Just threw away half a bag of Fox Farms Ocean Forest... FUCK FOX FARMS

When I used roots organic coco hydro mix I never got gnats only when I used pee as a fert but I watered it and they went away every time, also h202 and they always were gone

Many Fox Farms fans here, but I personally dislike their products, especially their grow mediums. Switched to Coco/Perlite 5 years ago. My current favorite brand is TheBucketCompany coco/perlite ($12.50 per 1.8 cu/ft bag for now..)

To get rid of fungus gnats, add Spinosad (per directions) to your feed water and into open drains and standing water. They'll be dead within 48 hours if done properly. Also, fill a 5 gal bucket or similar with some water that has a couple tablespoons of sugar or honey in it, add some nice spinosad to that blend too, the adult gnats will go to get a treat and DIE.

I use sticky traps, liquid traps, and UV fan sticky traps near entry points. Bugs get attracted to the UV light, get sucked in the fan, and stuck on sticky paper. Bulk boxes of sticky traps are better than the little disks they sell. Check out this UV trap on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Zapper-Indoor-Sunction-Mosquito-Kitchen/dp/B0C23N2R9P

These are mainly good to place around entry points or commonly infested areas like clone trays etc..

Ive been watering with mosquito dunks and i think it may be working

I had a ton of problems with Ocean Forest when I first tried soil, bugs, fish hooks and rusty chunks of metal in the bag... Now with Happy Frog I checked it out yesterday and it seems really fluffy and light, way cleaner.

Do you feed any extra amendments with the happy frog or just water? What size pot do you run and how many weeks veg/flower?

DeadHeadX said:

Didn’t you already have a bug problem before adding the soil?

I live on the east coast and have never gotten an infested bag (knock on wood). I read here or elsewhere that it’s a good idea to test the soil by putting some well moistened soil in a sealed jar with the idea that if there are critters, you’ll see them in the jar after some hours. Testing a new batch of soil this way right now.

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I know this is an old thread, though someone “liked” my comment the other day, maybe a scrolling error, but I felt I better amend the statement from a year ago: I am dealing with gnats right now and have been for several months, and it seems pretty likely they came in some bags of fox farm over the summer or early in the summer. This is when the bags are stored outside at many places, which likely doesn’t help. Anyway, I’m going to keep using Fox farm, probably, at least for now. But, yeah, soil can be a source of gnats. I’m sure this isn’t unique to fox farm. Luckily, while they are pests, they haven’t seemed to have any impact of the grows, other than adding my need to keep after them with a variety of tactics. Thanks.

DeadHeadX said:

I know this is an old thread, though someone “liked” my comment the other day, maybe a scrolling error, but I felt I better amend the statement from a year ago: I am dealing with gnats right now and have been for several months, and it seems pretty likely they came in some bags of fox farm over the summer or early in the summer. This is when the bags are stored outside at many places, which likely doesn’t help. Anyway, I’m going to keep using Fox farm, probably, at least for now. But, yeah, soil can be a source of gnats. I’m sure this isn’t unique to fox farm. Luckily, while they are pests, they haven’t seemed to have any impact of the grows, other than adding my need to keep after them with a variety of tactics. Thanks.

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I use fox farm soils, and yes they contain gnats. Basically all organic bagged soils will. There's decomposing organic matter in soil, so it's a magnet for fungus gnats.

Ive found the best method for controlling fungus gnats, is not to keep soil overly saturated. I still get a couple fliers, but they're nothing compared to what I used to get.

Hollatchaboy said:

I use fox farm soils, and yes they contain gnats. Basically all organic bagged soils will. There's decomposing organic matter in soil, so it's a magnet for fungus gnats.

Ive found the best method for controlling fungus gnats, is not to keep soil overly saturated. I still get a couple fliers, but they're nothing compared to what I used to get.

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Similar approach and expectation. I use a multi pronged attack, and also try to let things get dry during watering.

I let my containers go a few days between waterings, plant size considering. All in all, the containers get considerably lighter, before I water.