Fungus Gnats, problem?

PadawanWarrior said:
You let the top dry out?
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I hope not. My pets in there would complain to no end if that ever happened.

No idea about your Wiggle Worm, but if it's widely available online it might be a good source for people that can't keep their own worms. I wouldn't say the availability of higher trophic level arthropods are very common in bagged store-bought amendments however. I bet there would be people who would actually complain they found bugs in their store-bought castings! lol
 
Northwood said:
I hope not. My pets in there would complain to no end if that ever happened.

No idea about your Wiggle Worm, but if it's widely available online it might be a good source for people that can't keep their own worms. I wouldn't say the availability of higher trophic level arthropods are very common in bagged store-bought amendments however. I bet there would be people who would actually complain they found bugs in their store-bought castings! lol
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Yep. I bought a huge bag from the hydro store for like $12. I buy the Build a Soil stuff now. I just don't have a worm bin yet. The EWC aren't bad from BAS. I'm in CO, so shipping is pretty cheap. They were like 1/2 price on Black Friday so I grabbed another bag. Their vermicompost is good too.

The numbers of the mites grew massively in the Wiggle Worm as it just sat in the bag in my basement. Obviously there's some fungus gnat larvae of something in the Wiggle Worm too. It was like I was growing hypoaspis miles, lol.
 
PadawanWarrior said:
I'm in CO
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Beautiful state man. I've explored a lot of it and lived for a couple years in Colorado Springs a long while back. But all those tourist traps are shit around that little city (Garden of the Gods, Cave of the Winds, Pike's Peak, etc.) I loved getting out and spending a few days in those less travelled places out there. There's a lot of land out there and crazy stuff to see that a lot of people are unaware of.
 
Northwood said:
Beautiful state man. I've explored a lot of it and lived for a couple years in Colorado Springs a long while back. But all those tourist traps are shit around that little city (Garden of the Gods, Cave of the Winds, Pike's Peak, etc.) I loved getting out and spending a few days in those less travelled places out there. There's a lot of land out there and crazy stuff to see that a lot of people are unaware of.
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I'm in the Front Range. Just West and up the hill from Denver. Close to the city, but not in the mess. I took this a couple days ago to show someone that lives in Florida that yes it's still snowing here, lol.

I'm loving CO. I've lived all over. The Seattle area was really cool too before it got overpopulated. Truckee CA was nice too, but I haven't been there in like 20 years now. SD is great for fishing and hunting, but that's about it, lol.

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My best vacations ever were in CO. Love the mountains so much.

Gnats!! They have a strong presence in the environment here. Plants outside my tent get them even faster than in the tent.

Fan over the soil top and place the sticky cards as a little wind break for them to hide under. It’s almost unfair. Had some cards just laid touching the soil propped on the side of the pot looked like bomb a went off. Completely took care of them. I’m only running three 10 gallons and was on them pretty fast this round though.
 
PadawanWarrior said:
EWC should have hypoaspis miles mites in it. Their favorite food is fungus gnat larvae. The more gnats there are the more the hypoaspis will breed. When the gnat population goes down, so do the hypoaspis miles. It's nature finding a perfect balance. A little larva is good in the soil. Gnat larvae are decomposers and the actually help a little if they're not outta control.

But I tell people this all the time and they think I'm the one full of shit, no pun intended.

But you can buy the separately if you want.

www.arbico-organics.com

Stratiolaelaps scimitus (Hypoaspis miles)

Overnight shipping required. Ships on Tuesdays only. Not available in store. See shipping info for details. Knockdown and Preventive Control of Soil Dwelling Fungus Gnats , Root Aphids, Thrips and Springtails. This tiny, translucent brown to tan predatory mite naturally inhabits the...
www.arbico-organics.com
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Thanks again for the input. I'm growing in 2 gallon pots, living super soil and 3/4" mulch layer on top. How much EWC would be proper for this set up? This is my first organic grow, and it looks so fine I nearly wet myself! I run a continuous harvest, so the problem won't be solved unless I treat each new pot build as they get the final transplant. Thanx..
 
Rozgreenburn said:
Thanks again for the input. I'm growing in 2 gallon pots, living super soil and 3/4" mulch layer on top. How much EWC would be proper for this set up? This is my first organic grow, and it looks so fine I nearly wet myself! I run a continuous harvest, so the problem won't be solved unless I treat each new pot build as they get the final transplant. Thanx..
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Originally I just added some to the top of the soil and that took care of them after a bit. Now when I top dress I add some pumice to lighten it a bit. I don't need to use EWC for gnats though anymore. I just did at first.
 
PadawanWarrior said:
Originally I just added some to the top of the soil and that took care of them after a bit. Now when I top dress I add some pumice to lighten it a bit. I don't need to use EWC for gnats though anymore. I just did at first.
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Thanx bro, I'm just a bit edgy with my organic regimen. After growing for a lifetime, This first organic grow has blown my mind. I have never had such a robust and healthy looking grow before. Once I get rid of these gnats, a floral tea is next up. It is almost like I'm growing for the first time again! Peace..
 
