Hi all! Reading with interest all of the organic remedies for fungus gnats on the various forums. The dry-soil approach definitely works best for the eggs/larvae, I've found, but I am curious if anyone has had any luck trapping adult populations of fungus gnats by means of a houseplant with sticky leaves - which I first read about in a magazine - they used Nicotania (?), I believe. A post from the cacti forum suggested a "sundew plant - small carnivorous plant with sticky leaves (Drosera Capensis)". Or, what about other carnivorous plants? any that the gnat would be interested in? Just curious. Your thoughts are appreciated! Sandy

Your suspicions are correct. It is not an Echeveria. It looks like a Haworthia seedling. I'm not sure to what you are making reference that is a fungus. If it is that white fuzzy object in the center, that isn't a fungus. Maybe a closeup would define things.

Nichollette I would suggest that you need to reconsider soil you are using. Is that last plant aloe? - it seems to be in very wet soil, and also potted too deep inside of pot. Some ppl argue that it doesn't matter, but I believe it creates even more humidity & lack of air circulation around base of plant. Together with wet soil, it is 'heaven' for bugs. Marks I see in the photo could be just mechanical damage - could you take a clear close-up photo of it? Maybe you should try using mix that is mostly inorganic. And water only when it is almost dry deep inside of pot. Also, use only containers with good drainage holes. I don't even remember last time I had any fungus gnats - and I have over 300 potted plants that are all indoors during winter. All succulents are in very gritty mix, without any soil, and other tropical plants have lots of coarse perlite and some grit in mix too - I would probably grow them in a mix with even more grit but big pots get too hevay! Succulents are in smaller containers. All my plants spend summers outside.

It does look like a burn, but if you look closely you can see rust fungus. Doubt it’s burn considering your maidenhair are doing fine in similar conditions. My first thought is spider mite damage, but it doesn’t quite look like mite damage. I honestly think it’s rust fungus. I looked at your first pic in the comment you just made and your original comment, and it really looks like fungus. That would make sense since your maidenhairs are doing ok. I don’t have much experience with fungus on cactus. If I do get any little red rust spots in the winter by the time my late spring early summer comes along all the dry air and low humidity puts a stop to it. If you use any sprays like a fungicide keep the cactus out of the sun. Once you get a handle on the fungus the cactus will be fine. It’ll grow and those marks will no longer be on the top, but on the sides of the cactus, the marks will forever be there. Sometimes damage will give you a one of a kind cactus tho. I have a cactus right now that had mealybugs last year. The bugs are gone, but the bugs affected the top growth. Tbh honest I really like how the cactus is growing. I circled some spots that clearly look like the beginning of red rust fungus.