Fungus gnats late in flower

[squiggly]

Try'd it squiggz , so much damn sand it looked like a morning stroll on the beach at pipeline..lol.. mosquito dunks.. still in affect !!! But dont see any difference.. broke up chunk spread it out , put in the water... 3rd week goin and nothing... every watering get mosquito dunk application... these fuckers have super powers!!! 2 years trying to eradicate ... and no solutions... ill get'm one of these days.....

Try brewing a tea with the dunks. I find spreading them out doesn't work for shit and just letting them sit in water doesn't really activate the bacteria enough. Get it brewing and you should see results in less than 2 weeks. The idea is to interrupt the life cycle.

The adults that are around will stick around.

If you have enough sand in there--and no where else the bugs can lay eggs in the room--there is no physical way for them to dig into the soil and lay eggs. Even less likely that larvae could dig back out when changing to adults.

Just be diligent with the dunks and also let things dry out a bit--they hate dry climate.

When I get gnats here's my go to plan every single time.


1. 1+ inches of sand in the pot.

2. Allow pots to dry and leave them that way for 2 days.

3. Apply tea with BTi (dunks).

4. All pots to dry and once dry leave for a further 2 days.

5. Profit.

 

[Theoneandonly Z]

Azamax wont fix a problem, just control it. U have to use it every 7-10 days for it to do u justice. I have had a fungus gnat problem like no other, tried all the tricks too. Best fix i have came across is beneficial nematodes. Im not at my comp so i cant copy the link to where to get them from. Google it and im sure some good results will pop up. That and after having a healthy living soil, nature does its thing. Its all about keeping a good soil food web balance... imo.Z

 

[Seamaiden]

So there is no cure for this little demon from hell!!!

I'v try'd
Mosquito dunks.. fungus gnats 1 .. me 0
Pyrethrin ..soil drench .. 1/ 0
Take down garden spray .. soil drench.. 1/0
Caps bennies.. haven't use yet .. i ran out... to be continued ??? 0/0
Sm-90.. read somewhere it works.. fail !! ... i know what its for if someone says otherwise 1/0
Sand ... what a waist of time..1/0
Azmax .. soil drench.. same as above^^^ .. a'ole... 1/0

Fungus gnats 6/ >>>>>><<<<<<< me /0

To be continued !!!!

Read so much false info on eradication of fungus gnats its not even funny... seems no one wants to touch the subject... its like im farming these little demons... o well to the next hyped cure............

You and me both on these methods. Now, this isn't a cure-all, it won't eradicate them so you never see them again (at least, not for me, because just 'have' fungus gnats, everywhere), but it's proving to be a great method and I'm using it with seedlings.

Neem+stick blender=very well emulsified. Root drench. It's working. Use at normal rate, I'm using 1oz/gal since they're seedlings, but have done a drench using 2oz/gal with no ill effects on the plants. FGs are gone for several days, then begin to slowly come back.

P.S. Squiggs, brewing doesn't do much here, either. I still use the MD water for making the Neem emulsion.

 

[squiggly]

You and me both on these methods. Now, this isn't a cure-all, it won't eradicate them so you never see them again (at least, not for me, because just 'have' fungus gnats, everywhere), but it's proving to be a great method and I'm using it with seedlings.

Neem+stick blender=very well emulsified. Root drench. It's working. Use at normal rate, I'm using 1oz/gal since they're seedlings, but have done a drench using 2oz/gal with no ill effects on the plants. FGs are gone for several days, then begin to slowly come back.

P.S. Squiggs, brewing doesn't do much here, either. I still use the MD water for making the Neem emulsion.

Might consider actually setting pots IN sand as well--so that the fuckers can't get in/out drainage holes.

If that isn't working there is only one possibility I can think of--and that is the FG's are laying their eggs elsewhere in your house/room. Be sure there is nowhere around they might be able to do this. For instance--bags of soil. Keep your soil in a rubbermaid container or similar.

I've found that if you "cook" your soil it all but prevents the fuckers from getting a foothold.

 

[Theoneandonly Z]

Oh another method that worked well is cutting individual circles out of a coco mat and placing them on top of my pots. Drys to fast for gnats to settle and lay larva. Not the cheapest route but served numerous purposes for me.Z

 

[sun]

I was doing an indoor grow down in socal , by the ocean .It was damp , & foggy.My girls got over watered .After I let the soil dry out they seemed to go away .

 

[keonaona]

Thanks for the info everyone, ill try'm all... i have nothin to lose!!! O you little devil's :hungover: will get it one of these day's.... :D

 

[Seamaiden]

Might consider actually setting pots IN sand as well--so that the fuckers can't get in/out drainage holes.

