Fungus Gnats and Insectivorous Plants
 

Hello,

I recently have had an influx of what I am pretty sure are fungus gnats. I was wondering if certain insectivorous plants like the venus flytrap or Nepenthes pitcher plants might be useful in controlling these. I really don't like the idea of spraying pesticides, since my orchids live, primarilly, in my bedroom in my apartment. Do these plants have similar likes and dislikes to phal and paph orchids? Has anyone ever used these plants to control insects? I tried to search the forums, but it came up a little lacking in results.

Just wondering,

John

I'm not familiar with fungus gnats but I do grow a Nepenthes pitcher. It requires lots of humidity. Mine is grown outdoors in a humid environment in damp coir and dappled sunlight. I mist the leaves once a day to bump up the already humid environment. It attracts a variety of insects and utilizes them as it's only source of food. I'm not sure if a fungus gnat would be attracted to the pitchers. My plant gobbles up much larger insects and it's possible that tiny gnats would not provide enough nutrition to support the life of the pitcher plant. A smaller carniverous plant such Venus fly trap might be a better choice, however I'm not familiar with their growing requirements. Perhaps another OB member will chime in with their knowledge on the subject.:)

The butterworts (Pinguicula) are a better choice in my mind. They work great for gnats. Try Cascade Carnivores

The sundews also collect a lot of smaller flying things and are easy to keep. Flytraps require a winter rest in order to survive.

I have a Drosera adelae [you need to use distilled water and keep it in a saucer with an inch of water] attracts a ton of gnats. I have 2 small pinguicula moctezumae and i thought they would not attract as many gnats but one started trapping them.

there are different Pinguiculas so you have to choose the best one for your environment and one that can skip the winter dormancy [think mexicans are best - from what i read].

The Drosera seems a bit more effective - but I had all these for not long enough. also but the Drosera outside and teh sun caused some leaf burn - hope it will recover [the past week has been a lot hotter than the rest of the summer].
Anyway a Pyrethrin based spray works well and it may be less toxic than other chemical compounds.
I had tried neem oil but it leaves residue and damaged some Mango and Lychee seedlings' leaves.

Anyway I think the Drosera is the most effective - it seems to attracts the gnats.
The Venus Fly Trap could not really catch as many. no experience with pitcher plants... wanted to go for the less fussy.

I got the Pinguiculas off ebay... cheap shipping if you buy 2 or 3. if you send me a private message I can send you the link of the seller.

stefano

I had a pitcher plant, it was very fussy and is near dead. I have a few Venus fly traps, Love umm.
They don't eat the nats though. They love black flies and will eat carpenter ants. I haven't had them very long, but theyare very happy. I keep them sitting in water.
Beverly

I add 1/4 tsp of dish soap to a quart of water and use it to water the orchids. Usually once a week for two weeks does it. Though one year I had to do it a third week. Extremely effective. They don't come back until you bring home a plant from somewhere. I use this on house plants too. Carol

That sounds easy enough to try.:thankyou

Thanks everyone for the great responses and recommendations! I have some research to do now.

John

The soup trick should work to get the media dwelling eggs and larvae. Yellow sticky cards help with flying ones, especially in an enclosed space like a bedroom.

Couldn't help but chuckle at all the carnivorous plants recommended. After the little buggies are gone, I envisioned josterha hustling around to find things to feed "Audrey II" (as in The Little Shop of Horrors)