How to get rid of Fungus Gnats (for free!) 

I have 100+ plants and I took your advice and started bottom watering a couple months ago.. not only did it WORK but there's something so satisfying about the whole process! Like watching the water level go down while your plant drinks.. watching the water meter jump the second you hit 1 inch into soil.. feeling the heaviness of the pot when you take it out.. using multiple containers of different sizes and rotating pots in and out and feeling all efficient lol.. Seeing dry soil on top and visualizing moisturized roots hiding below feels so devishly good mwahhahahaa screw you gnats!! It does take a little longer to water overall but SO worth not having ugly window tape with nasty bugs or bright ass yellow traps uglifying your pretty plants. THANK YOU SO MUCH and btw I'm SO happy u got your IG back!! 💚

Bottom watering is the answer. I have about 300 plants and I've always bottom watered. I've never had fungas gnats. Great video Sean!

Why do I like this guy so much?!

This is what I have been doing: I save dried egg shells that have been put through a dedicated coffee grinder. Then I mix with en equal part of sand and sprinkle about 1/2 inch thick on the top of the plant soil. Before I do that I water the top soil with a solution of 3 parts water and 1 part hydrogen peroxide. This will work on the larvae and the egg shell mixture works in two ways; the hatched larvae will struggle to get to the surface and if any others are flying around they will find it hard to penetrate this scratchy mixture. I also keep a small container of water beside a night light during the night and they go in there for the moisture and often drown in doing so. And your suggestion of watering on the bottom completes it. These pests come in through the tiny holes of window and door screens too so can’t always blame the plant suppliers. Hope this helps someone as houseplant gardening can be so enjoyable.

Wow, thank you for not holding the payoff of your title until the last 3min. I get that there's an algorithm, but man, I can't stand when I'm looking for answers and I have to skip around a 20min video to get it. Honestly, I'm going to watch every second of your video to thank you for getting down into the answer in the first 2min.

The little commentary notes that pop up always has me smiling. Cheers!

Gnats, I hate them..some plants are happy with them...and they love my phone screen at night

That wasn't a bad joke at all Sean, you made me LOL at free wifi in our nose and ears! hahahahahaha I think The whiskey was making you feel really good too. You made me laugh several times. You are adorable!

I’ve had one fly in my nose it’s one of the most violating experience I’ve ever had

This was really helpful, Sean! I've been leaving my plants sit in water way too long. You explain things so well, and I love knowing the why and watching you actually do the things! (And as always, I love your sense of humor and side comments 😉.) Thanks so much!!

Best way to get rid of gnats in house plants: 1. Repot with new soil (even in existing pot). Throw the soil in a garbage bag and seal tightly, to dispose of eggs, larva and junior gnats in the soil. 2. Spray roots with Garden Safe Insecticidal Soap. Make sure to spray in the remaining soil on the roots. 3. Refill pot with new soil, making about 1.5 inches for room on the top of soil for sand. 4. Add a thick layer of 1.5” - 2” of sand. Pat down to keep it tightly packed. 5. Water the plant. If sand moves to expose soil, add more sand at the top. I tried everything and couldn’t get rid of gnats in my plants, until I tried this method with sand. This worked, no more gnats going on 2 months. Gnats can’t dig into tightly packed sand, nor can larvae or gnats crawl up through the sand if packed tightly.

finally someone talking sense about bottom watering! the result is not to make the top soil soak up and get wet again..!! well done!

I'm now on a mission to get holes in every pot I own so i can bottom water! This is brilliant!!!

"Free Wi-Fi" 😂😂 New sub here. Thanks for a super informative video. I'm a year into my plant journey and am still recovering from the trauma of the infestation that descended on my home from the onset. Brought my plant accumulation to a screeching halt at 25 plants and the loss of 3. All is under control now as I spent the year catching my breath and learning how to care for what I have. A tribe of 22. This season I only replaced the 3 and propagated some. I'm enjoying watching my babies grow. IF I come across something that lights me up I'm open to adding one or two for this season. I've learnt a lot as a plant parent to where I feel next season I'll be able to expand my tribe thoughtfully and with intention. Thanks again for sharing. Loving the science behind it all.🙏

Ok I'm baaaaaaack! I immediately started bottom watering after watching this video AND IT WORKS!!!! It cleared up all the things flying arnd my plants!!!!! Il never go back to watering the top of a pot EVER!!!! Thank you xoxox

Knowledgable and funny. Looking forward to watching more!