If that isn't working there is only one possibility I can think of--and that is the FG's are laying their eggs elsewhere in your house/room. Be sure there is nowhere around they might be able to do this. For instance--bags of soil. Keep your soil in a rubbermaid container or similar.

I've found that if you "cook" your soil it all but prevents the fuckers from getting a foothold.

Anything that adds weight to pots or the trays I have them in is a no-no for me. The discs between L4-L5-S1 aren't unherniating, ever, and neither is all that lower spine calcification. (Jesus, between that and the kidney stones I'm practically crackling!)

If you just walk around our property, you'll see these tiny flyers. Sit down for a few minutes where there isn't much wind, and there they are again. It's impossible to completely eradicate them, but it is possible to control them. The room had been closed for over 2yrs, and it took less than a week for them to find their way in. I find them in the garbage, I find them... everywhere where there is little to no wind and few to no other predators. So, you're absolutely right, they're laying eggs somewhere else! But it's far more extensive than just my room.

I went into our storage shed the other day, and the hornets... Oh. My. God. And wasps, too.

 

[squiggly]

Anything that adds weight to pots or the trays I have them in is a no-no for me. The discs between L4-L5-S1 aren't unherniating, ever, and neither is all that lower spine calcification. (Jesus, between that and the kidney stones I'm practically crackling!)

If you just walk around our property, you'll see these tiny flyers. Sit down for a few minutes where there isn't much wind, and there they are again. It's impossible to completely eradicate them, but it is possible to control them. The room had been closed for over 2yrs, and it took less than a week for them to find their way in. I find them in the garbage, I find them... everywhere where there is little to no wind and few to no other predators. So, you're absolutely right, they're laying eggs somewhere else! But it's far more extensive than just my room.

I went into our storage shed the other day, and the hornets... Oh. My. God. And wasps, too.

Yeah you're outdoors correct?

Impossible to eradicate just about anything outdoors.

Spider mites come to mind--they are light enough to float in the wind. Kill a population off and the next is a breeze away.

FGs can obviously fly--it's not even worth trying. These insects are everywhere.

If you're inside and have issues with a lot of them on your property (which could be the issue OP is having--they just keep flying in)

You can try sealing your room and running positive pressure to keep them out (and not leaving the door open for extended periods.

 

[KennyPowers]

i took a couple week trip last year. had some gnats beforehand that needed dealing with, but figured they would be fine until i got back. the helper watered a little on the heavy side and the gnat population was wild when i got back. at one point i even thought i had aphids.

i tried caps benes once or twice and they got knocked back but not spectacular. then about mid-flower i waged weekly warfare with tea and extra foliar pack in some feedings. gnats were no more. the bacteria will kill the gnats, you just need to keep up with it if the gnat population is already heavy.

ive found they pop up the most when the plants are overfed and overwatered. that became obvious during pheno hunts...the overfed plants usually seemed to have more gnats hanging around. nute and water usage also really tapers off after w5-6, maybe try adjusting your methods a bit if the gnats cant be beat and seem to be a nuisance later in flower.

i also now use tea from the start and mix all 3 packs right into my coco mix. have not changed a trap in months and i used to be overrun with the lil bitches everytime i blinked.

 

[squiggly]

i took a couple week trip last year. had some gnats beforehand that needed dealing with, but figured they would be fine until i got back. the helper watered a little on the heavy side and the gnat population was wild when i got back. at one point i even thought i had aphids.

i tried caps benes once or twice and they got knocked back but not spectacular. then about mid-flower i waged weekly warfare with tea and extra foliar pack in some feedings. gnats were no more. the bacteria will kill the gnats, you just need to keep up with it if the gnat population is already heavy.

ive found they pop up the most when the plants are overfed and overwatered. that became obvious during pheno hunts...the overfed plants usually seemed to have more gnats hanging around. nute and water usage also really tapers off after w5-6, maybe try adjusting your methods a bit if the gnats cant be beat and seem to be a nuisance later in flower.

i also now use tea from the start and mix all 3 packs right into my coco mix. have not changed a trap in months and i used to be overrun with the lil bitches everytime i blinked.

Yeah I find the best way to push a product (which I absolutely want to do with the OGBiowar line) is to be honest about it.

I have to second that really the only issue Cap's Bennies haven't dealt with for me was FGs.

As you said, it knocks them back but it doesn't totally kill them.

