The adult fungus gnat lays tiny eggs, singly or in clusters, on the soil in houseplants. In about 4 days, the eggs hatch into tiny, silvery white larvae (resembling tiny earthworms), with shiny black heads. When mature the very slim, and transparent larvae can measure up to 6 mm in length. Within a 2-week period, the larvae begin to spin tiny silken cocoons in the soil. The pupal stage lasts only 1 week. Adult fungus gnats emerge and mate. The adult stage lasts only 1 week, but the female will lay around 100-150 eggs during that time. The entire life cycle lasts only 4 weeks -- from egg to larvae to pupae and back to egg. Feeding - Fungus gnats seldom cause much damage to plants. The larva (worm) is the only form to feed, and it feed mainly on fungus and organic matter in the soil. When their numbers become high, the larvae will sometimes feed on the very tender root hairs on the plant. Plants damaged by gnats will lose vigor and may show more than normal yellowing of leaves, and leaf shed. Control - One of the easiest ways to control gnats is to allow the soil in houseplants plants to dry before re-watering. Larvae cannot survive in dry soil. Gnats are most commonly found in soil that has a high percentage of organic matter (especially peat moss). Instead of using peat moss in, try perlite or vermiculite. Insecticides have proven effective against fungus gnats. Diazinon (2% dust) applied to the soil surface and worked in slightly will come in contact with the larvae and kill them. Malathion (50% EC), at the rate of 2 ml per litre of water and applied to the soil surface is also effective. Note that some plants may be damaged by these insecticide. Read and follow directions carefully. Aerosol insecticides containing any of a number of chemicals (pyrethrins, resmethrin, tetramethrin, and d-trans allethrin) can be sprayed into the air. These insecticides must come in contact with the insect to kill it. Spray the soil, not the foliage, which may be damaged by the insecticide. Since these insects do not feed on the foliage, it is not necessary to spray the leaves the leaves. Since the life cycle of the fungus gnat is short, it is necessary to apply an insecticide every seventh day, for 4 or 5 weeks. If an application is missed, the insect may be able to emerge, breed and lay eggs. Organic insecticides such as insecticidal soap and diatomaceous earth have proven effective in controlling fungus gnats, although further testing is required. Some plants may be damaged by these insecticides, therefore read and follow labels carefully. Brightly colored traps have proven effective in some instances. One suggestion is to paint a milk carton bright yellow, then coat it with a sticky oil. Place or hang the carton near windows or where fungus gnats congregate. When the gnats are attracted to the bright yellow colour, they stick to the oil and die.

how did you come to the ID???? .. if nothing works.. and one presumes you targeted your threat ..... then one has to question the ID .... [maybe you took the sticky traps to a professional????] one might suppose there are a multitude of gnats??? .. if in fact.. they are gnats .... have you talked to your county extension office ... perhaps they can offer some wisdom.. as i doubt you are the only yard in the county dealing with such ... i presume we arent going to get a picture of them ... so i am searching for more info .... good luck ken ps: bt takes a very long time to act ... like multiple seasons.. if in fact.. it does work ....of which, i am not convinced ... and i hope the person who ID'd the threat.. wasnt the dude who sold you the bt ....

Man-o-Man I am at my wits with the fungus gnat. Fruit fly? Fine. Regular gnats? No problemo But these fungus gnats? Houston-to-the-bin, we have a problem. Help! I had to put my bin outside for the first time in 3 years. I'm presently exposing myself to harmful chemicals to rid the determined fungus gnats in the house. It's working. Hey!~ There's one on my screen. *splat My problem is: 50 lbs of vermicompost sitting in the bin that probably contains numerous fungus gnat "things" that will over-winter. I cannot have that. De wormies must come back inside, eventually. What the flip am I going to do with all that vermicompost???? It's pretty much worthless if I dump it and let it dry out!!! But that's the only thing i can do... get the worms out and start a fresh clean bed. RIGHT? Any ideas? I have clay soil. I do not need castings as an amendment. I perform soil drenches. Woops! There goes my spring fertilizer. UGH

Ewwmayo, I haven't seen any fliers since I started this thread and only one in the days before. So I'm assuming that the life cycle is stopped. Just wanted to make sure that any larvae couldn't survive, in case there were some eggs left that might still hatch. Also I wasn't sure what the soap was called or made of that some here advise to use instead of dishwashing liquid. I wasn't going to use it, just have it on hand in case of an uncontrollable outbreak. And even then get some more advice on how or whether to use it. Rina, ouch! That really hurt :-( Not so much that you missed what I meant, but the way you responded. Like "sops" and "home made concoction". If the soap you would prefer to suggest is vegetable based then that's what I want in my "just in case shelf". I realise that I'm frustrating to many people including in this forum and I appreciate all the help I've been getting. Anyway, I know I can get the mosquitoe dunks in Bunnings, but do you think they would be likely to have the veg based soap in their garden section? Or maybe a supermarket?