I think to most tried and true way is with mosquito dunks. I have never used them but have read about their success.

I have been successful controlling gnats by making sure the soil is not soggy. allowing the top to dry out. I have also sprinkled some diatomaceuos earth all over the plant and the top of the soil. Not sure if the DE helps with the gnats, but I don't have any anymore.

When outdoor gnats or fruit flies have a population explosion and some of them enter the garage when I open/close the door, I hang up a couple of the yellow sticky ribbons designed for flies. They are hanging on each side of a low wattage lamp that stays lit 24 hours. When they fly near the light and land on the sticky ribbons beside it, the ribbons do a great job ending their brief career.

Mosquito dunks are bt. Bt makes bt toxin. The gmo part of gmo corn.

just so you know

I have used a bottle of this Gnat Off (it says it is BT toxin) in summer for 10 pots of 3litter. Absolutely no result. Not even keeping soil dry did not kill them!

I end-up covering all visible soil parts with fabric and placing sticky fly papers on the surface of the pot. I still see 1-2 new gnats per day :(

I took my gnats from a nursery, in the soil of a variegated ficus. The roots of that ficus are the greatest attraction for gnats!

Hey calamondindave, I saw you live in nc do you mind if I ask you what grows well here in containers (edible)? I'm just starting and just could use all the help i can get. It'll be nice to know from fellow resident.

@pip313

"Mosquito dunks are bt. Bt makes bt toxin. The gmo part of gmo corn.

just so you know"

What is your point? Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt) also occurs naturally in caterpillers, moths and butterflies. It's not as though using dunks will cause your plants to become GMOs.

China produces the most tea in the world and supplies around 30 percent of total tea demands to the world. India is the close second producer.

just so you know

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Someone else said they put a flea collar around the soil and cover across the pot sticky tape so when the gnats run from the collar they stick to the tape. Luckily the hydrogen peroxide & cinnamon seems to have had an impact and all I see is a stray gnat once and a while.

dwarner224: If you have the space & light, most any citrus you would like to grow and eat could be grown in containers probably. Some do better in pots than others however. Around here I've had success with Meyer lemon, limes, calamondins, mandarins, kumquats. As far as other edibles (like vegetables) take your pick, this is a good location for a container garden. Last year I grew everything from carrots to corn in containers. Using a good potting mix is very important.

I never said they would become GMO.

Some people say gmo corn is so bad for you. The only difference is it contains bt toxin. Some people would prefer not to add it to their food. I'm one of them.

My comment actually applies to this situation, your tea discussion is completely off topic. Thanks for wasting space.

@ calamondave thanks a lot for the insight hope you had a great Thanksgiving.

All these suggestions will help with the current infestation but the underlying problem is the soil itself. I will bet it's a typical Peat Moss based potting mix. The fungus gnats love the Peat Moss and that's really what they're eating. They rarely eat live roots, they're dead plant material scavengers and slightly rotting peat moss is their favorite.

Peat Moss based soil mix is great for annuals and vegetables in containers. It drains well for a season and allows for an annual plant to grow quickly for that one spring/summer/fall season. It was never meant to be a medium for a longer lived plant like trees and shrubs.

It's structure breaks down after a half year or so and then it holds water too long, the peat begins to rot and at that point it's delicious to fungus gnats.

I would suggest at some point in the near future you re-pot your tree into a bark-based mix like Gritty Mix or 5-1-1 mix and you'll find your fungus gnat problem will go away and not come back.

These mixes are more porous and drain better, plus they have little to no Peat Moss in them and so don't attract fungus gnats. They also hold up for a much longer time, in years not months, and so are much better for a long lived plant like a tree or shrub. Put Gritty Mix or 5-1-1 Mix into the search box and you should find the recipes for it. The ingredients are fairly easy to find at most good garden centers. Hope this helps.

That's good advice. Thanks. I do plan on repotting it in the 5-1-1 mix. No idea what potting mix the nursery used. I plan on repotting many of my tress this coming spring using 5-1-1. I know of the gritty mix, but haven't tried it.

I just tried Scanmask nematodes with zero result after 3 weeks or so. I am going to try the fly tapes and a couple dishes of vinegar water next I think.

Can I ask you? Why don't you plan on a good strategy to avoid the whole issue in the first place?

Save yourself some money and aggravation and use a mix on all your plants that does not ever harbor them like a 5.1.1 mix mentioned on the containers forums and thought out these forums) That is what I use and never a gnat problem.

Agreed, I need to change my mix, will do in the spring when the temperatures are more agreeable. I did mix up my own quite porous mix but it is nowhere near as fast draining as what you guys suggest so I do need to correct that.

I have other plants in my grow room that wouldn't do as well in such a porous mix which is why I still need a fungus gnat strategy.

I think the gnats are mostly in my other plants but I can't stand the little buggers so will try the tape too to try and take out the adults.