Diatomaceous Earth

I have fungus gnats first pests I have ever had growing for 30plus years I keep a enclosed grow, im organic make my own food and im in coco my question is how to best use this product not too much info in the net, it says to lightly sprinkle anywhere they may be so I got bottom of pots where holes are rims of pots and lightly dusted the top layer of soil, well didnt work I still have them should I water the top layer of soil to work it in or leave it dry on top, hopefully someone had used this as I cant figure out what else to use that's organic and not too expensive. Thanks a lot for any help much appreciated

once it gets wet it loses it's effectiveness from what I have read. just bottom water.

Maintain a dry level of Diatomaceous on the soil and drain holes for the best results . I myself have tried everything and even in Coco they persisted and now I just let soil mites eat them and all is well .. Hypoaspis Miles as they are scientifically known . I grow Hydro but I do practice Biological methods of Insecticide prevention as we all know how pesticides effect ones medicine ...

Hypoaspis miles is a small (0.5 mm) light brown mite that lives in the top ½ in layer of soil. As a natural predator of fungus gnat pupaeand snail parasite Riccardoella aspersa it is used by gardeners for biological pest control.
Hypoaspis miles and the similar species, H. aculiefer are soil-dwelling, predatory mites. Hypoaspis mites feed on fungus gnats, springtails, thrips pupae, and other small insects in the soil. The mite is 0.5 mm (1/50 inch) long and light-brown in color. It inhabits the top 1/2 inch layer of soil. Females lay eggs in the soil which hatch into nymphs in 1 to 2 days. Nymphs develop into adults in 5 to 6 days. The lifecycle takes approximately 7 to 11 days. Both nymphs and adults feed on soil-inhabiting pests, consuming up to 5 prey per day. They may survive by feeding on algae and/or plant debris when insects aren't available. Both males and females are present, but males are smaller and rarely seen.
Hypoaspis is well adapted to moist conditions in greenhouses in a variety of growing media, but does not tolerate standing water.Hypoaspis is currently used in greenhouses for control of fungus gnats. It feeds on fungus gnat eggs and small larvae and is most effective when applied before fungus gnat populations become established or when populations are low. It has been successfully used in bedding plant production, potted plants, and poinsettia stock plants. Hypoaspsis will also attack thrips pupae in the soil, but cannot be relied on alone for thrips control in a commercial greenhouse. It may, however, enhance biological control when used in conjunction with predators feeding on thrips on the foliage. In small-scale experiments this mite reduced emergence of adult thrips to about 30% of that in controls.

ProfessorPotSnob said:

Maintain a dry level of Diatomaceous on the soil and drain holes for the best results . I myself have tried everything and even in Coco they persisted and now I just let soil mites eat them and all is well .. Hypoaspis Miles as they are scientifically known . I grow Hydro but I do practice Biological methods of Insecticide prevention as we all know how pesticides effect ones medicine ...

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Great tip! Thanks

I put it into an old squeeze bottle and puff out little dust clouds over dry soil. I wasn't impressed with the effectiveness, though. I use predatory nematodes and they seem to work.

The DE will help cut down on numbers of them, but since you have to water your plants, it is tough to use. Also it is tough to get it in all the places you need it like the drain holes, sides of smartpots, catch basins, etc. It is effective in cutting down the numbers of spiders and other crawlies in your house when used under baseboards, cabinets, anywhere bugs might try to cross. I've used it with some moderate success. I have very few gnats, (seems like they'll always been a few). The yellow stickies are great for indicators, check now, treat, and check again in a few weeks. Azamax spray (soak) the top layer of soil and sides of fabric pots, this has worked for me.

Where are y'all getting these [FONT=Tahoma, Calibri, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]Hypoapsis Miles and Predatory Nematodes? Do you just water them into the soil?[/FONT]

my hypoapsis just appeared. the nematodes I just water into the soil with room temp water. along with bti dunks. I haven't had a problem since.

also

you really can put a thick layer on top and water from the bottom. the plants will drink it right up. I actually like doing it that way, if I wasn't doing organics I would still do it.

Bacteria thungrisilis.... Its in mosquito dunks and gnatrol and a few different things. Completely organic and actually beneficial! 30 years and fungus gnats are your first! Way to go dude!

But really the bacteria works, quick, painless, will have absolutely no effect on the finished product. Just bust off a little and put it in your water!

30 years. That rocks!

Thanks for the info more I look into nematodes the more I think I will go this rout, along with some mosquito dunks, ya 30 years is a long time with no bugs but that's what you get when you accept no clones, don't let anyone in your grows ,change clothes and above all keep clean, my rooms are all lab clean.mot too sure how they got in yet.

I've gotten them from Fox Farms as well as Pro Mix.

I had a bad gnat problem a couple months ago, those fly ribbons took em out...in a week n a halftime I had a half dozen fly Robbins completely covered.

They more than likely came in with the coco. They come in with every other medium that is soil or resembles soil. The dunks work well. Good luck and keep up those practices that have served you so well thus far.