7:20 hahahaha!! all the Russell Peters bits come to mind immediately! I have an extensive amount of bonsais, especially seedlings, and bottom watering is my preferred method. However I used to let the water soak through all the way to the top, since the drainage with my soil is fantastic there is no problem whatsoever for the plant. Now we have some of these damn gnats all around and they start to creep into my seedling corner which makes my alarm go off. I have tried various methods from different countries too and so far nothing has really worked and just like with you, mosquito bits for example are not available in my part of the world. Today I was thinking of bottom watering just bellow the "habitat" quarter for these bastards. Just before the water bubbles to the top. And now with your video, you mention that exact process. I'll see how that works out. It's good to hear you say they inhabit the top layer since I was wondering how low they burrow. So bottom watering just before the last quarter of soil should do it. My wife also has some large plants of hers in our living room and she's too lazy to bottom water (or replant) just as I am too lazy to do it for her all the time, these are laaaarge pots. So our laziness has led to somehow spark an infestation through some outside source and now it's taken hold of the house. Naturally my bonsais have become the new prime target since the soil is constantly moist. So I'm going for a new approach here: I'll use sand for our big "normal" plants to cover the top layer with this dry sort of soil. For the bonsais I'll adjust the bottom watering to stop just before the top layer. I hope this will do the trick before I have to resort to more... "drastic"(?) measures? Can you imagine my peaceful zen, everything has to be in the right place and balance, harmony and whatnot, moment, and suddenly there are these bums buzzing around? Makes a guy go Samurai.. Just imagine me swearing in Japanese all the time I see them. I can recommend anyone, just like you, to really use bottom watering more often. It really is healthy among a plethora of other benefits and once you do it a couple of times you DO get a feel for what pot fills up at what speed. Wish you all the best and good luck in our seemingly worldwide fight against gnats, lol.

I thoroughly enjoyed this instructional video....fungus gnats are so annoying & this gentleman has given me tools to "deal" with the problem, including acceptance

Thank god you’ve made this video because my plants I’ve bought inside have been swarmed with them!! ❤️

Trained gardener here. I can say only what I was taught during my apprenticeship, and that is that fungus gnat larvae do indeed attack the roots of plants. but the gardening world, even - or especially - among professionals is one of contradictory opinions, so take that with a grain of salt. And there might even be contradictory evidence out there because nature has a tendency to act in unpredictable ways. There's lots of factors playing into everything that happens and we don't always comprehend all of them. Also a way of getting rid of fungus gnats that i see here in my country is nematodes. their larvae actually prey on the gnat larvae and kill them before they can even get out of the soil. As for bottom watering needing to be interchanged, that is not true. At the nursery i worked at we had big bottom watering systems and about 80% of all our plants were bottom watered throughout their entire life cycle until we sold them. We used big basins that were already enriched with fertilizer, so the plants were fertilized with every watering. Of course the intensity of the fertilizer has to be adjusted accordingly for this as to not be too strong and cause root burn or salt deposits in the soil. But it can absolutely be done, and it's done very effectively at many nurseries.

The war on fungus gnats is real. I had a bad infestation because I was a little bit of a helicopter plant mom and overwatered. I tried nearly all the diy solutions. Only thing that worked was the sticky traps and diatomaceous earth. Water with the d.e. and that nooks the whole situation.

Great information! I occasionally have a fungus gnat problem, then I bottom water and they do disappear! I have yellow sticky traps in the soil of my more moist plants. Thank you!

I started bottom watering my plants a few weeks ago and thanks to your audio clip, I know now that I had a gnat problem! Initially I thought they were just...mosquitos? I haven't heard the buzzing since not top watering :D I can seep in peace haha I can def vouch for this method -this is my pestimony lol

All my plants have sticky sticky traps, and I find pleasure whenever i see gnats fly into the traps. I DONT CARE 😤

I really love how you do your videos, the little captions throughout are nice :)

So that's what it is, have been wondering about them but just been too scared to try anything. Thank you for this, now I can try out this method. Look forward to your nxt upload🙂

I’m definitely trying bottom watering 🤞🏽 The fungus gnat struggle is real and a little out of control currently 😳 Thanks for the great video!