Start your own worm bin.
I did.
Easy ... cheap ... fun.

100% organic goodness.

It attracts a whole host of beneficial microbe and bug life ... if you build it ... they will come.

When you top layer the EWC you'll add all that life to your topsoil.

Keep it covered with a mulch cloth cover.
That keeps the top layer moist and alive and protected.

Your friendly bugs will eat the nasties.

I had fungus gnats and fruit flies.

The soil mites from my worm castings multiplied like crazy ... ate all the larvae ... then faded in numbers.

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No soil ... no dirt ... this is all 100% worm processed kitchen scraps ... veg & fruit & horse manure & cardboard egg boxes.

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Top layer 5 cm earthworm castings

mulch-skirt.png
Mulch skirt to keep it fresh
 
TaoRich said:
Start your own worm bin.
I did.
Easy ... cheap ... fun.

100% organic goodness.

It attracts a whole host of beneficial microbe and bug life ... if you build it ... they will come.

When you top layer the EWC you'll add all that life to your topsoil.

Keep it covered with a mulch cloth cover.
That keeps the top layer moist and alive and protected.

Your friendly bugs will eat the nasties.

I had fungus gnats and fruit flies.

The soil mites from my worm castings multiplied like crazy ... ate all the larvae ... then faded in numbers.

View attachment 4839504
No soil ... no dirt ... this is all 100% worm processed kitchen scraps ... veg & fruit & horse manure & cardboard egg boxes.

View attachment 4839506
Top layer 5 cm earthworm castings

View attachment 4839512
Mulch skirt to keep it fresh
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Thanks, I'm about a month from finished EWC. Nice touch with the landscape fabric. I started using large coffee filters covered with hardwood mulch. Gnats aren't a real problem, just a pain in the ass. :peace:
 
look for some hypoapsis miles. they are very hardy and will survive even when there are no more fungis gnats, they will also eat thrips pupae.
No need to mess around with bti (restricted in Canada anyway). Believe it or not Bt will create resistances so it's not too good to use especially when you are going to need to treat multiple times
 
steve870 said:
look for some hypoapsis miles. they are very hardy and will survive even when there are no more fungis gnats, they will also eat thrips pupae.
No need to mess around with bti (restricted in Canada anyway). Believe it or not Bt will create resistances so it's not too good to use especially when you are going to need to treat multiple times
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Sounds good, today I built a half dozen flowering pots, I did my normal and added 1 cup of EWC {bagged}, covered with a large coffee filter and hardwood and Cyprus mulch. If my store bought EWC is fresh enough, hopefully there will be plenty of Hypoapsis Miles. If not I'll buy them separately. I'll have my own EWC in a month or so but I won't rush my plants, so In guess my worms deserve the same. I have my towel, Don't Panic...:eyesmoke:
 
I was getting gnats from out my worm bin. Yes there’s lots of tiny creepy crawlers in there but when I add a lot of rotted fruits to the tray the gnats can get out if control. A tight mesh draped over the top of the worm bin seems to have quelled them.
Have not seen a gnat or thrip in my grow areas for awhile & could be from all the ewc I add but another thing that works well nobody has mentioned ....diatomaceous earth. You just sprinkle it on top layer of pots or use an applicator which really atomizes the DE. It is actually billions of fossilized freshwater Protozoa that become like tiny razors when applied to soil; when they break down eventually become a good source of silica. Kills gnat larvea and eggs. Amending with neem seed meal has eliminated the thrips I used to get all the time. Works against most leaf munchers too.
 
Richard Drysift said:
I was getting gnats from out my worm bin. Yes there’s lots of tiny creepy crawlers in there but when I add a lot of rotted fruits to the tray the gnats can get out if control. A tight mesh draped over the top of the worm bin seems to have quelled them.
Have not seen a gnat or thrip in my grow areas for awhile & could be from all the ewc I add but another thing that works well nobody has mentioned ....diatomaceous earth. You just sprinkle it on top layer of pots or use an applicator which really atomizes the DE. It is actually billions of fossilized freshwater Protozoa that become like tiny razors when applied to soil; when they break down eventually become a good source of silica. Kills gnat larvea and eggs. Amending with neem seed meal has eliminated the thrips I used to get all the time. Works against most leaf munchers too.
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DE kills beneficial insects too though like hypoaspis miles.
 
Enough . . . if you let enough go to reproduce . .(like ten or more) then they will self regulate their numbers. If there is a Yuge pest pop then they will be breeding like crazy. If the food source goes away or goes down, so will their numbers. It's you job to make sure they always have something to maintain with or you will be re-inoculating and trying to put out fires. Make sure you are getting a bug that will survive in your environment. I did just two second worth of looking into indigenous and local species for my area. There are hundreds of types in a local sq. mile. You could go make a pit fall trap and wrangle up some local bruisers . . .
That's a project I will be undertaking when the asparagus comes up, still a bit cool for a lot of insect activity yet.
 
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