gnats in coco

[WonkaBuds]

Use this stuff - diatomaceous earth. Its a white powdery stuff that you mix with water and spray all over the plants and coco. when it dries there will be a white powder left behind that whill kill htese bastards. Totally organic and safe for plants and people.

 

[leadsled]

Did not see it mentioned. Need to kill the adults and larvae.

So make sure to not only treat the medium, make sure to kill the adult with sprays or sticky traps.

Other than methods mentioned here are others.

sns203C for instant death of larvae and adults.

(use as foliar to save on cost of drenching application rates, can also spray heavily on top of medium and that works)

hypoasis mites are fungas gnat predators and are also supposed to be effective. Have not used them, all other methods mentioned have used with success.

Have also used "don't bug me" by fox farms to kill adults on contact as well. (pyrethium spray)

Please note to be safe: DO not use "dont bug me" same week along with oils (do do rite, sns, neem) Could fry leaves.

 

[pollenchucker]

I realize you may want to rush down to the local store for Gnatrol to put a hurt on these buggers ASAP....

but for those reading along who, like seamaiden and myself....use these products regularly and may want to keep some on hand, I personally think this product is far cheaper to use/goes farther than the gnatrol. with this you use DROPS...not frickin (1-8) teaspons per gallon.

http://www.microbeliftstore.com/home/ml1/page_37_16/liquid_mosquito_control.html

s h

how much of this stuff are you using per gallon? I might be screwing up the math, but I get 1 drop for 20 gallons. If its safer and more effective at a bigger rate, swell. How much are you using?

I can get rid of 98% of these fuckers, but keep having a few come back.

EDIT: FYI on my "math"

the bottle says 5ml for 2000 gallons of water = 1ml for 400 gallons.

A drop is about .05 ml, or 1/20th of an ml so 400/20 = 20 gallons (per drop).

 

[Jalisco Kid]

I use dry gnatrol at 3.5 oz per 100 gal. The dry gnatrol has a long storage life.
Too ignore all the chems/bios I just use noseum netting around the top of my buckets. This stops almost anything from entering the medium. JK

 

[MrMarley]

To those who have the sand on top of their coco:
I top water my plants by hand sometimes other have feeder tubes..
My question is, how do I water? do I just water on top of the sand? the sand doesn't travel down into the coco if I don't agitate it??
Any information would be great!!!
I love this forum! and you Cali growers know whats up?!?!?! I have learned sooo much and have been having such an excellent time in California!

 

[brookstown]

gnatrol is the best thing I've used. Couple of apps and it's a done deal. You want to not only monitor it but get on top of it, because the gnats larvae eat tender root shoots. (all the way up the stem, I know because I've seen them in the stems)

 

[Ohiofarmer]

IT Hurts badly to hear that people are spraying stuff on their plants just b/c of a little nat infestation. just use sand or clay on the top of you buckets, it's all organic No need to read the package b/c it comes from the earth, and then you don't gotta smoke all kinds of stuff that you don't know what was used in it!:puke:puke

 

[Smokey503ski]

I use the diatomaceous earth stuff on top of the Coco if I see a problem. What it does it basically is razor blades for those little fuckers. I also use the dry Gnatrol. If you use the Gnatrol you need to use it for a few feedings.
You need to kill the eggs, which what the Gnatrol does, also kills the adults flying around. That is why you need a few applications of the stuff.
This is why I always do what Seamaden does with the yellow sticky traps to monitor things. If you see one of them, then there are more.

 

[Seamaiden]

To those who have the sand on top of their coco:
I top water my plants by hand sometimes other have feeder tubes..
My question is, how do I water? do I just water on top of the sand? the sand doesn't travel down into the coco if I don't agitate it??
Any information would be great!!!
I love this forum! and you Cali growers know whats up?!?!?! I have learned sooo much and have been having such an excellent time in California!

The sand will migrate through the coco depending on how pithy the coco is (how much space it allows for stuff like sand to filter through).

I tried sand on top of my coco, as well as DE, it just didn't work well and compacts.

With the fungus gnats, I stopped worrying about it unless I saw they were actually creating a problem. I do occasionally find their poor little dead bodies stuck in the buds, so that bit gets snipped out, but it's rarely very often.

But if it's not fungus gnats and is instead root aphids, you must either wage WAR, or give up growing. First time I've encountered something that's brought me to such a conclusion.

 

[Jalisco Kid]

I use the diatomaceous earth stuff on top of the Coco if I see a problem. What it does it basically is razor blades for those little fuckers. I also use the dry Gnatrol. If you use the Gnatrol you need to use it for a few feedings.
You need to kill the eggs, which what the Gnatrol does, also kills the adults flying around. That is why you need a few applications of the stuff.
This is why I always do what Seamaden does with the yellow sticky traps to monitor things. If you see one of them, then there are more.

You know what the DE does to bugs hard shell, what do you think it is doing to your tender lungs? JK

 

[true grit]

The sand will migrate through the coco depending on how pithy the coco is (how much space it allows for stuff like sand to filter through).

I tried sand on top of my coco, as well as DE, it just didn't work well and compacts.

With the fungus gnats, I stopped worrying about it unless I saw they were actually creating a problem. I do occasionally find their poor little dead bodies stuck in the buds, so that bit gets snipped out, but it's rarely very often.

But if it's not fungus gnats and is instead root aphids, you must either wage WAR, or give up growing. First time I've encountered something that's brought me to such a conclusion.

Have you tried out a layer of garden liner between your coco and sand? some folks do this...

 

[Smokey503ski]

You know what the DE does to bugs hard shell, what do you think it is doing to your tender lungs? JK

Yes it is not very safe if not used correctly. You are supposed to wet it down right after application. I also wear a mask and should of mentioned that. It is the dust that affects your lungs from the DE. You are correct JK, but I believe it is safe if used properly. I would not go around the grow room shaking it around like a fruit cake or anything silly like that.
I guess I live on the edge, I also use Avid, Floramite and Shuttle. I have lost a crop in the past due to not taking preventative cautions. Not anymore after that.

 

[mamaherb]

gnatty

Gnats don't seem to do much damage in my experience. Unless you have a major infestation I wouldn't worry too much about it. just gets some sticky traps.

 

[Jimmynitz]

Forget mosquito dunks...it takes a lot of them and can get pricey.
Get yourselves some BMC(biological mosquito control) from Microbe-Lift. It is the same active ingredient as in other products...BT, but its way cheaper and waaay more concentrated.
I think it comes in 3 concentrations...birdbath, small water gardens and fountains, then the most concentrated for larger ponds and fountains. When I bought it online only the middle concentration was available which is almost to much, lol...6 drops per 100 gallons of water....can't argue with that. But if it can be found get the birdbath version..it will be easier to measure out for smaller amounts of water. And the results don't lie. Works great in hydro too.