Love your humor and your teachings

I've been bottom watering for the past 12 months but still have fungus gnats. I also put a layer of fine pumice around the top of the soil to stop them from getting in - that didn't work either. This is a new problem in Australia as I've been growing indoor ferns for 40 years and had never even heard of fungus gnats till about 3 years ago.

Was that a mosquito noise,because that's what noise they make..you can't hear them when they are flying around in front of you,but as soon as one goes past your ear they make that crazy little buzzing noise.. Oh well whatever they are they are a pain in the ass 🤣🤣🤣🤣..Fungus gnats love your compost heap or any veg peelings or rotting leaves,stuff like that.. Great video,really enjoyed your style,laid back & funny..Thankyou for putting in the work to help educate & help us,really appreciate it..Take care✌🏼☮✌🏼☮

YES!!! to bottom watering video. I could use your knowledge on how to bottom water properly indoor plants such as Pothos, Scindapsus and Philodendrons. I use this method and it works very well for me in preventing gnats and keeps roots healthy from root rot, I tend to over water :)

I love your channel. I know this may sound weird but the sound of your voice is relaxing 😌 also, I learn a lot and love your plant collection.

When you are rooting cuttings, initially the medium has to be fully moist. You can then let the top dry out, while maintaining moisture deeper in the container. If you need to replenish that moisture, bottom watering is the way to go, of course.

grateful for the video, especially the parts about bottom watering!

I'm watching this because there are a million gnats buzzing around my front porch. I have a row of bushes that gnats are living in. We have a lot of drizzling rain this spring. I guess I'll have to live with it until summer and things dry up. Just an FYI, you don't need a gadget to measure how high the water filled the pot, it will go at least as high as you fill the basin.

Loved your video! Really liked your personality that came through while your teaching!

You're very interesting to listen to, thanks for taking the time to explain this stuff to us! This is very helpful. And funny. Lol. I almost got a fungus gnat up my nose the other day, so I feel this 😂

Impeccable solution...just what I needed...Thanks much Sean for making mine and my plant's life easier!

Thank you for the information on fungus gnats. I enjoy your plant channel.

I am so sick of to fungus gnats!

I’ll have to try bottom watering. I use mosquito bits and sticky tape and so far that really has worked well for me. Thank you for the video.

I've noticed a bit of an issue recently with gnats, so I'm attempting to switch to bottom watering to (hopefully) eradicate them. There's also a few cellar spiders nearby the plants so I think it's thanks to them that the gnat population isn't worse than it is. (I have some tomato plants that I'm keeping inside for the time being, so unfortunately letting the soil dry out completely isn't exactly an option) Thanks for the tips!

Makes sense. I've tried everything else. I'll give it a try. Thank you. 😊🙏

Eager to try this as I’ve tried everything else and had no success lol thanks for the help!

I use the hydrogen peroxide method and sprinkle cinnamon on top of the soil, plus I keep sticky traps in every pot. I haven’t had any issues since I started doing that.

I know this sounds too easy, but I put up bug zappers & they started to ZAP right away! It was gross emptying the dead ones from the trays, but worth it! I smiled at every zap! I also cut back my watering to once a month, but I only raise sansevierias so they didn't mind! No gnats, over 11 months now! Took lites down 2 months ago. Not smiling from zaps, but happy! Hope this helps buddy plant lovers! Remember..zap, crackle pop brings smiles! Rev. J 😂😂❤

So glad I stumbled onto your video and now convinced this is what I’ll have to do for awhile…. I brought my plants in bf a frost, close to 100… AND THEN HELL BROKE LOSE!! .. is about the correct way to put it.. I did the Neem oil and sticky tape and the smell was atrocious.. then peroxide, no help!! Then Mosquito Bits, a lot of help but they didn’t hesitate to live on…. I’m in South USA and well humidity is our middle name and by now plants were pretty drenched…. So, I’m like the guy I read that said, “hell no, I’ve got Raid” (insect spray)!!! No, but I did use Ortho Home as I fluffed up the soil around my plants and they were still there!!!! By now, it’s whatever plant lives through this..(and I have more outside!!). Until you have fluffed your soil and seen the live crawling things, is when I hit the point of INSECTICIDE!!!! Now, I’m lucky enough to have a dehumidifier, so have been running that to dry out the soil along with a fan and grow lights…. With the bottom watering way, well, that just might qualify me as a slight expert on this issue, especially living in the South!!! Sry so long but as you can see, you’re not the only one that can run on…… Again, thank you for your video and I think/hope we will survive 😎👍 (I’m pretty sure I’ve seen you on other videos…. Lots of plants and you moved??). Yea, enjoyed those also!!!!

