Fungus Gants: Any more that I could do?

10 years ago

Latlet ive been seeing little black flies zig zaggin about near my plants and all over my home. I smashed a ton of them and looked at one dead one under a microscope to Identifiy it. And yes they were fungus gnats

If anyone can recall a while ago I poste about my Neanthebella palm trees and how supposley they had bugs in them.. We'll i never saw any my mom did but I didnt think so. So I did the soap in water thing and did that for a while. Then I potted them in a new pot and all was well.
Now Come today the soil was just crawly with these gnats!
I quickly scowered the internet on how rid these things but you know theres never enough info

This is what I did
I covered the soil of My Neanthebella palm trees and my Majesty palm (Only.other plant were the soil stays wet enough) with cinnamon. (I read some where this kills the fungus.on which the larvae feed upon)

I also bought those sticky trap and put two in with the palms and some in my other plants. Ive caught 3 so far!

I also have barley waterd anything (Except my Majesty.palm but I dont water it as much)

I also let my Little batch of Neanthebella palms trees sit outside for a while as it was 10 degrees and was pretty windy so I though it could get rid of some of the adults that were in the soil (There were tons when I put it outside)

Anyway, Do you giys think this is enough to get rid of these things?
Should I do anything more?
Ill make sure not to overwater my palms next time!
Thanks!

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Comments (9)

paul_
10 years ago
Your potting media and its water retaining ability may be the big issue.

Meanwhile ....... got to HD or Lowes and buy a package of mosquito dunks. Throw a 1/4 of a doughnut dunk in a gallon jug and fill with the water you use to water your plants. Let sit overnight or a bit longer in a dark area (no reason to give algae a chance to grow). Shake well and water your plants with it. Refill jug and put away until the next watering. The dunk chunk in the jug will eventually completely disintegrate. Until then, leave it in the jug and keep reusing it. The bacteria in the dunk will kill off the gnat larvae.

NOTE: This is NOT and instant fix. It will take a week or two to wipe out the larvae.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
10 years ago
It doesn't look like your research resulted in anything useful. Fungus gnat larvae, in potting soil, feed on peat moss particles, the slough from roots, and even tiny healthy roots. Using cinnamon or barley water would be useless.

The adults seek out moist (usually overly so), mucky potting mixes in which to lay their eggs. The larvae will thrive in those conditions. Providing a very porous medium is really all that is needed to prevent population from building up. My preferred mix consists mostly of pine bark fines....very little peat.....and I haven't seen a fungus gnat in many, many years.

Sometimes, just easing up on the watering frequency can help but that's not a sure thing unless something has been done to improve the consistency of the potting mix....from too fine and mucky to coarse and porous.

The other useful tool in fending off these little pests is a naturally occurring bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis, which kills the larvae once ingested. We are able to apply Bt as a product called Gnatrol or by dissolving ordinary mosquito dunks in your watering can.
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Edymnion is incorrect in his/her explanation of fungus gnats. In our homes and greenhouses, they are not necessarily fungus feeders though their populations certainly explode under the moist conditions that mold/fungi thrive in. They feed upon decomposed or decomposing organic matter, such as the stuff that (most) of our potting mediums are comprised of, algae, fungi (if there is any in your potting mix (not in mine!!), and plant roots. Ohiofem explained it perfectly...a few of these little insects are not something to worry about. But they (the tiny, maggoty larvae) will begin to feed on tender plant roots as their populations rise. That's why we worry about it when our seedling trays become infested. Many germination mediums and even common potting mixes are very fine textured and peaty...a perfect (though artificial) environment for fungus gnats, even it you don't keep it too moist all of the time. Inside, where there is no place else for the adults to lay eggs, our containerized plants can soon become over-run with the larvae. At this time of year, you can find mosquito dunks at most garden centers and even hardware stores. Break a few pieces from a dunk and let it soak in your full watering bucket over night. Use that water for your plants. For the next several watering cycles, use the 'dunk' water only. Mosquito dunks contain a naturally occurring bacterium that affects the larvae of certain insects, such as mosquitoes, black flies (of the northeast), some shore flies, and fungus gnats. The larvae feed on the dunks and the ingested bacterium infects them. This bacterium, named Bacillus thuringiensis-israelensis (Bt-i) is harmless to anything but the targeted larvae. Next time, search for a much coarser potting mix, one that cannot support fungus gnat larvae. Such a medium can still be used as a germination mix by using a shallow layer of the peaty stuff on top of the coarser material. Also, as has been said, moisture levels need to be monitored carefully. These insects really love very moist medium. My potting soil, for example, contains more pine bark than peat moss. I haven't seen a fungus gnat in many, many years.
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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
10 years ago
Paul....your most excellent comments weren't there when I posted mine. :-)
JonathanUT
10 years ago
I'll need to go on a quest for supplies now. I have almost wiped mine out (and almost changed completely to good soil, or Al's gritty mix), but every now and then one will find its way in front of the computer monitor.

Thanks for the help I wasn't really looking for!
tommyr_gw Zone 6
10 years ago
Go buy a package of "Mosquito dunks" at the garden center. Put one quarter of one in your watering can. This will kill the larvae in the soil and stop future generations. Use sticky traps and manually kill the adults.
MrBlubs
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks for all the help!
Ill be heading th store later today to get some of those dunks.
I cant however repot any my.plants untill spring as I have no where to do it and I cant do it outside.
Also I was looking at old threads about putting hot water in the soil.
Does this actually
work?
If so could I Put a mosquito dunk in with the hot water and double whammy them?
Thanks
tommyr_gw Zone 6
10 years ago
DON'T use hot water. Room temperature of SLIGHTLY warm.
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
10 years ago
If you can't repot, at least reduce watering and stir up the surface of the medium with a table fork or stick. This will help it dry out and disturb the flies. Keep the surface scuffed up regularly.
paul_
10 years ago
Ã¢ÂÂ¢Posted by rhizo_1
Paul....your most excellent comments weren't there when I posted mine. :-)

I'm sneaky that way. heh

Fungus Gants: Any more that I could do?

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paul_

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

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Fungus Gants: Any more that I could do?

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