You won't get rid of fungus gnats...sorry

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How to get rid of fungus gnats is a common question in the indoor houseplant world. While there are effective methods to kill fungus gnats getting rid of them permanently can be next to impossible if you have a large plant collection.
In this video I share 4 methods of how to get rid of fungus gnats. I discuss diatomaceous earth, mosquito bits and mosquito dunks, nematodes, hydrogen peroxide, and sticky traps. But I hope to convince you that managing and learning to live with fungus gnats is the most time and cost effective way to deal with this pest problem.
Nematodes at work: • Biological control of ...
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*Products I Recommend:
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Sticky Traps: amzn.to/3wUzpIe
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Sticky Traps: amzn.to/3ro6WZY

Опубликовано:

26 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 135

@KillThisPlant 2 года назад

As a update to this video I tried using the beneficial bug Stratiolaelaps scimitus. They are soil mites and eat many different pests. Particularly fungus gnat larvae, spidermites, and thrips pupae. I used them once and since then I've seen a grand total of 3 fungus gnats in the last 6 months. If you're in Canada Grub Grenade on Amazon: amzn.to/3AWVcVs If you're in the United States, search locally. I would recommend around 5000 mites for a 100 plant collection.

@lalamyne 2 года назад

So we catch the fliers with sticky traps and add beneficial bugs to the soil? And that's it, no other intervention?

@KillThisPlant 2 года назад

@@lalamyne correct. Any other intervention might negatively effect the health of the mites. Just let them do their job.

@trashcan2522 Год назад

So far nematodes have worked best for me, I do them as soon as I see some lil flies - maybe two times a year. recently I had my first thrips infestation and that sucked big time. (got them because I really wanted to save that monstera I found on the street -.-) I used poison someone from a plant shop recommended and although it worked, some plants also died :/ (the monstera lives and thrives tho!) I will keep the bugs in mind, thanks for the tip!

@emmastilwell759 Год назад

So glad to see this, I was coming to the comments to suggest exactly that. I managed to be fungus gnat free for a whole year after using them (and then I bought in a new plant into the house that was hosting gnats and now I need to start over, but at least I know what will work now).

@mcgaggie1442 Год назад

Oh my god. My life has been changed.

@jackiegoodrich1351 Месяц назад

I hung a bug zapper lite over my plants and listen to them zap and smiled! Left it up 2 months, no more zaps! Took it down, over a year now, and no gnats! Rev. J 😊

@Meskarune Год назад

I used a combination of nematodes and pinguicula (butter wort) carnivorous plants. Then I top dress my pots with gravel. It's been 2 years and no gnats in my house.

@Boywithplants Год назад

The sand helps a lotttt

@BumbleDee805 2 года назад

Thanks for this info. Not many people will like this idea, but I allow harmless spiders to live amongst my plants. It works quite well. I don't have to buy sticky traps, but I do have to clean up the remnants once in a while as the spiders like to keep their homes free of clutter. ;>

@WitchyGeek Год назад

Spiders are amazing for something like this and if you spend a bit of time learning about them you might find you think they're actually pretty cool and maybe even a bit adorable. I used to be seriously afraid of spiders but in the past year or two I've learned so much about them that I've had a few where I got so sad when they died. All because I'd joined an entomology group on Facebook because I'd found a bug I wanted to know what was and then stuck around after getting my answer and ended up learning a ton about spiders and other creepy crawlies.

@meikahidenori Год назад

I adore having jumping house spiders on my plants. They're wonderful little fly catchers! Because I live I live in Australia I have to be picky letting spiders make home in my plants as redbacks and white tails do unfortunately live indoors also and they have pretty venomous bites. Jumping spiders are forever welcome (as well as huge huntsman... they eat the more dangerous spiders, but because of their size... yeah they can frighten people!)

