Fungus gnats in seedling cups! Help!

[Kief Stoned]

I just popped my jackberry F3 seeds and I have the seedlings in solo cups. I watered them a few days ago and seen a big bug ( adult fungus gnat ) crawl out from the soil of one of the cups. I freaked out obviously and kiled it. But today I was lookign around in the soil to see if I seen any more and I see lots of small bugs crawling in the soil ( after disturbed ) in some of the cups. Im fairly certain theya re fungus gnats. I am pretty sure they came in the soil that I had to buy locally as I didnt have access to my normal FFOF soil this time. What can I do to get rid of these things? Is there anything I can buy locally at home depot that will get rid of them without harming my seedlings? This really sucks as I have all of my eggs in one basket so to speak as far as this grow goes. Please help me get rid of these damn things.

 

[E.C.U.G]

Mix uP neem oil and spray the top of the soil with it.it will kill them

 

[symbiote420]

You could get some Mosquito Dunks (a bacteria Bti that's lethal to fungus gnat larvae but safe enough for pets to drink), crumble 1/4 dunk to a gallon let it sit 24hrs then water.

 

[Kief Stoned]

Should I try to return the unnopened bags of soil for a refund or should I just use it to transplant my seedlings into and then use the above cure methods? If I return the soil,if they will accept it, I will have to pay about 200.00 additional for FFOF soil and will still have to transplant these seedling cups into the FFOF risking spreading them to the FFOF. I have never had fungus gnats before but I have always used FFOF. This time I am using another brand. NEVER AGAIN! This can potentially ruin my entire grow. I am physically sick over this as all I can think of is those damn bugs in my soil right now eating and multiplying away. I am so upset that I have thrown away several of the solo cups with the seedlings because I thought maybe it was jsut a few of them that were infected, but i'm now thinking that its all of them and its from the soil as I have seen them in several other cups as well. So, should I wait untill I transplant them in a week or so before starting the treatment, or try ( I doubt I can get them to take the unopened bags back as I didnt keep the receipt ) to get a refund for the other bags and transplant them into FFOF at a 200.00 additional layout that I really cant afford. Im beside myself right now.This soil wasnt cheap. It was around 13.00 plus tax per bag.

 

[phenotyper]

It could be fungus gnats, but be on the lookout for root aphids too. Much harder to kill and they can devastate a garden in a matter of time. Just wanted to give you as heads up in case you start to notice that fungus gnat treatments don't get rid of the critters.

 

[Kief Stoned]

Im fairly certain its fungus gnats. I first saw an adult come out of the soil in one of the cups when I was watering the seedling a few days ago and I killed it. It was this type of bug >

Now I see little bugs that look like baby fungus gnats( im almost blind but they look just like the pics of them ive seen on the net . little tiny bugs with what apear to be tiny white wings ) crawling around in the cups after I disturb the top of the soil. So im pretty sure its fungus gnats especially after seeing the adult coming out of the soil of one of the cups. The adult was actually buried down in the soil when I watered the the cup of soil it was in and only came out after I had watered the soil. So I assume it had laid eggs or w/e it does before I seen it. So whats my best option at this point? As I said, the plants are only seedlings. In solo cups. And are only a week old and dont even have there first set of true leaves or anything. The plants are newborns.

 

[symbiote420]

Make sure they're not root aphids seriously dude I got them from several bags of FFOF & HF last year, thought they were gnats too.
An easy way to tell is to try an catch one if it tries to evade you it's RAs or watch the soil after waterng for larvae forms, you gotta attack them with more than neem if it's them.

 

[Plinkerton]

Chiming in, make sure they're not root aphids.

I'm knees deep in them right now, because I thought they were fungus gnats.

I wish I would have been positive. Now it's biting me (well, my roots) in the ass.

 

[phenotyper]

Hey Kief, do your flying fungus gnats have any antennae-looking things pointing out of it's rear apendage? If so, they are root aphids. If they are fungus gnats, it should be a pretty easy fix. Best of luck!

 

[Kief Stoned]

Thanks for the replies. I just checked again ( you guys have me even more paranoid if thats possible lol ) and unless the very very tiny root aphids can fly, I think they are fungus gnats. The little ones I see can fly. I moved the dirt around and I seen one and it immediately flew off. Where, I have no idea as the only was I seen it anyway was because it was on the black background of the soil. They are so tiny right now its very very hard for me to see them. I mean they are about 1/3-1/2 the size of this dash ' - " But it definately flew ( or jumped? ) . The adult one I seen come out of the soil was long/narrow/black and had wings just as the pic above and was about this ____ long. If it is aphids I am going to just close it down and start over at a later time whe I get more funds as I cant battle them for 3 months. Gnats are going to be enough trouble.. I suppose only time will tell.. But,as I was asking, what is my best bet? Neem oil? I am going to have to just keep the soil I have I suppose because I just dont have the funds to buy more right now.And im not talking about 1-2 plants here.I dont want to go into specs but you get the idea. Its not cheap soil either it costed me 13.00+ for each 1.5cf bag.And I bought MANY.. I'm almost positive they came in the soil as I have never had any problems with bugs before.I am going to have to transplant my plants in the next few days as they are currently in the solo cups but have stretched far far too much as I only have them under a few cfls I dont have my tent/lights set up yet for other ( security ) reasons. They are stretching so bad they are falling over so I am going to have to transplant them into there 3 gallon grow bags in the next few days so I dont have time to kill off the gnats before transplanting I dont think. It couldnt have happened at a worse time.