This was the best video on how to get rid of fungus gnats. Thanks!

I enjoyed that. I've been dealing with these little buggers for over 2 years. This is not going to be easy as I have over 100 plants.....dreading this. I guess it will be worth it. Thank you

Ha... a little drink and night time filming does a lot to brighten up a video about fungus gnats! Scientific information is so much easier to digest coming from an unintentionally hilarious speake. Thanks, Sean!

I have 52 plants - 15 of them are orchids (some are over 30 years old) and I've only encountered fungus gnats recently. Bottom watering is hardly an option and repotting all those plants seems almost punitive. Sticky traps are in all my plants and I've cut back on watering (although I've never been an over-waterer) After reading some of the comments the plan is to top-dress with finely ground eggshells, sand and diatomaceous earth in conjunction with inserting funnels to facilitate watering deeply. Thank you everyone for all your suggestions. I feel your pain

When I got a fungus gnat infestation, I went into full battle mode. I went psycho. I'm pretty sure they got introduced through an orchid mix purchase at Home Depot that I started using as part of my soil mix. I did pretty much EVERYTHING that anyone on RU-vid suggested: changed soil, peroxide drench, mosquito bite tea, sand on top of soil, sticky traps and drying out between waterings. I'd say it worked, but for a few stray gnats THAT DROVE ME INSANE. I reminded myself that this is a process and went to yoga to chill out. I bought this contraption called Katchy on Amazon, and I have to say, it bagged the warrior gnats that were still flying around. I haven't seen any flying gnats since Katchy showed up. So, since I can't leave well enough alone...today I set up a gnat triage station and started pawing through the top inches of my plant pots......I didn't see any gnats, or anything crawly. I did another 4:1 peroxide drench, changed out the soil and bottom watered everything with nutrients and mosquito bite tea. If I don't post again soon, you'll know that the gnats returned and I jumped out of my window.

Hmmmm the hint was about vining plants??? I'll see on your next upload, aha. Thanks for the laughs as always 🙂 I appreciate you

Thank you for the video. Yes I do bottom watering and my plants are free from fungus gnat. Kanpai 🥂to bottom watering.

I reckon reduced watering is more important than bottom watering. If gnats can get through small cracks in windows and doors then they can easily find access to the moist bottom of whatever plastic or terracotta container you are using via a hole on the bottom or loose top soil. Bottom watering and a top layer of sand can help. I find nematodes to be the most effective solution.

Thank You for the info! I do bottom watering but I keep them in the water too long so now I am going to leave them in for only 2-3 minutes. When you started talking about the gnats skating on the Vaseline, I lost it!!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂" My gnats are special!" 😂😂😂😂😂 Man, that whiskey hit you hard!!😂😂😂😂😂 I loved this video from all of them! (Whiskey needed on all your videos!! lol) You got me crying of laughter over here!! Thank You so much! Just wanted to pick on you a bit no harm done!! Much love and Respect!!😜😜😜

Thank you for newsworthy tips about watering our plants to avoid pesky gnats.

Thanks so much. I'm going to try bottom watering from now on. Thanks ❤

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but w/ the vinegar in ur beaker, you’re suppose to put plastic wrap over it w/ holes poked into it. That forces them to stay in the bottle. (Even tho you have better solutions I still wanted to mention it!) *love ur videos btw!! 🥰

FREE!!! Yeay🙌🏼😂😂😂 Tq Sean, I use Starxle G (bought from Shoppee) seems to work well for me👌🏼 Sometimes I place a tiny cup of Serai Wangi (bought from M’sia) on top of my potted plants soil if it gets too infected, Take care Sean😊

You're funny :-) I enjoy your videos, and have found lots of useful information. Envy the space you have and your collection :-) Greetings from across the border in Malaysia!

Great Tip, I have been doing this for awhile. I think those gnats like to get in your ears because you are so Sweet to them. Thank You for Sharing.