@BumbleDee805 Год назад

@meikahidenori Jumping spiders are the best. They are quite adorable. As much as I love members of the "tiny critters" club, I don't know how I'd feel about a spider called a "huntsman" in my house, especially if it is a huge one. Obviously, that eliminates them from the tiny critters club! 😅

@jenthulhu 2 месяца назад

I've gone 30 years as a plant parent and got my first fungus gnats in late winter/early spring this year (stupidly bought an infested plant from Home Depot). I did the mosquito bits watering 6 weeks in a row (+ sticky traps) before I made any headway but now they're gone completely and I hope they don't come back. I credit careful watering and frequent ADHD-fostered neglect plus only purchasing cuttings instead of plants for my lack of gnats in the past. I've recently stopped purchasing peat-based potting soils and despite adding far more perlite and other drainage helpers than ever before my new coco coir-based soils really hold on to water like nobody's business. I've become extremely careful about watering and don't need to nearly as often as I used to.

@bookeratkins8134 Год назад

Great video! One thing though. You CANNOT use hydrogen peroxide and mosquito bits/dunks simultaneously. This product releases a BT bacteria that will kill the gnat larvae. If you use hydrogen peroxide, you will also kill this beneficial bacteria and waste a lot of money on the mosquito bits. Essentially, they cancel out.

@NamasteGolden Год назад

This is the most helpful video ever!! My mom was just complaining about my fungus gnats! But I love my plants so my mom had to go. 🥴😂 anyway, I’m going to try the microbes. Thank you for including the links. Most helpful video ever! Straight to the point. 👏🏾

@masterofpuppers7963 Год назад

"Bianca, your plants have so many fungus gnats, I can't stand to live here anymore!" "Since you brought it up, I got you these brochures while I was out. Shady Grove Retirement Center sounds lovely, here, look. They have a pool! You like water aerobics, right?"

@vbggnana1386 11 месяцев назад

Hahahahah

@LostInThisGardenofLife 2 года назад

I’ve been using those sticky flea traps with the light above it and they catch so many gnats it’s amazing! 😍

@shanrrosh Год назад

Living in a small apartment with around 100 plants, those gnats are REALLY annoying. I got rid of them by making sure to water on a dish and let the top soil dry. Since the gnats reproduce on the surface of the top soil, having it dry for a period helps a lot. Next I bought an insecticide from ebay and mixed it into the water I watered my plants with. This time watering the topsoil so that any egg and larvae would be affected by it. Since the insecticide is long lasting, I only do that once, or twice. I don't like using it unless I feel it's the fastest and best option. Further, to try and avoid introducing new gnats if I have gotten a new plant, I submerge it in a bucket of room temperature water for 1 to 2 days, making sure to drown the gnats, larvae and eggs. I have never had a plant be negatively affected by submerging, though cacti and succulent are better off just being put somewhere isolated and just let them go dry for a while. Seems to work just as well. Besides this, housespiders that are left alone in your home will help you keep away any bugs you'd rather be without :D A really old trick is to sprinkle a mix of garlic powder and cinnamon onto the top soil. I am not quite sure how well it works, but some older people I know that tried this had some success doing that.

@WitchyGeek Год назад

How much do you submerge? Just the soil or the whole plant?

@daphlynn5179 11 месяцев назад

Cinnamon definitely works for prevention, not so much on treating.

@jordynwheeler 2 года назад

So glad you made this video! I’m currently dealing with them and was about to go out and buy a bunch of products to eliminate them, but I think you’re totally right that learning to live with them might be better.

@KillThisPlant 2 года назад

Glad I could help save you money. I'm noticing now that sticky traps can also help identify where your "hotspots" are and potentially find out why they may be congregating in certain areas (eg. lack of airflow, humidifier too close to plants). There might be some other no/low cost solutions you can discover!

@SebestyenBak 2 года назад

I just came across your channel, while looking for informative videos about monsteras! Abolutely stunning, on point informations, without any useless stuff! Keep up the good work!

@KillThisPlant 2 года назад

Thank you so much! I really appreciate you leaving a comment.

@kaboomkelly 2 года назад

Subscribed after I found your Maybe Don’t Do Leca video. Fungus gnats are 90% why I tried leca, but it totally sucked all my joy for plants & none of mine are truly thriving. I’ve used mosquito bits, sticky traps, systemic pesticide, and peroxide… but never in the combos you recommended because I had no idea how fungus gnats grew up. THANK you.

