Home Remedies for Fungus Gnats?

Hello everyone.
So i believe the little fruit fly like bugs that are flying around my plants are fungus gnats.

Does anyone know of a good home remedy to help kill them off?

I've read that sand will help , and something called Azamax will do it.
But im a few hours from any town in which i can buy that stuff. ( I live up in the mountains XD )

Is there any kind of mixture i can make that will at least kill the babies in the soil? Something non-harmful to my plants

Ive tried a few different things and the best so far has been a few drops of ivory dish soap in a spray bottle...fill with water and mist the soil surface every time you come into the garden. It wont completely kill them all but after a week the population will be way down. Keep doing it and it will be hard to find one after a few weeks...

Awesome! Does it have to be IVORY or can it be any brand name dish soap?

Also, the plants are still kinda small, this wont stunt their growth too badly will it?

get some BTi in the form of mosquito dunks or they sell jars of crushed up mosquito dunks.
save the azamax for something more complicated, save the dish soap for washing dishes.

i'd have to agree with the mosquito dunks.

ChroniklesOfTheDankSide said:

Also, the plants are still kinda small, this wont stunt their growth too badly will it?

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No, the soap will be fine. Spray the soil not the plants. Most remedies will take a bit of time and repeated treatments. Be persistent.

Fire kills everything!

Mixing hydrogen peroxide into your water will kill eggs and larva, and plants don't mind it as it breaks down into water and oxygen fairly quickly however it will also kill beneficial bacteria in the soil which will suck if your feeding organicly. If you can get your hands on mosquito dunks those are the best

Thanks Adjorr!, You've always got good advice!

Should i hold off until their next watering cycle? ( I just watered them last night and i dont wanna risk over watering )

ChroniklesOfTheDankSide said:

Thanks Adjorr!, You've always got good advice!

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even a broken clock is right twice a day

id wait until ur next watering

Also, ChroniklesOfTheDankSide don't overlook the obvious. Fungus gnats probably hate the smell of insect repellent or moth balls. If you put some in small quantities around the area of the plants the gnats will go ape shit. Spray a little Off on a piece of paper and it will smell up a storm. I use an organic repellent for mosquitos called Mosquito Magic crystals. If I had those yellow sticky sticks I would put them up too. If the gnats can't get to the soil they can't lay their eggs or whatever they do.

ive also heard crushed garlic on the soil will cause a smell that repels them, but Ive never tried it myself

Mosquito dunks are magical. Just sayin'.
Get some kind of organic pesticide and water it down a bit as Dunks don't kill the adults, they just stop the reproduction of the young..
Since I found dunks at Home Depot I grabbed Bonide's Captain Jack's Dead Bug and dilluted it a little. I applied it heavily to the top soil and after 2 applications I was cleared up pretty well!


I hope whatever you choose works out!

ChroniklesOfTheDankSide said:

Awesome! Does it have to be IVORY or can it be any brand name dish soap?

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An old timer told me about it and he said ivory or palmolive but i imagine you could use just about any of them. Go for the unsented.
Ive used the mosquito dunks as well. they work but not quite as well as the soap spray for me. and its easy.

I'll try the Soap and water, and if that doesnt help ill resort to the Hydrogen peroxide.
If i can fix this issue without spending any money that'd be awesome, But if all else fails Mosquito dunks / Organic Bug repelent next.

I do have some Air insect raid, I could try spraying a little bit to some paper and keep it in the grow area, but seeing as how thats a heavy duty bug killer, i dont think ill risk it lol, the strong fans would push the heavy fumes out quickly, but would probably still do some kinda harm to my plants.

ChroniklesOfTheDankSide said:

I'll try the Soap and water, and if that doesnt help ill resort to the Hydrogen peroxide.
If i can fix this issue without spending any money that'd be awesome, But if all else fails Mosquito dunks / Organic Bug repelent next.

I do have some Air insect raid, I could try spraying a little bit to some paper and keep it in the grow area, but seeing as how thats a heavy duty bug killer, i dont think ill risk it lol, the strong fans would push the heavy fumes out quickly, but would probably still do some kinda harm to my plants.

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I would go with the mosquito dunks before the peroxide just to be safe.

Okay so what i've done I've taken granulated garlic ( Powdered garlic ) And sprinkled a small amount around the top of my soil. ( You could definitely smell it for the first 2 -3 hours )
So we'll see if that scent really does repel the flyers.

And ive taken a small amount of dish soap and applied it to some water, i drenched the center of my pot ( Since the plants are planted in a circle around the pot, i figure if i pour it in the center it will at least suffocate/kill the larva and babies.

Next time im in town, ill get some misquitoe dunks and some sand and perlite. Which ive read will help prevent more of these fuckers from burrowing into my closet garden.

I'll be cleaning out the grow closet also. Vaccuming and then hanging up new plastic on the walls. ( Im almost positive these pests were already around in my grow area, and i kinda half assed cleaned it when i began this little venture )

this is a common problem and common thread. lots of people have fungus gnats. just because you have them doesn't mean you have an infestation. most times they are just an annoyance and you don't need to do anything, although in large numbers they can cause damage. remember the flying bugs are just part of the life cycle (see below.) sticky traps work great for the flying adults and they are fairly cheap. personally i wouldn't dump chemicals into my water or soil to control them but that's just me. i haven't tried the dunks but this last grow i used beneficial nematodes, and between the sticky traps and the nematodes it worked great. i'll do it next grow as well. good luck!

Fungus gnats reproduce in moist, shaded areas in decaying organic matter such as leaf litter. The life cycle is about four weeks, with continuous reproduction in homes or greenhouses where warm temperatures are maintained. Broods overlap, with all life stages present during the breeding season. Larvae not only feed on fungi and decaying organic matter, but on living plant tissue, particularly root hairs and small feeder roots. Brown scars may appear on the chewed roots. The underground parts of the stem may be injured and root hairs eaten off. Damage occurs most often in greenhouses or plant beds.
Adults live about 7 to 10 days and deposit eggs on the moist soil surface or in soil cracks. Females lay up to 100 to 300 eggs in batches of 2 to 30 each in decaying organic matter. Eggs hatch in 4 to 6 days; larvae feed for 12 to 14 days. The pupal stage is about 5 to 6 days. There are many overlapping generations throughout the year.