Great video...I’ve spent a small fortune on Neem oil and mosquito bites and barely made a dent...Starting tomorrow, only bottom watering

Bottom watering helps but if they’ve already been breeding it gets tougher. I found the best solution was to put a thin layers of sand on top, it stops them from laying eggs. Some plants might not thrive with sand on top, so you may need to remove it once the infestation is gone.

“Is it because you have free WiFi in there” HAHAHAH

Thank you again for a great, informative video!

Oh how I wish I could move to Indonesia. I love bottom watering!!!! This was such a good video.

Thank you for the information! I will start that method.

A gnat nearly crash-landed in my eye as I'm watching this.... definitely switching to bottom watering from now on!

Love all your videos! Subscribed and liked ❤️ Please make a video on ficus starlight care tips and how to avoid its problems. ❤️

I love your videos. Thank you so much!

Thank you! If you've ever had one fly up your nose and you itch and smash one in your freaking nose....you know the struggle. New sub! You're a delight.

Omg I couldn’t stop laughing throughout specially at the start. Thanks again for this video! Is there a type of soil you would not recommend bottom watering? Like bark or rice hull?

You are funny and knowledgeable at the same time 👋🏽new subscriber 😊

You look exhausted! Rest and take care of yourself! ❤️ appreciate your effort and informative content!🌱

Hi Shaun! I’d like to thank you for taking your time to make a very informative video. I saw that you have a carnivore plant at the beginning of your video, does that plant work for controlling gnats ?

Great video. My new watering method will be bottom watering.

Thank you! Its getting cold now and I have found my goji berries have lost all their leaves due to bugs😫 and my room gets humid esp in the winter season so my plants are crazy infested with gnats..thank u for telling me my issue ✊..

Gnats fly up my nose on a daily. Thx for video. Been needing some info to rid of the.

Yes, do please demonstrate bottom watering. Especially when you have a lot of plants. How long do you keep the plant in water? How long do you then let each plant drain? Can you put more than one plant in a tub of water? Seems so much more time consuming....but I am anxious to watch, learn and try it.

Free wifi in your ear 🤣🤣🤣 Great content! Will definitely try :)

never had a problem with gnats until i unkowingly bought some compost from B&Q that had gnats in it! Needless to say it caused an infestation, anyway after unsuccessfully trying sparys, removing the top soil, trying to wash them out, swatting them etc I finally bought some of those yellow sticky fly traps- staked it in the soil and over night most of the gnats were caught. After a week the issue was pretty much fixed. Still keeping the traps for a month just in case new babies apear. They may be unsightly but the traps work like magic.

Thank you for all this info If you don't want to lose the top inch of soil - you can spread it out away from any other plants and use a steam cleaner 😉 .... the process kills everything in the soil good and bad and allows you to keep the bulk and rejuvenate it as bulk into fresh soil (or rebuild it totally from scratch).......

Oh my gosh! I will be switching to bottom watering!

I don't have fungus gnats but i don't care i'll still watch this😂😂😂

I like the funny/clarification comments on the bottom.

Excellent. Thanks for making me laugh more than once too! :)

Amazing! I just saw another video on how to do a treatment by bottom watterting, but I did had the question on how much to bottom water the plants. Meaning how much water and all, then I saw your video, and you taught me how long to leave them in water. Thank you! 😊 but I have a question how fo you bottom water you big plants 🪴🤔🤔🤔

Ive been watching your videos and find them so helpful! im starting to have this problem with my ficus microcarpa bonsai, not sure if i can let the tree dry out.

This method works amazing for me! I've tried hydrogen peroxide but it didn't work as good. Just letting the pots dry and bottom watering is enough.

I can't really pinpoint exactly why....but this guy makes me smile and giggle. This video is chalked full of great info.....why I kept anticipating a punch line....Idk....maybe Jackie Chan resemblance??? Hmmm..

