Hung a bug zapper lite over my plants for 2 months. The zaps stopped, so I took lite down! No gnats for over a year now! Dont forget to empty the dead ones from the bottom tray! 😊
Hi Mr. Mouse, that sure is a cute little flyswatter you have. After all that talk about fungus gnats I had to take precautions! I think you're safe... Warning! Warning! Danger! Danger! Run Will Robinson! Ahhh! What's that?! You moved and set off my motion detector for fungus gnats. Am I in danger? No, just be glad you're not a fungus gnat or I'd have to break out the flyswatter and mosquito bits!
Will you hurt your plants if you use the mosquito bits every time you water. I am new to this and there were definitely gnats or mosquitoes around my plants (all 4 in one area), so I likely have them, but no idea which plant it came from so should I treat them all as infected? Do I need to worry about orchid bark or moss, or just plants with soil? New to all of this so these tips are so helpful!
I'm one of the people who didn't realize the problem until pretty much all of my plants seem to be victims. I moved into a new co-op and started bringing plants in about four months ago. I hadn't had house plants in my previous house for over 10 years. I can't move them out of the house because it's winter in MN and WELL below freezing in February (it was -27c last night). I've been using the sticky traps and a palm tree in a 2-gallon pot seems to be the worst source, but the sticky traps have been catching them at all plant locations. I'm going to try to find the mosquito bits or a different water-mix product called Systematic Houseplant Pest Control that may work the same way and may try the apple cider vinegar/dish soap trap remedy although I think the sticky traps may work better due to location right in the soil. The gnats have been finding their way to other rooms in the house and I'm wondering if they use other places besides soil to reproduce. Do they get into carpeting that's vacuumed weekly? I've been leaving 3-4 one-sided sticky traps on windowsills and I seem to catch about a dozen per week in each trap. Those traps are about 8-12 meters from the one fairly compact sunny nook where all of the plants are located. I have about 20 plants, 2/3 of them in clay or concrete pots of 4" or less. They dry out really quickly and need to be watered every 2-3 days. Thank you for this video. I only discovered your channel this evening after Googling "tiny flies in houseplants". I'll try to be back for more pleasant subjects...
Good luck with your gnats, I feel your pain! No they need the decomposition of the soil to lay eggs in, hence the fungus name, they wont go into carpet or anything man-made. If you could move all the plants into one room that you can close the door on then that may help, especially if it’s the least used room. You need to find something that will kill the eggs in the soil before they hatch, traps and things help but they won’t get it under control. Good luck.
Make a tea out of it, strain the bits out and water. wait two weeks, water again, wait two weeks and waer a last time with the tea, Use the yellow sticky traps to stop adults from laying more eggs,
Do you think mosquito bits are worth the price? I bought some a while ago and I’m not sure whether to buy again. Used in my water butts and an attempt to eradicate gnats. My gnat infestation is always worse when germinating veg seeds in spring, and it erupted in May. I also can’t seem to avoid them infesting my potting soil (kept outdoors in a sealed bag away from potted plants- where are they coming from??). They chew on brand new roots too, I’ve had damage to baby cucumber plants by the larvae before now. With 124 house plants currently, I doubt I’ll fully eradicate the gnats. Not sure where to go from here lol 😂
Certainly the more plants you have the harder it will be to control and with over 100 plants I’m sure it’s not easy at all. Any untreated open soil will become a problem. It might be more effective to treat smaller volumes of water in the watering can rather than your water butts where it might be diluted too much by rain maybe. I wish you all the best with it, I know how frustrating it is!
Regarding the price, I agree it is expensive, for a normal houseplant owner/collector I would expect a tub to last a long time and so a reasonable investment, in your case with so many plants I can see that the cost would be high, but I don't know of any other effective way to control them. As with houseplant stores and growers I think when you have large volume you can't really do much to prevent them.
Just experienced my first outbreak this week, it was a swarm! I repotted my small collection but what has your experience been with using Neem oil or adding diatomaceous clay ? Thank you!
Oh no! How frustrating, I've never used either of them so can't comment on how effective they are. The best thing is to try and identify which plants have the gnats in the soil and remove them from around your other plants, the more plants they get into the harder it is to control. Good luck.
Diatomaceous earth works well for a very severe infestation! Thickly layer an inch over the soil and let it sit for about 3 weeks. The gnats will come up though it from the soil and get cut to shreds by the diatomaceous earth and will die. The only thing is that the powder has to remain COMPLETELY dry for it to work, so the plant has to go for a while without water, unless you can bottom water. This treatment significantly reduced my infestation after 3 weeks. Then, I used mosquito bits to finish the job. Bottom line, this treatment is incredibly effective, but will stress your plants. Only use diatomaceous earth as a last resort. Good luck with your infestation!!
