Gross!!! I have Fungus Gnats

meezy4tw

Active Member
Ok so I for sure have some fungus gnats, no big deal, I realize they are relatively harmless, and I plan to control them by getting sand to layer the top of my containers with. BUT, I looked at my soil, and as my eyes adjusted, I saw little critters crawling all over!!!! Like I said, I'm aware that I DO have gnats, and plan to address them tomo, but My levels of flying gnats aren't absurd, however, it looked like there was ALOT of things walking around on my soil surface. little bitty bugs, the super small ones were green, then some red ones that are a little bigger, and then some strait up gnats with wings walking and flying around. They are too big and too fast to be spider mites....I have no idea, my only guess is baby gnats?

Are these other non flying bugs just baby gnats, or another type of insect that i'll need to address?

I"m stumped as to why they are thriving if they are gnats. I just transplanted to new pots that the roots havent filled out yet, so my soil only needs water like every 4-5 days, BUT, the top dries out quickly, which is where they supposedly lay eggs. So the top soil only is moist and optimum for the gnats like once every 5 days...Could they still be thriving deeper below the surface?
OK so here goes man you're not gonna like my answer about those red and green ones, those ARE root apphids. I had them last batch and ended up scrapping my whole grow.
heres some pics tell me if I'm on the money but I'd say all of these pics contain the bugs you see right?
Note:that last picture of the maggot looking things, those are what fungus gnat larvae look like.

Yes the fungus gnats lay eggs just under the soil surface, but once they hatch, they follow the moisture. I've dealt with them before, and what I did was take some yellow tape, and cover the entire top of the pot around the stem, sticky side down, its the same as the sticky trap strips basically, but if you do it this way, they can't escape at all. Just hanging those strips around doesn't mean that every one of them will get stuck to it, naturally some will get away.
As for those root aphids, you're in a world of hurt in my opinion, especially if you're in soil. Its extremely hard to get any kind of pesticide organic OR Chemical to penetrate the soil that deeply, without causing other problems.
bug_1.jpgimages.jpghuckleberry-root-aphid-rc.jpgView attachment 1342342
 

eyezla

Active Member
OK so here goes man you're not gonna like my answer about those red and green ones, those ARE root apphids. I had them last batch and ended up scrapping my whole grow.
heres some pics tell me if I'm on the money but I'd say all of these pics contain the bugs you see right?
Note:that last picture of the maggot looking things, those are what fungus gnat larvae look like.

Yes the fungus gnats lay eggs just under the soil surface, but once they hatch, they follow the moisture. I've dealt with them before, and what I did was take some yellow tape, and cover the entire top of the pot around the stem, sticky side down, its the same as the sticky trap strips basically, but if you do it this way, they can't escape at all. Just hanging those strips around doesn't mean that every one of them will get stuck to it, naturally some will get away.
As for those root aphids, you're in a world of hurt in my opinion, especially if you're in soil. Its extremely hard to get any kind of pesticide organic OR Chemical to penetrate the soil that deeply, without causing other problems.
View attachment 1342336View attachment 1342337View attachment 1342338View attachment 1342342
Wow dude, you are right on the money....F!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think thats exactly what I have!! total bummer. I only have 4 plants in my tent, I REALLY hope I can get them under control. Feel free to follow my grow and see if i can eradicate or not, lol.
 

schoolmeplz

Member
Wow dude, you are right on the money....F!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think thats exactly what I have!! total bummer. I only have 4 plants in my tent, I REALLY hope I can get them under control. Feel free to follow my grow and see if i can eradicate or not, lol.
Im subbed....wanna follow along to see if they progress or how you prevented it....sux man, sorry....I hate bugs!
 

eyezla

Active Member
for real, I am not happy at all. My plants were doing so good too! I forgot to say that my grow is in my signature, lol. I was just about to leave town to go to my folks for the holiday too... Is it worth bailing on my family? lol.
 

eyezla

Active Member
I am not totally 100% sure the best way to apply azatrol to the root aphids (azatrol was the only thing I could get my hands on on xmas eve, tho I plan to get addition stuff), but what I did was mix 2 tspn/gal and just drenched the soil. As far as I'm concerned, I'm gonna using this as a learning experience. I was told to scrap the grow, so i figure I might as well try this and risk posioning my plants since their good as dead anyway
 

meezy4tw

Active Member
I am not totally 100% sure the best way to apply azatrol to the root aphids (azatrol was the only thing I could get my hands on on xmas eve, tho I plan to get addition stuff), but what I did was mix 2 tspn/gal and just drenched the soil. As far as I'm concerned, I'm gonna using this as a learning experience. I was told to scrap the grow, so i figure I might as well try this and risk posioning my plants since their good as dead anyway
Hey its not growing if you don't learn something.
Which is in fact, something I learned while growing lol
I would say if your climate allowed it to just throw them outside for the rest of the time but I doubt thats the case, When I had them I did want to try the azatrol but my plants were stll small so I ended up just trashing them. Let us know how it goes, maybe you'll get lucky and get rid of the bastards with no problems. ;)
 

eyezla

Active Member
Ya I will def keep you all posted. I was told to rotate treatment with botaniguard, citrus oils, liquid pyrethrum etc. I dont want to nuke my plants, but I do plan to rotate a few other treatment methods. I can only imagine how bad it is at the bottom of the container if I could visibly see them all over the top.

