Natural Remedies for Fungus Gnats

[Ethan]

Originally Posted by brush

I need some clarification on fungas gnats. Are the adults those little black flies , the size of a fruit fly , that fly around your plants? And the little gnats that are in the soil , are they little white things you can barely see , but when you water your plants you can see them in the water and they do jump a bit too? Feedback anyone?

yes, on the things that fly around the plants, but I think the gnats you are referring to in the soil and you only see when you water are actually "springtails" not a gnat. Here's a good link on springtails Springtails in Houseplants.

[brush]

Thanks cirillonb ,I thought as much . I use something called Sticky Sticks . They are little yellow pieces of sticky paper , you put them on a little stick and stick them in your plants . I thought they were all gone but apparently not.

[Des]

Originally Posted by cb977

You can make your own sticky traps by using any piece of yellow plastic, cut into strips or whatever shape you'd like and coating them with Vaseline. Then hang them near your plants or stick them into the side of the pot. The Vaseline acts as a glue and they get stuck to it.

I also use homemade sticky traps they are so effective ,they catch anything that flies . I was checking mine the other day and found a gheko well and truly stuck to the sticky pad all he could move were his eyes . I was so concerned about helping him that I forgot to take photo !
Anyway the poor thing staggered off after being freed none the worse off ,bet he won't try that again!!

[Judi]

I battled fungus gnats several times--I thought I was finally rid of them but they just started coming back . I found the little buggers were actually laying eggs in my humidity trays and the larvae were happily living in the water and hatching. Who would have thought ? The only dead bodies were the adult gnats, they have a short lif span. I used Knock-Out Gnats from Gardens Alive--it is basically BT. Anyway, I'm not sure about them jumping a bit. They kind of wiggle, but I never saw them jump. I looked up some pictures of the larvae on the internet and I am attaching one--brush, is this what you saw ?

[Judi]

Yeah, I use sticky tabs as well and find they catch a lot of different critters. They "caught" my cat several times, and my grandaughter's curious fingers have also fallen prey to the sticky tabs. It's fun to watch the expression on their faces when they know they shouldn't have touched Grammy's plants, but they can't get the darn sticky tabs off their fingers .

[brush]

Originally Posted by Judi

I battled fungus gnats several times--I thought I was finally rid of them but they just started coming back . I found the little buggers were actually laying eggs in my humidity trays and the larvae were happily living in the water and hatching. Who would have thought ? The only dead bodies were the adult gnats, they have a short lif span. I used Knock-Out Gnats from Gardens Alive--it is basically BT. Anyway, I'm not sure about them jumping a bit. They kind of wiggle, but I never saw them jump. I looked up some pictures of the larvae on the internet and I am attaching one--brush, is this what you saw ?

No this is definately not what I saw . In fact you can hardly see them at all . They are white and very miniscule little creatures . When I water my plants , I have an empty ceramic pot I put them in , then I start adding water so the whole medium of the plant gets wet. After taking the plant out to drain , you can see the little critters on top of the water jumping . I think these are springtails , like someone else had mentioned that they are . They also noted that they are not harmful to your plants but rather feed off of the decomposing matter and fungus in the mix .

[Ethan]

Brush, from your description on the bugs in the pots that you only see when you water, it definitely sounds like what you are referring to are springtails. I have them in just about every one of my orchids and I just ignore them...I have not seen any signs of damage from them at all.

[AboutOrchids]

Originally Posted by cb977

You can make your own sticky traps by using any piece of yellow plastic, cut into strips or whatever shape you'd like and coating them with Vaseline. Then hang them near your plants or stick them into the side of the pot. The Vaseline acts as a glue and they get stuck to it.

Great idea! Those yellow sticky traps cost so much. I tried making some of my own with glue, but it was just too messy. Vaseline sounds much easier to use. Thanks!

[AboutOrchids]

Originally Posted by Judi

Yeah, I use sticky tabs as well and find they catch a lot of different critters. They "caught" my cat several times, and my grandaughter's curious fingers have also fallen prey to the sticky tabs. It's fun to watch the expression on their faces when they know they shouldn't have touched Grammy's plants, but they can't get the darn sticky tabs off their fingers .

LOL! That reminds me of a babysitting idea for infants that someone gave me years ago, and it works great. If the kid's fingers are sticky from food or paste, before you clean them up, give them a cottonball. They'll keep themselves entertained for a while pulling at the cotton.

[Royal]

Yup, springtails are just kind of gross. Those fungus gnat larvae can ruin your day - and fast. I found out the hard way. One little larva knawed through a spike with 3 big fat buds, others have hollowed out unopened buds and destroyed a developing seed capsule.

A combination of drying and sticky traps has helped. I also spray, but if you're only interested in "natural" remedies that's the way to go.