@KillThisPlant 2 года назад

You're very welcome. I hope it helps/helped get your gnat problem under control.

@richardcatalinajr.369 Месяц назад

Finally - some HONEST advice on fungus gnats. Thanks for posting.

@TIGERJS Год назад

Tried all those options. Recently discovered neem cakes and has been the best option for me. Mix in with water and water your plants.

@CK_29 2 года назад

Dang! Another great video. Personally, what works for me is to make sure I allow my plants to dry out between waterings. You are a genius and I am really enjoying the channel.

@KillThisPlant 2 года назад

Gnats absolutely love wet environments. Getting your plants to dry out more between waterings is really awesome advice. Most plants will adapt to their watering schedules too. Thanks!

@anthonyisgood 11 месяцев назад

Super helpful video thanks 🙏

@AskformeJohnT 11 месяцев назад

I don't remember what I did but now that you mention it I won the battle a couple of years back and haven't had to deal with them

@Sandra-ri2gl 2 года назад

Very helpful and clear info, thank you. I've been using the sticky traps only for maybe 3+ months on a plant that was full of gnats, it seems like they're gone no but I'll add the diatomaceous earth and hydrogen peroxide since I have these on hand.

@KillThisPlant 2 года назад

Hope it works out. Check your other plants too.

@joif6008 Год назад

Hi Lee, Actually I had a serious gnat problem. I tried just about everything. Finally, I bought a handheld fly swatter. Within a week my problem was solved. Try it!

@naomiquirion7725 Год назад

I sprinkle sand on top of the soil of my plants. About 5mm. Inexpensive and totally effective

@StormyAfterDark Год назад

Thank you. Just ordered 10 million nematodes and it should take care of the problem. 😀

@KillThisPlant Год назад

😮

@victorianewton2426 9 месяцев назад

God bless you!

@AnikoTar Год назад

I simply put a mosquito dunk (fellow Canadian here) into my watering can every season and I naturally lean on the underwaterer side nowadays, haven't seen Fungus Gnat in years.

@ClairThomas-hl7dc 11 месяцев назад

I use the sticky traps and also a fly catching lantern and they work pretty well

@loveeevee396 2 года назад

Pinguiculas can also be used as living sticky traps!

@rachaelhoffman-dachelet2763 11 месяцев назад

This summer I put my fungus gnat infested plants on my porch. Spiders promptly set up house in each plant, spinning webs such that any fungus gnat that hatched was immediately caught. If they escaped I’m hoping they flew off to the lawn. I have hope. I haven’t seen a fungus gnat since late June. Ask me how I feel about the house spiders in October.

@lavvy2585 Год назад

I am new to lots of plants and I use Dunks in water before I expanding coco husk. I have had no issues so far. I heard several people complain about bits turning moldy so I won't be using those.

@ot7stan207 Год назад

Amen. Im a control freak and the idea of gnats freaked me out at the beginning, now I am just on my seasonal time to murder larvae with some BTI water mode. Its really not a big issue, if you stay on top of it and treat it at the right stage they dissappear for a good few months

@sugarstar739 2 года назад

Thank you for sharing, very informative and straight to the point! Do you have any videos talking about getting rid of other pests? My mostera has become ill with a load of tiny white bugs and they keep coming back even after I spray it with a water, soap and oil solution, and washing and cleaning the leaves 😭

@KillThisPlant 2 года назад

Sounds like it could be mealy bugs. Are they fuzzy? Unfortunately I don't have any videos on them or aphids or whitefly (other white coloured pests).

@Meskarune Год назад

For mealy bugs you need to treat the soil along with the plants because they lay eggs in the soil. Worst case you can repot with fresh soil.

