If the post was current, I'd say: #1 suggestion would be to stop using any household cleaner (dishsoap) as a way to clean leaves or in an insecticidal capacity. See something I wrote about it below. BTW, disregard any argument that goes something like "I've been doing it for years and have noticed no adverse effects ......". The fact is, it destroys cuticular wax, and if it gets to the roots, root lipid membranes. So, it prevents or limits roots from taking up water/nutrients, and destroys the mechanism by which plants limit water loss from their foliage and protect against insects and entry of pathogens. If you need a product to clean leaves or to use as an insecticide, insecticidal soaps are made from long chain fatty acids, formulated to be safe for most plants, though there are a few plants sensitive even to insecticidal soaps. A mix of 70% isopropyl/rubbing alcohol and water at 1:1 or 2:1 (2 water: 1 alcohol) if all you need for mites. Spritz the plant thoroughly at 4 day intervals, making sure you coat the entire surface of the plant, including inferior leaf surfaces and and leaf axils where they tend ti hide in the dark. A change in watering habits or a change in your grow medium are usually all you need to be rid of gnats. Unless your pot is 5" deep or less, avoid the advice to water when the top inch or two of the soil is dry. It's a recipe for over-watering and the very idea is enough to make a gnat's eyes spin in anticipation of the orgiastic frenzy induced by media the surface of which provides a never ending supply of wet/rotting organic matter. This should be helpful, as would be changing to a highly aerated medium, the surface of which dries quickly, and using a "tell" to "tell" you when it's time to water. Detergents Dishsoap/ detergent’s effect on plants varies with the mode of exposure. Dawn, Palmolive, Joy, ...... dishsoap, as an example, are each and all a mishmash of chemicals, at least eleven of which are phytotoxic. If the top of the plant is sprayed thoroughly with even mild detergent solutions such that all surfaces including leaves are covered, the detergent can easily dissolve the protective coating of cuticular wax on the leaves of the plant, causing abnormally high rates of water loss and possible necrosis of all or part of the leaf. Cuticular waxes prevent leaves from drying out, and help stop pathogens from attacking the leaf. Strong solutions will even dissolve cell membranes, causing death of the cells. If a detergent solution is used as a soil drench or makes its way into the soil as a consequence of over-spray or run-off, the effect on roots is immediate. Because one of the main function of roots is to absorb water and nutrients dissolved in water, they lack the waxy protective coating that leaves employ. Detergent solution in contact with root cells can quickly dissolve the lipid membrane surrounding cells, killing the cells and inhibiting water/ nutrient uptake. Hair cells growing as appendages off larger roots do the lion’s share of assimilating water and nutrients, and these very delicate cells would be the first casualty of any detergent in the root zone. There are widely available insecticidal soaps, designed to be used topically and made mixing potassium with only long chain fatty acids, carefully selected and specifically formulated to be safe for mammals & birds, death on most insects they contact, and most important, safe for plants. If you need something "soapy", it would be much better if you selected a product intended for use on plants than one intended for other purposes. Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. What I use for grow media: Al

Thank you Fetters. Really good post. Quite timely for us as DH has suggested putting in a garden pond. My first question was, "What about the mosquitoes?" I was intrigued by the mention of Lemon Eucalyptus. E maculata sounded somewhat familiar so I assumed we call it something else down here. I googled it and this is what I found. E maculata is known as Spotted Gum or Honey Gum (good for bees). E citriodora is known as Lemon-Scented Gum. And there is a hybrid E maculata citriodora. Recently these particular gums have been reclassified from Eucalyptus to Corymbia (useful to know in case the nurseries change the labels). I debated whether to mention the next bit. In some areas they are getting a reputation as an invasive weed. It's hard to know when such a reputation is truly warranted. (I have some birch trees, which are most definately not indigenous to my area, and I do get seedlings coming up, but after all these years my birches haven't taken over the nearby bushland. Or is that because they have no chance against the Patterson's Curse, which was once an introduced garden flower.) I suppose all I can say is do some research if you're thinking of planting one. Perhaps conditions in the areas of the US where they are grown are such that they are happy enough to grow okay but not so happy that they get out of control. And the good news is if you change your mind after you've planted one, it apparently makes really good timber. Hello OzOrganic. Sorry to hear about your landlord issue. Don't get me started on that subject. Hope you find a solution soon.

We've had a very rainy winter, spring and summer so far. Folks think I'm kidding when I say we have no mosquitoes, but our neighbors do. I think we're mosquito-free because of the garden. We have no houseflies or gnats either. We can walk down the road and be swarmed by all of those. We have 2 acres of open land and 2.5 acres of wooded land that is very wet in the rainy season. Moving water feature in the sun (a stream/waterfall, but could be something smaller). No mosquito eggs in moving water, but frogs and dragonflies are attracted to the water. They both eat mosquitoes. We grow a lot of lavender, nepeta, rosemary, basil, fennel, oregano, thyme, salvia and agastache in the garden. I think these deer and rabbit resistant plants also help keep down the mosquitoes, flies and gnats. Birds, lots of birds in our gardens. Even hummingbirds skim over the grass in the morning to eat bugs. My husband and I are big believers in the plants helping. We both grew up in NC and have never lived anywhere without mosquitoes, flies and gnats. I has to be the garden/habitat. Cameron

Patrick, did you know that you can get allergy shots for a mosquito allergy. Mine is a true allergy. I may get 6 or 7 mosquito bites on one day, then in 36 hours, one of the bites begins to swell. It swells to the point that I cannot cover it with my hand, it develops a purple knot the size of a quarter, and it begins an unusual itch that feels dangerous. When I was diagnosed the allergist even insisted that I carry adrenalin for 2 weeks until the shots had time to take effect. That was many many years ago, and after the two weeks or so, my mosquito bites are just annoying, but not dangerous. I still take the shots. I worry about the diseases that they carry and that ticks carry. Aren't you in the medical profession? You might ask to be skin tested. Thanks for your recommendation. I have been using Cutter from Lowes. like you, I put on sun block (Coppertone) then the spray. It doesn't take long to feel very dirty. When I first saw the ad of the new spray on TV, I thought it would be unsafe to breathe. But if the stuff is on your skin, you still breathe it. Sammy