Meezy--That was an amazingly fast and accurate diagnosis, which can usually be the hardest part of the battle. I owe ya big time, wish I could smoke you up with some of the awesome chemdawg I'm holdin. Thanks for letting me benefit from your past experience, I hope that my grow journal will provide the same value for others, I appreciate it!!
 

missnu

Well-Known Member
Oooh no! I am sorry to hear about your critter problem...Mine is pretty well resolved now. So no worries...just looking forward to swirching the lights, well taking some clones and hitting the lights...gotta clone her this weekend! Yay! Finally!
 

ML75

Active Member
Fungus Gnats

Fungus gnats like to feed on roots of the plants and organic matter. Adults and larvae live in moist, shady areas. The adults lay there eggs on top of the soil, near the base of the stem and takes about 4 days to hatch. The larvae will start by eating the root hairs of the plant then working their way up the plant, Fungus gnats like to eat organic matter so they will be stealing away nutrients from your plants, so its best to get rid of them completely. [color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color][/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color][/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color]Prevent and Control
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color][/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color] Prevent indoor entry of gnats by making sure there is no open windows open without screens on. Aug is a bad time for them as they are worst that time of the year.[/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color][/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color] Put sticky traps on the soil surface to trap the gnats[/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color][/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color] Put potato slices on the surface of the soil. The larvae like it and will be drawn to it.. After about 4 to 5 days, remove the potato slices with the larvae. To get rid of them you can do a lot of things like either use a NO pest strip, neem oil or putting sand on the surface of the soil will suffocate the eggs and get rid of them as well. Tobacco juice kills them, and works well for re-occurrences!
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color][/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color]Margarine tubs with a moist paper towel on the bottom will also work. Wait several days and then cover and throw away. Using something like margarine tubs that you can quickly cover will also often times capture many adults in the process of laying eggs.[/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color][/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color]The key beating fungus gnats is to break the breeding cycle. Make sure you do not have any moist/damp garbage in your home. They will move about your home traveling from your grow room to kitchens and other rooms and if there are sources of moisture there where eggs can be laid, they will lay eggs there.[/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color][/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color]If you have multiple bathrooms and not all are used often drains can be sources for egg laying. Flushing them well, and often, even using boiling water to assure killing any eggs that are not flushed, will also help get rid of fungus gnats.[/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color][/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color]Putting a layer of sand, as thick as possible, over the top of your soil (if growing in pots) will also help rid you of fungus gnats. The sand will dry out quickly and not offer them a good location for laying eggs. [/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color][/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color]They can be in or on the soil and can fly. In order to get rid of them you can use neem oil, sand or perlite on the surface again kills them, and no pest strips catch the ones that fly. A chemical product called Zone works very well and is very powerful and works well in Hydroponics/Aeroponics![/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color][/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color]Other Products which can be used in Hydroponics/Aeroponics and soil are:[/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color][/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color][/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color]Safer Yard & Garden Insecticide[/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color][/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color]GNATROL( used in Hydroponics/Aeroponics in the water as well as soil),[/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color]Safer Sticky Stakes,[/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color]TR-11000 Pyrethrum.[/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color]PERMETHRIN dust[/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color]Mosquito Dunks[/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color][/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color]Organic Control[/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color][/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color]Natrasoap[/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color]Pest Oil[/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color]Neem Oil[/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color]Hot Pepper Wax[/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color]Doc's Neem Pest Soap[/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color]Sticky traps[/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color]Safer's Insecticidal Soap[/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color]Neem Oil[/color]
[color=red. Plants growing in rock wool are more prone to getting a more severe infestation than plants growing in soil. If your plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, please try to use the safest means of control to be safe to your health.[/color]Neem 2[/color]




can I use sand from the beach? I am very close to the beach and it would be easy for me to get sand to get rid of the fungus knats I have. I just purchased neem oil and sprayed the plants......
sooo will beach sand hurt my plant because of the salt?
thank you
 

WestIstheBest

Active Member
My organic coco coir is attracting these little bastards like crazy(iguana juice). Have already used one treatment of mosquito dunks. Seemed like it worked but now adults are back and heavily attacking the base a few of my ladies.Ive tried various methods to attract the gnats out but they do not want to go. Will using pearlite instead of sand work along with the dunks? It looks like you only have a few until you start poking in the soil. I want these out before my second round goes in the tent. I get more pleasure from killing gnats than looking at bud porn.
 

oldschooltofu

Well-Known Member
for fungus gnats use pure 100% BTI
mosiquito dunks are only 10%

for root aphids i had them 2x
1 st i tore down grow, took clones, cleaned and treated with bayer tree and shrub
2nd time i am trying a combo of things
in veg i used bayer tree and shrub just once on a mom i will not be flowering, just cloning from.
in flower i used mighty wash in the soil (took 2.5gal) and will be adding MET 52 from www.greenmtnharvest.com its a fungus that kills soft bodied insects

in the future i plan on using MET 52 (its like botaniguard but cheaper and is suposto work better) but its granular and have to mix in the soil and takes 2-3 weeks to innoculate.

so far i have clean stickytraps but it has only been 24 hours. will be getting The mET 52 on monday in the mail

good luck....root aphids are prob the worst problem to deal with right now. would rather have mites or gnats to deal with.
 
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