@viktoriabackeus7610 Год назад

I've stopped caring about fungus gnats. I water more seldom in winter and the gnat population gets reduced by a lot. I lowkey think they kind of help the plants by eating fungi and bacteria off the roots. And all in all, they are only really dangerous if you have baby plants like seedlings but there's a lot of stuff that can kill seedlings anyway so it doesn't even have to be gnats causing things to die. And most people don't grow houseplants from seed anyway x)

@kws1957 8 месяцев назад

I would wish that you are right. But I lost a little lemon tree through fungus gnats. Well I’m not quite sure that it were the fungus gnats but after the tree died I pulled him out and I saw some larvae still eating it’s roots.

@aah6489 Год назад

Thanks for the great information. Have you ever tried using cinnamon to control fungus gnats?

@KillThisPlant Год назад

No, cinnamon would be too expensive to apply continuously on many plants even if it were effective.

@SandyMeeshell Год назад

I find the "Diamaceous" Earth (instead of Diatomaceous Earth) is so charming 😂🥰 I absolutely love this channel ❤️

@GamerFollower 7 месяцев назад

What about sundews? They seem effective and get more plants!

@sattik836 4 месяца назад

I fought with gnats for over two years and what worked for me was Raid mosquito plug-in. Give it two or three days and you will get rid of those flying monsters.

@sabsab878 4 месяца назад

I will try diamaceous earth in the next days and I am both excited and a little worried. On the one hand it’s so great to have a non toxic option to use. I have cats, bunnies, guinea pigs and aquariums and was always terrified to accidentally poison any one of them. I wrapped my bathroom Dexter-style before spraying my plants in there, lol. On the other hand now I’m a little worried to breath in the diamaceous earth (I will use masks, but my head is tiny so it always feels like there are gaps for the air to slip through.). I probably will mix the earth with water, spray that and hope it will do it’s magic as soon as it’s dry again. But won’t it become airborne then? Or will it stick to the plants? Only one way to find out, I guess. Oh and the little devils plaguing my plants are spider mites and thrips. I sometimes get the gnats here, too, but they don’t seem to do much damage (apart from drowning themselves in my tea and making me feel bad for them). I read a lot about diamaceous earth being helpful against spider mites but not nearly as much about it helping against thrips. It would be wonderful if it helps against both.

@elc2468 Год назад

I read somewhere that fungus gnats are attracted to peat moss based potting soil, so at the end of spring i switched to coco coir and mix my own potting soil. So far, the gnats have gone almost completely. The tropical plants are doing great. What are your thoughts on using coco coir based potting medium?

@rhyothemisprinceps1617 Год назад

I just threw out a mango seedling that was in 100% coco coir due to it being infested with fungus gnats. The poor plant was almost dead & it did not seem worth saving.

@cherie7100 Год назад

I have seen a video on RU-vid where the RU-vid heat treats the soil they use to kill off the fungus gnats. They also advised they can already be in the soil you purchase from garden centers which is why they appear in the first place. They microwaved the soil for a few minutes, left it to cool and repeated the process for the amount of soil they were using.

@KillThisPlant Год назад

Yes. But that would require every new plant to be removed from soil before entering your home. And all bagged soil bought to be microwaved. You could do it, but that's a huge ask.

@NamasteGolden Год назад

In the product description of the microbes you suggest, it says to use once a week. What if I don’t water all my plants every week? Will it still be effective?

@KillThisPlant Год назад

It will probably be less effective. But I imagine the plants you water less frequently have fewer gnats.

@sophiabel Год назад

how would you recommend using hydrogen peroxide in combination with mosquito dunks? I ordered some mosquito dunks to make a tea to water my plants. should I alternate watering with this and then the hydrogen peroxide solution?

@bookeratkins8134 Год назад

Do not use these two products together! The mosquito dunk releases a bacteria that kills the larvae. If you use hydrogen peroxide at the same time, you will kill this bacteria and waste a lot of money and still have gnats

@sophiabel Год назад

@@bookeratkins8134 thank you for the insight :) I found that the mosquito bits worked well for the gnats. I used beneficial nematodes a few weeks later in all my plants and I havent seen any signs of pests since.

