Great ideas although I think you did the diatomaceous earth wrong. You have to put it directly on the soil so it kills the larvae and adults when they land on or touch it. Food grade is safe for pets. putting it on those petri dishes doesn't do it as they can easily avoid those. Good vid. , Also you can try cinnamon on the plants and soil, it kills the Larvae and the adults hate the smell.
Cinnamon didn't work for me but I saw on another video something called NEEM CAKES. I think it's neem oil mixed with a bark like material. You're supposed to use it like you would with the Gnatrol - mix with water and water weekly until you see the gnats gone.
The only thing that worked for me was Neem oil spray on the adults fling around, hydrogen peroxide mist on the plants themselves, and diatomaceous earth sprinkled on the surface (kills the crawling larva as they surface). Lastly, I mulched with fine cedar bark and switched to bottom watering almost exclusively. Completely eradicated the problem I had and I haven't seen one since. :)
While these methods might work great for a collection of house plants, cedar wood chips and Neem oil are both extremely toxic to reptiles so they wouldn't work in a terrarium setting. The only thing that worked for my infestation was Gnatrol, but I'm glad you found a solution that works for you!
@@TatianasTinyZoo I am glad you specified that you needed it for plants that are near animals. 😀. Yea… you are not able to use the other methods the way they were intended. I did not know mosquito bits grew mold. Thank you so much for the heads up
I had two infested plants and I put Diatomaceous earth directly on top of the plant dirt covering it entirely, like pizza cheese. Then I watered them both from the bottom. No more gnats and the plants are growing!
Thank you! Since I got my very 1st plant 5 years ago, I've been so afraid of inducing the dreaded root rot that I have always let every plant get bone dry before watering again. That's clearly not the best practice for a plant parent with a house full of tropicals, but even after causing the detriment & demise of quite a few of them, I still do it. But.. I still get fungus gnats & it no longer surprises me when I pick up an extremely lightweight pot holding a very dehydrated plant & see several of them fly out. And every... single... thing... that I've read & watched about eradicating gnats says to "let the soil dry out & poof🧚♀️🧚♀️ they'll be gone!", but it's never been the case for me. It's been sooooo frustrating so I can't even tell you how freakin relieved I am to FINALLY hear someone else say that dry soil didn't help them either. Thank you!!😄😄😄
Sterile compost for houseplants is a must and very difficult to get. I always microwave any new compost coming into my home and quarantine new plants. It works well most of the time.
Here is what worked for me, in combination: - Garlic granules and cinnamon powder. Several spoons per pot, evenly mixed with top soil, then gently sprayed with water to soak for 1-2 hours. Then pouring water evenly to the pot, until it starts coming out theough the pot hole. - Sticky tape. - I stopped putting pots in decorative pots. Gnats love that area between the 2 walls. Instead, I drilled holes in all decorative pots and started using saucers. - Stopped using excessive amounts of compost. Almost every compost comes with gnat eggs. - Stopped using compost which didn't compost completely. - Started using 50% perlite in every soil. - Stopped overwatering.
To add, garlic and cinnamon don't affect grownup gnats at all, but larvae can't stand this combination soaking up the soil and will disappear in few days already.
I hung a plant zapper lite in my plant room. The crack of gnats being zapped started right away! You do have to empty the tray at the bottom full of dead ones...but WORTH it! I smiled at each zap! Took about 4 weeks..all gone now, no more zaps. Took it down 6 weeks ago, still gnat free! Nothing flying up my nose! Good luck! R.J
I've sprinkled Mosquito Bits on top of the soil and have also soaked them in water, strained and used that water to water. I still have lots of gnats. They are found strolling on the Bits. I have found them minimally useful.
Grantrol and Mosquito Bits do not target the fly stage of fungus gnats. They only target the larvae/pupal stages, so that is why you see flies climbing on top of your mosquito bits. It also takes them a while to work (and longer than gnatrol IMO)
If it hasn't been said, there's is one thing that you can say about the sticky traps having value is they will tell you which pot/plant is infected. I had a pythos that was infected and I moved it outside. Oddly enough the snake plants right next to it have clean sticky traps and thus I can conclude they are not [yet] infected with anything. Still haven't found the ultimate solution to fungus gnats however (like most people). Maybe this Natural or whatever it's called is the holy grail.
Do you know how many you tube videos I have watched ? I have mosquito bits, but they are really a pain. I just ordered some gnatrol. Thank you so much for posting this!
Great video. I tried all that organic garbage and nothing worked for me except mosquito bit tea. I used it for about 3 months every watering and I would say 95% of my fungus gnats are gone! I also keep using the sticky traps to control what handful of adults I have now. You are spot on, and correct. All that other stuff is bogus!
Right??? I tried all the other crap too! And all these comments about using 3,4,5 methods at once when I'm trying to tell them the ONE that works consistently!! 🤦♀️
Thank you so much. I brought 2 new plants home, totally unaware that they needed to be quarantined. I only have one window for plants so I put them with the others. Now I've got gnats!!😒 This will help me get rid of them! 😃
Neem cake didn't work for me, in spite of the video where the guy said this was the Holy Grail. It seems like people are putting out fungus gnat remedy videos just to create content.
