You will probably want to split your infested plants off to a quarantine area regardless of what treatment you do to help prevent further infestation problems. From what I've read and experienced peroxide is very effective for fungal and bacterial problems. I have no experience on how effective it may be with the gnats, nor with other solutions to the problem (I haven't had gnats yet). There is a good chance it could help with the problem but others might have more input. Over the past few weeks since I first heard of peroxide treatment I've been using it. Here's what I can say if you want to go the peroxide route: I use a dilution of 1% based on what I read on the EPA fact sheet for peroxide as a pesticide. The kind I buy is readily available in the grocery store and comes at 3% dilution (so I add 2 parts water to one part peroxide to reduce it to 1%). 1) It has, in my experience, been effective as a single application fungicide. I used it on some Narcissus that had developed some fungal problems. I applied the solution to it instead of a regular watering. The four Narcissus bulbs didn't mind it one bit and the fungus died. *One of the things I read on fungal gnats is that letting the soil dry out helps a lot with eradicating the gnat larvae as they need the moisture. So soaking the soil would seem counter to general advice and I don't know how effective it would be against your pests. As another option, I'd recommend only spraying the top rather than soaking - it'll introduce less moisture and should kill any top side fungus. 2) Hippeastrum bulbs seem to tolerate daily sprays of it with no problems (based on about a week of trial so far). That may be a general indication of how well bulbs in general tolerate it, but I don't know. I've even done a few 1.5% dilutions instead on a particularly unfortunate bulb as an experiment to control mites. I apply the spray once daily to exposed bulb areas and all green growth (or more often as spot treatment if I see a mite) and only water it via peroxide solution soak. It's doing pretty well considering, but I have no real feedback on success other than I now rarely see a mite every two days (down from 3-4 a day when I first caught the problem). All my other bulbs that were in the same general area as this infected bulb are being sprayed daily with no ill effects. *I wouldn't recommend this for your problem as I imagine the extra moisture of spraying would only encourage the gnats. If you do want to try it, I'd recommend doing it at a slower rate (every other day) -- I leave my plant lights on 24/7 so every day application is more like every day and a half at 16 hours of light to a day. Hope this helps some and hope someone with experience will chime in :) Liltika

This situation requires a 3 part approach: you need to kill the larvae in the soil, the adult gnats (who promptly lay more eggs to become larvae) and remove or correct the conditions that results in the gnat infestation in the first place. 1) Larvae control. Hydrogen peroxide is an effective control. Use 3% hp at 1 part hp to 4 parts water. Wait until the soil dries a bit then water thoroughly with this solution. 2) Adult control. Adults have a very short lifespan - only 7-10 days - but during this period, females are constantly laying eggs. Covering the soil surface with a layer of coarse sand will discourage females from laying eggs on the container soil. No eggs = no larvae = no adults. 3) Finally, you need to adjust watering practices. Fungus gnats are attracted to consistently damp soils. Generally, populations will be most heavy if the plants are being watered too frequently and the soil not allowed to dry out between waterings. At least the top two inches should dry thoroughly between waterings. The females won't lay eggs on dry soils (what the sand fools them into thinking) and the shallow larvae will not survive in dry conditions. Your houseplants will probably thank you for it as well - more issues arise with overwatering houseplants than allowing them to become too dry. Cinnamon can help as well. Dusting the top of the container uniformly with ground cinnamon will destroy the fungal organisms the larvae feed on, killing them as well. Also useful for damping off problems. But you must address all three parts of the problem to have successful control.