 

[phenotyper]

ExciteR (pyrethrin based 6.0%) should knock back both the gnats and the aphids(if you have them). You'll want to throw that into rotation with something else, maybe Safer Insecticidal Soap. Both are safe during flowering.

I haven't used Gnatrol before, but I've heard good things. Best of luck!

 

[Kief Stoned]

Thanks, I need it ;(;(;(

I just looked again ( yes again ) and the little fuggers can definately fly. I really hope there not root aphids. I mean, gnats are bad enough. So Neem oil then? or Gnatrol ?How much do you think I need per 3 gallon pot ( when I transplant in the next few days ) ? Should I get some fly strips?

 

[phenotyper]

I think you should get fly strips just to make sure you know what you're dealing with. If you're not opposed, some No Pest Strips should work well for the flyers and crawlers on or around the room (not beneath the soil). I have never saturated my medium with neem oil, so you'll need to consult someone else. Personally, I would try Gnatrol first if you're fairly positive they are gnats. Otherwise, with ExciteR I usually use about 2-3ml per gallon. Safer, about 1 oz per gallon for a soil drench.

 

[freegrow]

holy shit lol them RAs got yall armed and loaded for bear lol

first FNs unless in very high numbers dont do anything except freek out new growers ..........this said IMO chemicals are a harsh recourse for FNs

but if you just cant stand them diatomaceous earth on top of soil (reapply every wattering ) and mosquito dunks combined will eradicate FNs totaly the DE is for adults and dunks are for larva alot of people will tell you that DE dont work on the adults ...well I know from exp. that it does ( they have to land on it to lay eggs and when they do the DE shreds them )

sorry about laughing at the RA thing proly wouldnt be laughing if I ever had them
got no advice on them but good luck brother

 

[symbiote420]

Yea D.E. the shit for alotta pests, and RAs fly as well too, one surefire way to know is to try and catch it, RAs will see you & try to hide or escape, FGs are dumb fucks you'll be able to catch/smash them easily.
Also when transplanting look for weblike patches on the rootballs, that's where they colonize at (looks kinda like myco fungi, but it's not). I hope it's just gnats, good luck bro!!

 

[Kief Stoned]

this sucks so bad

 

[Kief Stoned]

I checked an unopened bag of soil to make sure that the gnats were in fact coming from the soil and not from inside my home etc and I can 100% confirm that they are in the unopened bags of soil! Someone told me that they probably came from being stored outside ( the place I got them from has them stored outside ).Which is puzzling as the bags are double bagged. They have a white plastic interior bag with a seperate clear plastic outer liner.But whatever....

So, I contacted the place that I bought the gnat tainted soil from and they were very apologetic and are going to refund my money and let me return the soil. So I am going to just break down and buy some FFHF from a store about an hour and a half away. My main concern is, when I transplant my plants that the gnats will simply transfer to the FFHF when I transplant my seedlings. I suppose I could remove the entire seedling from the infected soil and rinse off the small roots etc when I transplant and jsut put the seedlings into the happy frog without doing it the normal way using the soil from the cup as well. I just hope I dont kill them in doing so. I am going to definately buy some sand and place in the top of the new pots over the new soil to keep any residual gnats from getting into the new good soil/pots. Do you guys have any suggestions and does this sound like the best thing to do? thanks

 

[Kief Stoned]

BTW, the brand of soil is CLICK HERE .

I just wanted to post that so as to make sure no one buys it and goes through what im going through.

Any comments on my previous post?

 

[phenotyper]

You will transplant the gnats but all is not lost. How about you transplant, hit them with a root stimulator and an insecticide soil drench, and keep that up until the bugs are gone. Probably every 3-4 days for about 2 weeks.

 

[Kief Stoned]

So even if I remove the seedlings completely from the old soil and rinse the roots off completey before transplanting to Fox Farms HF I will still transfer the gnats to the new soil? Forgive me but I cant understand why that would happen. I can understand them getting back in from some other way like still being in the area if I place the new pots with new soil back in the same area but how can they get trasnfered if I do all of the steps above? Forgive me, im just trying to understand so I can better know what im dealing with.