I wonder if it'd be economical for him to add BTi in there--or if it makes more sense just to leave it to the end user to grab the dunks.

If you religiously apply BTi--there is almost no question it should deal a fatal blow to a FG population.

You absolutely can't miss a dose, though. The FG life cycle is exceedingly short--and it's important to remember that you've usually got several overalapping cycles going on in an infestation (eggs laid different days therefore different stages at different times).

The BTi is most effective on the larval stage.

The worst FG infestation I ever had I murdered with one application of azamax, letting the pots dry, top dressing with DE, and then basically letting the things dry out until they looked like they were bout to croak.

Then I removed the bulk of DE top dress, replaced with sand (the DE is useless and goopy and gross when wet)--and watered in with caps/BTi for the next week or so.

Also had sticky traps up in each pot.

Once the traps caught all the fliers, I didn't see another one.

 

[sixstring]

good info guys,i been doin battle with these lil bastards on and off for about 8 months,im doing the bti and only watering when they really really need it lol.seems to have the numbers down but i cant get over the hump.gunna try some sand and see if that helps with finishing these bugz off.peace

 

[squiggly]

good info guys,i been doin battle with these lil bastards on and off for about 8 months,im doing the bti and only watering when they really really need it lol.seems to have the numbers down but i cant get over the hump.gunna try some sand and see if that helps with finishing these bugz off.peace

I bet it does the trick. Don't be cheap on the sand--fill the pots to the very brim. The thicker your layer the better.

 

[sixstring]

I bet it does the trick. Don't be cheap on the sand--fill the pots to the very brim. The thicker your layer the better.

you guys are talking about standard playsand in a bag right?

 

[squiggly]

you guys are talking about standard playsand in a bag right?

yup.

 

[ttystikk]

I have peppermint, but not cedar wood oil. I DO, however, have a wormwood bush growing here at home. Everything I've read says to be very careful making any kind of extract with wormwood, though. I love the way it smells.

Wormwood? They make absinthe outta that stuff! You trying to kill fungus gnats or just get them really wasted?!

 

[squiggly]

Yes be careful making wormwood extract. It can absorb through your skin (and potentially some types of gloves).

You can overdose on this shit.

I would definitely wear nitrile gloves (most likely to be resistant) and be sure to never spill any on me.

You should work with such material standing over a waist-to-sternum high bench--and never sitting at a table (where a spill could end up in your lap).

Basically treat it like its an acid or a base. I also don't know about vaporization of the stuff--so you'd want to look up a boiling point on it to make sure you're not breathing it (though I imagine since the extract is in absinthe you're probably safe on this one).

 

[ttystikk]

Go gnats brand is basically cedar oil, from what I can tell. I also know it's effective.

 

[thomasdequincey]

During my last in door grow I had an annoying SM infestation week two of flower in addition to which FGs got really out of hand, almost blocking out the light , eventually I adopted a scattergun approach (ie multiple agents , not an actual shotgun coz the bastards wouldn't keep still )
Although not total eradication, it wasn't far off . I'm currently in week 3 of a new coco grow using 40% coir, 40%chips and 20% clay balls. So far I've seen odd occasional FG on the traps but not its not yet an issue. Absolutely no sign of SM tho'

1)Gnat off
In every nutrient mix I used Gnat Off which is a bacterial agent.

2) PV Plus
Every four days I applied. ultra-fine mist/fog of PV plus (having first placed plants under large bin bags)

3) TanLin (aka nil naT)
applied to top layer of growing medium every week, apparentlly this contains microspheres which get into the larval digestive tract before expanding thus killing them.

4)Dia Hydro Grow medium
Similar to chalk but comprised of fresh water Diatom exoskeletons, high in silicone and with very sharp jagged surface at a microscopic scale, a 2" layer of this can also be used as a mulch which will tear open the soft FG l larvae.

5) Shit load of Sticky Traps
These traps are a forensic nightmare, Virtually impossible to handle once unpeeled , esp with silicone gloves, These traps now hold my eye brow hair, head hairs , hair roots, skin cells and some of best fingerprints ever lifted

I am continuing with this schedule and so far its all good, I' ve no idea which of these did the trick and will also admit that it could be a bit excessive but it seemed the best way to avoid the risk of FG evolving a resistance to the Gnat off bacteria.
If they do become resistant I will probably be be looking to try a very small caliber air pistol or light sabre.
BTW this is my first post on any forum so apologies if its in the wrong place

 

[Seamaiden]

LMAO! Thomas, I am laughing because of your reporting on sticky traps. Ain't it the truth! Good post and welcome to the farm.