@bookeratkins8134 Год назад

@@sophiabel congratulations on eradicating the gnats!! I would continue to use the mosquito dunks when you water in case they try to come back. They are the worst!

@celesteduffy703 11 месяцев назад

Your link for beneficial soil microbes needs an update I believe.

@citycritteradventures7427 Год назад

any specific concentration of hydrogon peroxide? thanks

@KillThisPlant Год назад

1 part Hydrogen peroxide to 6 parts water. But again, I don't think its worth it.

@bettycameron7165 Год назад

My method is a 12-16 ounce water bottle. Put sweet fruits, sugar, vinegar and the like no larger than 1-3 inches high. Roll up plain 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper into a funnel tight enough to only allow knats and the like into the bottle. Be careful to not wet bottom of funnel with the sweet stuff. Just cut tiny end funnel.They dont know how to get back out and die through time. They even lay larva on the inside walls. It catches 1,000 if your infestation is real bad. Put into an "out of site area," because it becomes gross to look at. Throw away carefully in a wrapped and sealed plastic to be sure they don't hatch any eggs. Also with the right lighting ---use hose end of vacuum cleaner and have fun sucking them up to their death. It really helped alot and they must die off in the vacuum bag.

@lalamyne 2 года назад

I’m trying to get rid of fungus gnats with peroxide and sticky traps, but I feel kinda defeated because my monsters stopped growing and I’ve found some gnat larvae in the saucer. I should fertilize my plants but I’m scared to attract even more gnats/fruit flies… is there something I can do to keep them healthy? I’ll try mosquito bits when watering like you said, but my babies need food and humidity which is the worst right now

@KillThisPlant 2 года назад

I just pinned a comment about a new strategy I tried with beneficial mites. However you'd have to stop other treatments except sticky traps. The mites will take a while to establish but I think it will solve your problem long term and more importantly reduce your stress.

@szm8804 2 года назад

What worked for me is repotting each gnat infested plant with new soil the idea is that if there's no larvae in the new soil the numbers will decrease.

@evalink2901 2 года назад

I'm considering to water my plants once per 10 days with hydrogen peroxide forever. And I'll get the sticky traps. Does that sound good? Or I'll damage my plants with that much hydrogen peroxide?

@KillThisPlant 2 года назад

I know if doing that will kill all your fungus gnats. It might not be the best use of your money.

@TheAwesomeJocelyn 3 месяца назад

I got rid of them in November and saw my first one today. Womp womp.

@DeborahRose2885 2 года назад

Could you tell me what you think about leca

@KillThisPlant 2 года назад

To add into soil or to use it as semi hydro/passive hydro medium?

@busterskid 2 года назад

No fungus gnats when you're growing in LECA

@pixelated23-b9z 7 месяцев назад

can i use bti and hydrogen peroxide water every now and then even if i don’t have gnats? just as a precaution?

@KillThisPlant 7 месяцев назад

That would be like taking an Advil when you don't have a head ache. You can, but I think it's a waste of an Advil.

@kmaguire7161 9 месяцев назад

I pretty much got rid of fungus gnats by adding a liquid Bacillus thuringiensis solution to the plants when I water them and also getting rid of all my plants that like constantly moist soil like Calathea (which honestly are too needy for me anyway).

@happysky7964 5 месяцев назад

What’s the hydrogen peroxide and water ratio ?

@KillThisPlant 5 месяцев назад

1 hydro peroxide:6 parts water

@lemontam5690 3 месяца назад

What ratio of 3% hydrogen peroxide to water do you use?

@KillThisPlant 3 месяца назад

6 water : 1 hydrogen peroxide

@laurelcampbell4748 День назад

I'm curious why I've never had fungus gnats

@MyraFerminNadal 2 года назад

Doeosn't the hydrogen peroxide cancel the BTI (mosquito bits/dunks) though? Hydrogen peroxide is used to clean wounds of bacteria.

@KillThisPlant 2 года назад

I think you're right. Hydrogen peroxide does make BTI less effective.

@SubculturalKatz Год назад

So I don't need to repot be ause of a gnat infestation?

