finished). If it happens again, like the idea of not letting eggs hatch perhaps with neem oil, but maybe my favorite wood food oil, Conrads.
Luke, wouldn't the boiling water kill the good microbes in the potting soil too?. If so, do we need to reconstitute with worm castings and other soil amenders after?. Thanks
You dont want active soil life in your house where you dont have the natural predators. Greenhouses do all kinds of things to prevent bug infestations
My first indoor garden was infested to the point that I pulled everything up and moved the soil outside. It was from a big box store. Second, I went with coconut coir in hopes of not having the gnat issue again. I have another infestation. I've used peroxide and now I am planning to put the sand layer. The question is what type of sand. I'm seeing "don't use fine sand" but the sand you used in this video looks like the play sand I purchased. What sand are you using?
Diamatious earth is good to add to top, kills them, and fly strips
Love these solutions! Thank you!
Thanks for the sand tip. A very economical solution. Also I will try Neem in the water. I always used a sprayer, with mixed results. I plan to try a sand layer in my seed starter trays. I'm a big fan of your videos!
Aquarium gravel, vermiculite, bottom watering, yellow sticky cards and mosquito dunks. I’ve tried them all finally got my plants fungus gnats free.
they're in my garden outside. second year in a row in the same spots. ugh I use neem spray but I'll try the watering. thx
Very helpful. Thanks
Thank you for sharing.
Hi Luke, Always enjoy your videos, very informative! I grow in USDA zone 4 in Canada. I had a major Fungus Gnat infestation last year and was desperate to find and and have looked for Neem oil and mosquito bits. It turns out they are not legal for sale in Canada! Will use boiling water to sterilize my soil before using it and sand or vermiculite. Hopefully it will keep them away. I
Hi. I was wondering. Would it be a good idea to repot the plant with the same soil after having (let's say) baked it (the soil) dry?
Hello, thank you for posting this information. I was wondering, I have Been Powder, can I dilute that into a gallon and use it in my plants???
Great video - so helpful! Thank you!
TY ☺
Perfect timing for me. I have more gnats than I've ever had and I'm getting sick of them around my house.
Using mosquito bits or mosquito dunks or gnatrol are easier and more effective
We have them at our office... I water once per week and my coworker who is new to plants is worried about her plants getting too dry so waters more frequently. Going to try to encourage her to let me water her plants with neem oil so if hers are the ones hatching I don't get the flies.... solve it for both of us since our offices adjoin each other.
I use mosquito dunks, we have the ‘puck’ version here in Canada that are meant to be tossed into swampy areas to control mosquitos by killing off their tadpoles with a bacteria. For in house use, because our water is chlorinated, I set out my plant water for at least 24hrs before use before I add a small chunk of my ‘dunk’ and let that sit overnight before I water my plants.
Thank you for this! I am struggling with fungus gnats and needed some ways to fight them.
Using mosquito bits/dunks is easier and more effective
Does neem pure powder in the soil work as well?
Luke: that brand of neem oil is void of azradactrin (sp?). You need cold pressed neem oil. There is also mosquito bits - works very well.
Is neem seed meal the same as neem cake?
The reason I am so interested it ease of application. Getting our neem oil liquid takes time in hot water (were in the 60s in the nursery right now due to winter) and the more effort something takes, the less likely it makes it into the routine.
Really dig the advice here. I put 1/2" to 1" of white volcanic rock pebbles (like used in bonsai) on top of our plants' soil. Seems to help protect somewhat from fungus gnat. Hard to be certain... always starting new seedlings so there is always something that we cannot cover with rock in the nursery.
Fungus gnats sand and mulch. Is it practical to mulch with straw and then sand? I have my vegetables in outdoor containers?
What about using coffee grounds to stop that fungus gnats as well?
Excellent information sir. Thanks.
Glad it helped!
I use a zevo insect trap. It attracts the adults with the light and I have not had problems since.
Mosquito bits in planting water works great
Also, "proboscis" might be the word you were looking for??
That's the nose of the bug. He's talking about the other end.
Ovipositor for laying eggs, proboscis for sniffing stuff
I live in Maryland can I request a complete growers guide on tobacco?