Omg I’ve been looking high and low for a solution... this I can def do.. and will be doing from now on:::

Just as one of those little flies flew into my nose, I discovered your channel. Thanks for your clarity...despite the whiskey. Would love to try bottom watering. I only have houseplants, two types of Sansevieria, a Dracaena, and a new avocado plant, growing from its seed. Can these plants be bottom watered? I know the Sansevieria don’t like a lot of water. By the way, I believe my knats came out of a bag of compost I recently purchased.

most of my stuff is in leca atm so i havent seen fungus gnats all that often. i sometimes see 1 or 2 who like my mosspoles but thats about it. what i have tried a while ago with soil plants what worked quite nicely was to put sprinkle some cinnamon poweder on the top soil layer and then wiggle it in a little bit. i m not 100% sure on that but i somewhere heard that cinnamon is a natural antifungucide so it neutralizes the stuff gnats eat, and indeed the plants with some cinnamon on were alot less interesting for fungus gnats. little bit of cinnamon+bottom watering i would do. sadly bottom watering is way too time consuming with alot of plants. running around the house and giving every plant some water is so much easier than collecting all the plants and putting them in a container to bottom water. i found those saucers you put below pots to catch water just not tall enough to really work for watering, the water lvl is too low and the pot wont really wick it all up. i agree that plants prob need alot less water than we think they do sometimes. i have a epipremnum devils ivy here and i kind of ignore her because i found her to be a little boring and i also dont like the soil shes in but i couldnt be bothered to repot all those stems so i literally just ignore her. i think i forgot to water her for like 1 1/2 months maybe...AND SHE STILL DOES FINE. like no real crispy leaves, new growth here and there. its kinda funny

Haaa...my fungus gnats are also colorblind for yellow sticky papers in my country. Vinegar, hydrogen, neem oil - nothing. It was necessary to jump on white powder for top of the soil + non organic two - components insecticide during watering. Works for now. You are right for bottom watering but for me takes to long.

I will try the bottom watering, because I've "had" an infestation of thousands, because I have about 60 plants. I used the mixture of apple cider vinegar, water and dish soap. I even combined this technique with the yellow sticky pads, whereas I cut a hole in the middle of the pad, (double-sided glue) then covered the jar of the apple cider vinegar mixture, leaving a small opening into the jar of mixture. The gnats will be attracted to the smell, so 99% will be stuck on the pads, but the 1% will drown, if they bypass the sticky pad. I bought an electric shock racket that I plug in and sit up by the plants, so at night, the racket will glow blue, and attract the gnats, so you will hear the small crackle of electricity frying the pests. I also used the diatomaceous earth, which also works to cripple the gnats, by turning legs into jelly, so they cannot run around anymore, but this powder can be messy and is best used after watering. I used mosquito bits before, and it worked quite well on the gnats, but not so much this time. I also cut strips of the yellow sticky paper, and placed it on the inside of the pot's rim, because that is where they seemed to congregate, so they will get stuck there, if missed by all of the other methods. I think we reintroduce these pests into our home, when we buy new plants from the store, as well as soil we buy in bags. The larvae are in most of the soil, then morph in the young, flying gnats and start to breed. You might want to discard the soil that you bought a new plant in, or sterilize it with the peroxide mixture or use your own sterilized soil. I found that mixing 1 part of 3% hydrogen peroxide to 5 parts water will kill the larvae. After top watering with this mixture, you will see the soil bubble, then the larvae head to the surface and die. The larvae "will" eat your plant's roots, especially seedlings, so the key is really killing them before they turn into adults. One more thing I've done to discourage egg laying of the adults, is to have 1-2 inches of sand or small rocks to cover my soil. They don't like to lay eggs on grainy surfaces. I currently don't see any, but I still hear the electric racket crackle every other day, so there are only a few left, probably around the window, which is another hangout for them.

Cinnamon also works and smells good hahah. But u have to make sure it’s real fresh cinnamon, and not preground one, because a lot of them are not real cinnamon. I take gnats for Mealybug any day. I also spray neem oil in the leaves and top soil and I bottom water. I know it’s supposedly not good because it blocks the pores of the soil...idk it’s ok for me... Thank you for the video! Don’t get yourself too stressed, not everything can be perfect all the time and also when we have a lot in mind we don’t have the ability to give100% on everything...so don’t feel guilty about the plant neglect..I’m having one now. And the gnats are back hahaha

The whiskey feels very fitting for talking about fungus gnats :)

my plants grow faster by over watering..... literally water them multiple times per day then let it dry for 1-3 weeks. It's the best strategy ever. Plants grow super fast.

Thank you! I will definetly try it.