@KillThisPlant Год назад

If you do, it will reduce the infestation but unless you remove all soil, kill all adults, use fresh soil, and never get a new plant the gnats will come back. Especially if you don't change your soil type/watering behaviour.

@heatherfoster7823 Год назад

I'm traumatized by thrips. I used to have 170 plants and a large infestation took out half of my collection. I spent so much time trying to wash them and coat them in neem oil only to realize that a predatory bug was the final solution. I used a parasitic wasp which fixed the problem for years after only one application. When they sprung up again, I used cucumeris. Needless to say, i dont bat an eye when i see a harmless fungus gnat

@KillThisPlant Год назад

Thrips are such a pain. Glad you got a handle on them.

@SweetNobody 7 месяцев назад

Mosquito bits can be found at Canadian tire

@KillThisPlant 7 месяцев назад

Bits no, the large dunks yes.

@roselynmvm 2 года назад

I use mosquito bitts and it works well, but I do need to use it every other watering, otherwise I get those gnats back in no time. With the hydrogen peroxide I didn’t noticed much of a difference. I think the gnats die on contact but after that, whatever wasn’t touched by the hydrogen peroxide seems like fair game to them. Hydrogen peroxide usually loses effectivity when exposed to sun or day light, and all the plants I have that attract gnats are by my windows, so that’s why the hydrogen peroxide doesn’t work that well for me. But it does work well for mild root rot, and also for succulents, cause they really love that extra molecule of oxygen. It’s like extra food for them 😁

@KillThisPlant 2 года назад

Do you find its a lot of work to water with mosquito bits consistently?

@roselynmvm 2 года назад

@@KillThisPlant yes, I need to make a bit over 5 gallons of water with the mosquito bitts every time I water my plants. I usually have to break it down in 2-3 days. It’s not too terrible if I do that though. The first time I did in one day and it took me an entire afternoon. I think the bad part is that you have to use it immediately after it has been soaking for 30 minutes, cause it stops working after an hour if it’s not put in the soil.

@KillThisPlant 2 года назад

@@roselynmvm that's crazy 😬

@roselynmvm 2 года назад

@@KillThisPlant it is crazy, but the gnats do go away for almost a month with each watering, and without any harm to the plants. It’s more effective and longer lasting than anything I have used before 🤷🏻‍♀️

@girlpaintsworld Год назад

Going hydroponic is the only option for me at this point lol

@natehine8541 Год назад

bring back growstone gnat and fungus control

@dialdfordesi 11 месяцев назад

I was gonna grab some sundews and let them take care of the gnats

@feroxartem 2 года назад

We all hate fungus gnats ✌🏼

@aazz9714 Год назад

Thiamethoxam

@ot7stan207 Год назад

The sticky traps are just there for me to monitor the adult population, it tells me they ABOUT to lay eggs or already have so it becomes BTI mode.

@WitchyGeek Год назад

How so?

@smievil Год назад

there's at least some life in my pots

@GreenWitch1 2 месяца назад

Dia-TOE-masious earth

@juliettexox9311 9 месяцев назад

I don't get 3% hydrogen to water 😂 what? How much do I add 😅

@masterofpuppers7963 Год назад

Neem cake, guys. Amend your soil with it and forget that fungus gnats, aphids, mealybugs. thrips, and scale ever existed.

@yagopone7404 Месяц назад

I'm trying it out now and one things for sure, it STINKS. I had to generously sprinkle cinnamon just to help with the smell

@tjitslovesmonk 4 месяца назад

I give up. 😢😂

@aznperson Месяц назад

grow carnivorous plants

@samuelbudzinak 11 месяцев назад

Yeah, they are not as harmful to adult plants, but these [very bad word] have destroyed all of my germinating dionaeas :/

@pikas_palace Год назад

I HATE GNATS

@Darenim 2 года назад

I tried nematodes and sticky traps, and the first time I did that the fungus gnats were back within half a year. The second time, they never fully left. Don't recommend, nematodes are expensive.

@KillThisPlant 2 года назад

Thank you for sharing your experience!