I’ve been trying 4tbsp per gallon of water using every time I water…🤞🏻that and yellow sticky tape also tried “katchy” it is a fly trap style plug in with fan that sucks them in and sticky tape that keeps them in. They seem to be never ending 😝😂 the quarantine is a great idea.
I don't see why not Jack, I don't think it will harm it, but to be sure it's probably better to check with the manufacturer, the contact details are on the packet.
My grand ma covered all my indoor plants with her old black tights I thought she was mad at the time, result was though I have never had a problem with these things and you can still water as normal. Now I did adopt a plant that had fungus gnats years ago and I covered it also and after a few weeks I checked and they were all gone, I’m not sure if they needed to get out to breed but covering seemed to work I remember.
That's a great idea! I will have to try this myself! I can never seem to totally eradicate them, they virtually dissapear and then one gets going and they are back aagain!!
Luckily I have not had them yet - I'm sure my time will come. They use powder cinammon a lot here and people swear by it. On another subject could you give me any advice on my Peace Lilly Andy? I have had it two years, always beautiful, but now it looks like it's going to die. It is totally drooped. She's not thirsty and she's not pot bound. I checked the roots last night and the roots were really shallow and not many roots at all. The ones that are there are healthy though and not squishy. She was repotted last year because she had grown so much and was getting root bound so I don't know where all the roots are. Also this started badly after I cut the dead flower off.
Maybe root rot? When it was pot-bound they say to go to a little bit bigger pot. (I Googled it) I put rocks or gravel in the bottom of my pot for drainage and watch out for air pockets in the soil when you repot. They say wait to water until it's an inch dry from the top by using your finger and then water it till the water comes out the bottom of the pot - I heard they grow near rivers, so sounds like they stay damp all the time. Maybe the new roots are growing - no direct sunlight only bright indirect light - if it's near a bright sunny window people use a sheer curtain.
@@icemancometh8679 - thanks for this. Much appreciated. The room it is in now has a shear curtain and a lot more shaded. I ways water my plants the way you have mentioned, by checking the soil, and I am completely baffled. I got some new substrate today - do you think repotting with fresh soil in the same pot might help? Funnily enough someone else said hers is doing the same now that she's cut the dead flower of. I'm wondering if it's to do with that but I can't find anything on that. I've had her over 2 years, I don't want to loose her.
It's not going to hurt it to repot it it's just that make sure it's draining good - I'm worried about it possibly having root rot. I watched other RUclips videos and mostly they get too dry and I've seen where they separate the plants out and untangle the roots. You said you moved it maybe it's getting less light or adjusting to its new home.
@@icemancometh8679 yep would you believe it is root rot. This is very unlike me because I'm an under waterer not an over waterer. When I looked at her yesterday the roots looked OK but I didn't see the roots in the middle of the soil. When I was removing the old soil this evening there they were! Anyway she has new soil with perlite, I let the rest of the roots dry before I put her back in a pot but things aren't looking good. Give her a few days I guess. I don't think there is anything else I can do for her really
@@icemancometh8679 - no she's drooped all over the pot. She's not going to recover from this. I don't know how I did this! Looks like there is going to be an empty spot on the table
This man is not talking about the larvae, only eggs and adults, larvae feed also on roots and kill the plants, and as far as I can understand he says adults are emerging from the eggs 😂, big mistake, mine for misunderstanding or on him for not explain plain and clear. Larvae develop into pupae and from this stage develops an adult. Complete metamorphosis because they are Diptera. It's important to know the complete cycle for pest control.
Hung a bug zapper lite over my plants for 2 months. The zaps stopped, so I took lite down! No gnats for over a year now! Dont forget to empty the dead ones from the bottom tray! 😊
Hi Mr. Mouse, that sure is a cute little flyswatter you have. After all that talk about fungus gnats I had to take precautions! I think you're safe... Warning! Warning! Danger! Danger! Run Will Robinson! Ahhh! What's that?! You moved and set off my motion detector for fungus gnats. Am I in danger? No, just be glad you're not a fungus gnat or I'd have to break out the flyswatter and mosquito bits!
Misquote bits are a lot cheaper at Lowe’s by at least 4.00
Will you hurt your plants if you use the mosquito bits every time you water. I am new to this and there were definitely gnats or mosquitoes around my plants (all 4 in one area), so I likely have them, but no idea which plant it came from so should I treat them all as infected? Do I need to worry about orchid bark or moss, or just plants with soil?