I tried peroxide, mosquito bits, d earth, ceylon cinnamon and sticky traps. The only thing that worked for me was tanlin drops and burning Nag Champa incense. The tanlin must have taken care of the larva, the incense smoked out the adults flying around. I had a terrible infestation. Too many prayer plants that like to stay moist. Can't let them dry out completely between watering.
The diatomaceous earth has to be mixed into the soil. If you can't mix the diatomaceous earth into the soil then it needs to be watered into the soil. Diatomaceous earth has worked for me. Thanks for the video, fungus gnats are a headache.
Thank you!!!!! Tried mosquito bits but I noticed 2 of my plants producing a lot of yellow leaves!!! My beloved ZZ - had to whack off 4 limbs! Was afraid to try it for another round. I heard you need to apply bits as a tea formula strained out the pieces and do this next 3-4 watering. I stopped out of fear of losing my plants! All this from a plant I received as a gift and not from a reputable nursery! So mad!!! I’ll get the second option and try it. 😬 so upset. My plants are my babies!
EXCELLENT VIDEO!! I like how you kept it real. So glad you shared all your experiences with us. I have learned from looking up different youtubers that if you make a tea with Mosquito Bits, and spray it on top of your soil it will work. Although you need to do this several times. Some will put water underneath on the tray (for seedlings) or plate and place the mosquito bits with water and let the plant soak it up for about 20 minutes. I also found that putting Vermiculite on top of the soil keeps the larvae from coming out. But you have to do both. And I heard that before you use the potting mix, to pour boiling hot water and mix thoroughly. It's supposed to kill the larvae. Thank you for sharing this with us!
My outdoor vegetable grow bags, elevated cedar garden bed and strawberry tower are horribly infested with them. I have tried the mosquito bit "tea", neem oil spray and hundreds of the yellow sticky tabs - nothing has worked! I pray this is the trick! I ordered from Ebay and will let you know how it works. Thanks!!
Ive used 1tbs of Apple Cider Vinager, mixed in 2 oz of water and 1 drop of dish soap. The smell of the vinager attracts them and when they land on the water, the soap breaks the water tension and they end up and the bottom. This can quickly reduce the gnats flying around.
I didn’t see you try parasitic nematodes. I have used a commercially available brand called Double Death that has 2 species, one for fungus gnats and one for shore flys. Worked great for me. I’d love to see a review on those!
Use hydrogen peroxide on the mold. The mosquito dunks are nematodes BTI . Probably kill the nematodes. Ive put all my plants in plastic bags. 4 weeks later...only one of 8 houseplants has gnats and I'm taking that outside to blow out the adults. After using BTI and the hydrogen peroxide.
The predatory mites come in a few variations, I've heard of them mostly for eating Spider Mites, and a few other things like Thrips or Aphids. Nematoads are what are known as the predators of Fungus Gnats and work very well with no chemicals. They don't hurt plants or humans.
I’m not sure if you’ll see this, but I found out if you soak the mosquito bits in water (just a small handful size amount) in water for 10/15 minutes that it helps it work immediately. Not sure if it’s cheaper but it was amazing for me!
for the DE you gotta let the surface of the substrate dry out and use the duster it came with to dust the top of the soil. it kills larvae its not even supposed to kill the adults. just gotta let the top stay pretty dry so water down the walls of the enclosure and keep moisture a bit lower. larvae dont live in the little lids you put out so ofc it wouldnt do anything.
10:15 pm CST Hi all! I’m new here. I too had the gnat problem and it WAS bad. I used the following recipe to get rid of them out of my kitchen: Small shallow bowl or container 1-2drops dish soap ( I used Dawn) White vinegar or whatever you have ( maybe 1 TB spoonful) Pinch of sugar Mix together thoroughly Set the bowl around the area Check the progress. There should be dead gnats in the container. You’ll start to see fewer and fewer until their gone. It works and is very cost effective. Don’t know about using in terrariums. Good luck!
What is strange for me is that I’ve had house plants my entire adult life, and never had gnat problems ever until about 12 years ago ( yes I’m old lol ) then it was just crazy out of control. I wonder if the growing popularity of houseplants played a role in gnat craziness because I’m convinced store bought bags of compost and potting medium are infested with gnat eggs. You are right though. Same method worked for me.
Covering the top layer of soil with freshly ground (not ready ground) cinnamon, preferably Ceylon cinnamon, works too. It kills the fungus that they feed on. 🪴
Mosquito bits did absolutely absolutely nothing except turned, moldy on top of all my plants I had to remove it all. I have recently tried nematodes. I am hoping for the best.
Thank you so much for this info! 🙏 I have been pulling my hair out and trying various methods for months, to no avail. Will try and get hold of the Gnatrol, if I can find it in AUS.
Thanks for the info! They have just appeared after a really hot/humid week and I thought they were just fruit flies at first. Even a small number have already started to destroy my vivarium plants. I'm just hoping the gnatrol doesn't affect the microfauna.