I also read it in the Texas Agricu. article, they say about the same thing, I thought I was passing on good information, I tried it when I saw 2 fungua gnats in my greenhouse. I will also post their article(who knew it was so eazy to grow potatoes) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- UC-028 FUNGUS GNAT MANAGEMENT Bastiaan M. Drees Professor and Extension Entomologist The Texas Agricultural Extension Service Texas A&M University System -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The term, fungus gnat, applies to a number of species in the insect order Diptera, family Sciaridae (dark winged fungus gnat species Bradysia coprophila, impatiens and paupera). Fungus gnat adults are a nuisance to greenhouse operators, interiorscapers as well as consumers. The larval stages can damage healthy roots, stunting or killing young plants even where there is no fungal food source (Lindquist 1994). Prolonged infestations may cause stunted, off-colored plants or foliage (Cole 1985). Damage may actually be more severe to young plants when the potting media or soil has been sterilized. Fungus gnat larvae may also aid in the introduction and spread of plant diseases such as Pythium, Verticillium, Cylindrocladium, Scelerotinia and Theila-viopsis. Description. Adult fungus gnats are small (1/8 inch long), fragile grayish to black flies with long, slender legs and thread-like antennae. Their wings are clear or smokey-colored with no pattern and few distinct veins. Larvae are clear to creamy-white and can grow to about 1/4 inch long. They have shiny black head capsules (Fig. 1). Biology. Fungus gnats develop through complete metamorphosis: egg; larva; pupa; and adult. Development occurs in 2 to 4 weeks. Larvae feed primarily on fungi, decaying organic matter and plant roots, particularly in very moist enviro nments. Larval and pupal stages can also, however, survive periods of drought. Fungus gnats normally follow a predictable cycle of population development: The first two generations are the largest, followed by a leveling off or decline in numbers. Continuous production (ie. adding new plants in fresh growing media) may keep fungus gnat numbers high, because the insects will keep moving to the potting mix containing the fresh media (Lindquist 1994). Monitoring methods. Yellow sticky cards and potato pieces placed on potting media are good methods for monitoring adult and larval populations, respectively. Yellow stick cards are most effective when place horizontally on the potting media surface, although vertically positioned cards hung over the crop canopy are also effective and trap more of other types of insect pests as well. Cards placed under the benches, close to intake vents, near doorways and outside the greenhouse can provide additional information to detect breeding areas. Continuous monitoring (weekly) can provide the following information: 1) first detection of low populations; 2) population density increases or decreases over time; 3) the level and length of suppression resulting from the implementation of suppression tactics. Potato slices (roughly 1 by 1 by 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces) placed on the surface of potting media are attractive to larval stages of fungus gnats. The potato slices should be left in place for about 4 hours before counting the number of larvae on and under the slices (Lindquist 1994). Results of this monitoring effort can be used to: 1) detect areas where larvae are developing; and 2) document the reduction of larval population densities after the implementation of suppression tactics by comparing results from before ant after treatment. Management. There are no "economic threshold levels" established for managing this pest (Lindquist 1994). Thus, the decision to suppress populations is largely subjective, although regulatory or marketing forces may play an important role in the decision-making process.Fungus gnat control can be an important part of managing some plant diseases. Integrated pest management of fungus gnats is best when a combination of non-chemical (cultural) methods are used with biological and/or chemical methods. Table 1 provides an inventory of considerations and options which can be incorporated into a fungus gnat management program. Cultural methods are largely preventive and must be maintained throughout the production cycle. Biological methods must be implemented early, when fungus gnat population levels are still low. Insect growth regulator products applied to the potting media are more compatible with biological control. However, once a severe problem has developed, an insecticide program using a combination of treatments for adult as well as larvae fungus gnat control may be necessary. Literature cited Cole, C. L. 1985. Fungus Gnats, L-2041. Texas Agricultural Extension Service, Texas A&M University System, College Station, Texas. Drees, B. M. 1992. Pest Management Alternatives for Commercial Orna-mental Plants. Texas Association of Nurserymen. Austin, Texas. 140 pp. Lindquist, R. K. 1994. Integrated man- agement of

Those who participated in this thread back in 2009 are most likely long gone, but I have to say the initial poster sounded like us in 1999 having just moved to a heavily wooded two acre property. We tried everything including the Mosquito magnets mentioned (TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY). Luckily they were on a satisfaction guaranteed deal and were returned. After several years of a large money outlay on bug repellent/mosquito netting clothing and a gazebo for screened "outdoor" reading our community began spraying weekly for Mosquitoes. That is the only thing that made any impact. I am writing today to disagree with "what ever you spray kills every bug". While the mosquitoes population is GREATLY decreased we have PLENTY of pests still. No-see-ums, gnats,beetles of all sorts...on and on. I have no doubt there are also "beneficial" bugs i.e.,bees etc. also about. Where as I am not a huge fan or user of chemicals in my garden I also had to be able to walk from the house to the car without looking like I had measles!! I a very thankful for cummunity wide spraying!!!