Organic Gnat Control

Dont Fear The Reefer said:

dont waste money on those gnat stix, they dont work hardly at all.

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Agree. I have them simply as a barometer for how many flies there may be. I again have to say that the Roots Organic was reported to be completely infested. See Subcools videos documenting this. Knowing this, I preemptively added the "bug amendments" and let the soil rest for 30 days. No gnats or pests of any kind. Not a twisted leaf, burnt tip and probably 6 gnats seen / captured on a sticky the whole grow.

wakebakeworksleep said:

But it works. When DE is applied properly and the correct steps taken, it's gold for getting rid of gnats. GoGnats and Gnat Off are better products than Gnatrol, but I suppose DE used in combo with Gnatrol or the others is even better. Although all of these except DE are useless in rooms that maintain a temp of 85 F or higher, but if you're having that problem I guess gnats are the least of your worries. In my case DE alone worked great.

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See, I disagree. I used GoGnats and it didn't do shit for me. The only thing, and I mean ONLY THING that I have used that worked worth a shit was Gnatrol with a wetting agent. I've tried using DE as a top dressing on my pots but I don't like how sloppy it gets when watering and when it's wet, it doesn't work. I still use DE around the perimeter of the garden and I also blast any fliers I see with some insecticidal soap and, of course, use yellow stickies, mainly to monitor the adult population. If it works for you though, then use it, by all means!

Just stop watering the top of the soil. I started watering from the bottom tray and I have no problems. I have deep trays, the soil will soak up what it needs. The top stays dry and gnats like the top to be damp.

snew said:

Just stop watering the top of the soil. I started watering from the bottom tray and I have no problems. I have deep trays, the soil will soak up what it needs. The top stays dry and gnats like the top to be damp.

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I tried bottom watering and while it did help to reduce them some, they never fully went away. The gnats just moved down to the holes in the bottoms of the pots.

doc111 said:

I tried bottom watering and while it did help to reduce them some, they never fully went away. The gnats just moved down to the holes in the bottoms of the pots.

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I noticed the same thing. I covered the top of the soil with hydroton and while it helped a lot with the gnats, whenever I would lift up the pots I see one or two fly out through the bottom holes.

Hate those fuckers.

I'll have to try that gnatrol.

They can't stand neem meal. Don't know why, and the neem meal is better than the processed oil.

The crab shell is made of Chitin. Adding it is not only a good fertilizer, but the chitin in the shell promotes the growth of Chitin eating bacteria. The mouth parts of many nasties are made from chitin. The increased chitin-eating bacterial population goes to town on the pests quickly.

The DE does NOT need to be a 1" layer of white mud like so many have mentioned. You are not laying mortar here. When wet, it holds water. When dry, the crystals cut up soft abdomens.

BTI and / or nematodes round off the plan. Use either or both combined.

If these things are added when you first mix up the soil, they will lay waste to the bug population. All of these elements will eventually be fertilizer for the plant, so there's sure no harm. I really suggest trying to amend the soil preemptively before there's a problem.

doc111 said:

I tried bottom watering and while it did help to reduce them some, they never fully went away. The gnats just moved down to the holes in the bottoms of the pots.

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I let my soil get fairly dry (a light pot) I use deep trays, about 6". These hold over a quart of water and my soil is dry enough that it will soak up a lot and I water a 12" with about 1 gallon of water. I water every 4-7 days. On occasion I see gnat stuck on my fly paper but I just don't have gnat problems any more. It takes a while, organics generally do, and a bug or 2 will not hurt.
I like Rrog's neem meal and crab meal and will look at adding these to my soil plan. For the added benefit.
For me I'm a chronic over water. So this solved my problem, the plant will only draw the water from the pot that it needs it. Let the surface dry. If gnats are flying in and out of the bottom hole keep some water in the tray this should block the soil access.

I have had a big problem with gnats this round with iguana juice and coco. I have pretty much tried everything but I have way too much medium for them to survive. Mosquito dunks worked slightly but everything came back. Added a pearlite top but sand would of worked better. They just started crawling threw. Next I used a bowl of apple cider vin(with a dab of soap) but it reeks and they like the organic fish rot smell better. Next added a ton of cinnamon to tops and worked for a few days but now they just have adapted and doubled. I am counting the days until I can toss everything. Im worried about new babies so I recommend keeping the plants in the best container for their size . I've read azamax is effective so I have this on hand(to treat new coco) if I notice them appearing after the contaminated coco is gone. I've ordered piranha and tarantula to see if these beneficial bacteria/fungi help. The gnats feed off the roots and I can tell it's not helping growth/ causing problems.