Hey Jeff! Yeah they kinda appeared out of nowhere for me too... I think it was a new houseplant I brought in. But they took over my terrariums in NO TIME! I wish I started gnatrol first instead of trying all the other methods I listed. And it is completely safe for cleanup crew, it only targets gnat and mosquito larvae!
Gnatrol is impossible to find unless you want to purchase a huge container for over $500. I would prefer this but will stick with the bits for now, it's the tried and true method for me as well.
@@TatianasTinyZoo got it & ordered thanks I appreciate your quick response. I just mixed a gallon of mosquito bit tea that will hold be over until they resume shipping on 6/13! 💚
Peroxide water worked for me - BUT the two points I would stress is that ONE , letting all soils dry out well BEFORE treating with the solution {not all sized pots are going to dry at the same rate, so I had to watch moisture levels on smaller pots.} and TWO, treating EVERYTHING in the room or areas of the home, simultaneously .... I recently heard of the Mosquito bites thing, and may try it if I need help, in the future
Repotted all plants with fresh soil. Started bottom watering. Nice layer of desert sand on top of the soil. Discourages them from laying eggs in your pots. Catch remaining adults with the sticky traps.
Thanks, Tatiana. I see a bunch of options available but some are really expensive. Mosquito Bits seems to be the most often recommended budget solution so I will try this first.
Sounds heartless but my method of pest control for all of my houseplants has been: As soon as you notice any major or concerning signs of infestation, take action ASAP. Take cuttings of the plant if possible to propagate a new one and throw the affected plant away (keeping the pot of course, cleaning it/disinfecting it well). Here in Canada: Pest control products are expensive but new soil is always cheap! I know that you can't necessarily propagate every type of plant but I go out of my way to only own easily-propagated varieties of plants just for this purpose of extreme but cheap pest control.
For what you have, diatomaceous earth won't work. It's more for potted plants, and you have to sprinkle it on to the top soil , luje you are top dressing. And to get rid of the larvae, beneficial nematodes works the best ! Buy , again, this is for mostly potted plants !
Neem cake & traps are the only things that are working for me! Plus it’s an organic fertilizer that won’t burn your plants . I have an indoor veg/fruit garden soooo gnats are not welcome! Lol
Hi Tatiana, thanks for the info. These things are a nuisance and I have been trying to get rid for them for months. I believe my infestation was breeding in my kitchen sink where my garbage disposal is. I'll definitely give your recommendation a try. Tatiana, I believe we use to be neighbors in Tucson, AZ. You were much younger then, your parents lived in the cul-de-sac of E. Lippia Way. Your dad's name is, Steve, right? If I have the wrong person, I apologize.
Mosquito bits does not eradicate fungus gnats. I am going to try neem cake next. Not neem oil. You apparently put 2 to 3 heaping tablespoons in a gallon of water, shake, leave for 2 hours and apply at least twice. Don'r know if it works. Utube said it gets rid of them entirely.
Growing cannabis and I use a combo of the sticky traps and once a week I’ll do a top soil watering with the mosquito bits and boy oh boy does that stuff work! And mosquito bits is safe to use with cannabis/fruit/veggies
There are also female maggots which stay in the soil laying eggs and some species can reproduce by parthenogenesis -that is to say, asexually. So sticky taps will never eradicate them.
Mosquito bits for me are great in outdoor water tanks but do nothing in my grow room. I worked some into the soil, added them to irrigation water regularly a few days before using, no noticeable effect. Another thing of no value was cinnamon powder. I had like tens of thousands of gnats on my sticky traps. Some were practically wall-to-wall gnats. The gnats finally disappeared late last year after i left a small partial bottle of pennyroyal oil open in the small room. After a few weeks, zero gnats. Coincidence? I don't see how that would effect larvae much but maybe if all the adults die they stop reproducing. Months later, still not a single gnat. One YTer recommends working a bit of neem cake into the soil, so I ordered a bunch for this season. It's supposed to be good fertilizer anyway.
@@zoponex3224 I can't recommend my source. It was damp to get the weight up and the pieces are the size of cigar butts. Also I have read that neem inhibits at least some plants. It certainly seemed to inhibit the sprouting of my lettuce seeds.
If anyone is actually interested in getting rid of Fungus Gnats, it costs next to nothing…………Fine Sand is the answer. Cover 2” of fine sand onto the surface of each plant and then under water ensuring the top sand layer never gets wet - end of problem - period.
Oh I wish I knew you were going through this because I might have been going through this just before you did. And I discovered the same thing I went through all the remedies that everybody talked about none of them worked and the only one that worked was the mosquito bits
@@Jessica_Crease87 there are instructions on the package but I put a certain amount in a bucket of water I let it soak for a little bit and then I water the plants with that liquid. Just like anything else make sure you keep it away from your animals
Thanks for the video. I have a plant in my salon suite that has these horrible critters on it and they fly around my room and into my clients' faces and my wax pot! How gross and embarrassing! I will try the Gnatrol! Also, I was dying laughing from your skink's thought bubbles! "Da flies are still here." "UR dum." Dead!