New to all of this so these tips are so helpful!
I'm one of the people who didn't realize the problem until pretty much all of my plants seem to be victims. I moved into a new co-op and started bringing plants in about four months ago. I hadn't had house plants in my previous house for over 10 years.
I can't move them out of the house because it's winter in MN and WELL below freezing in February (it was -27c last night). I've been using the sticky traps and a palm tree in a 2-gallon pot seems to be the worst source, but the sticky traps have been catching them at all plant locations.
I'm going to try to find the mosquito bits or a different water-mix product called Systematic Houseplant Pest Control that may work the same way and may try the apple cider vinegar/dish soap trap remedy although I think the sticky traps may work better due to location right in the soil.
The gnats have been finding their way to other rooms in the house and I'm wondering if they use other places besides soil to reproduce. Do they get into carpeting that's vacuumed weekly? I've been leaving 3-4 one-sided sticky traps on windowsills and I seem to catch about a dozen per week in each trap. Those traps are about 8-12 meters from the one fairly compact sunny nook where all of the plants are located. I have about 20 plants, 2/3 of them in clay or concrete pots of 4" or less. They dry out really quickly and need to be watered every 2-3 days.
Thank you for this video. I only discovered your channel this evening after Googling "tiny flies in houseplants". I'll try to be back for more pleasant subjects...
Good luck with your gnats, I feel your pain! No they need the decomposition of the soil to lay eggs in, hence the fungus name, they wont go into carpet or anything man-made. If you could move all the plants into one room that you can close the door on then that may help, especially if it’s the least used room. You need to find something that will kill the eggs in the soil before they hatch, traps and things help but they won’t get it under control. Good luck.
Make a tea out of it, strain the bits out and water. wait two weeks, water again, wait two weeks and waer a last time with the tea,
Use the yellow sticky traps to stop adults from laying more eggs,
Do you think mosquito bits are worth the price? I bought some a while ago and I’m not sure whether to buy again. Used in my water butts and an attempt to eradicate gnats. My gnat infestation is always worse when germinating veg seeds in spring, and it erupted in May. I also can’t seem to avoid them infesting my potting soil (kept outdoors in a sealed bag away from potted plants- where are they coming from??). They chew on brand new roots too, I’ve had damage to baby cucumber plants by the larvae before now. With 124 house plants currently, I doubt I’ll fully eradicate the gnats. Not sure where to go from here lol 😂
Certainly the more plants you have the harder it will be to control and with over 100 plants I’m sure it’s not easy at all. Any untreated open soil will become a problem. It might be more effective to treat smaller volumes of water in the watering can rather than your water butts where it might be diluted too much by rain maybe. I wish you all the best with it, I know how frustrating it is!
Regarding the price, I agree it is expensive, for a normal houseplant owner/collector I would expect a tub to last a long time and so a reasonable investment, in your case with so many plants I can see that the cost would be high, but I don't know of any other effective way to control them. As with houseplant stores and growers I think when you have large volume you can't really do much to prevent them.
Just experienced my first outbreak this week, it was a swarm! I repotted my small collection but what has your experience been with using Neem oil or adding diatomaceous clay ? Thank you!
I use Neem oil and it def works, just as a warning it doesnt smell the best, I try to open the windows and light a candle to mask the smell!
Oh no! How frustrating, I've never used either of them so can't comment on how effective they are. The best thing is to try and identify which plants have the gnats in the soil and remove them from around your other plants, the more plants they get into the harder it is to control. Good luck.
Diatomaceous earth works well for a very severe infestation! Thickly layer an inch over the soil and let it sit for about 3 weeks. The gnats will come up though it from the soil and get cut to shreds by the diatomaceous earth and will die. The only thing is that the powder has to remain COMPLETELY dry for it to work, so the plant has to go for a while without water, unless you can bottom water. This treatment significantly reduced my infestation after 3 weeks. Then, I used mosquito bits to finish the job. Bottom line, this treatment is incredibly effective, but will stress your plants. Only use diatomaceous earth as a last resort. Good luck with your infestation!!
I’ve been trying 4tbsp per gallon of water using every time I water…🤞🏻that and yellow sticky tape also tried “katchy” it is a fly trap style plug in with fan that sucks them in and sticky tape that keeps them in. They seem to be never ending 😝😂 the quarantine is a great idea.
The fan is a great idea! I'll look out for them. Good luck, they are a frustrating pest!
I imported these gnats with a bag of indoor compost, infuriating
Yes compost seems to be a common souce, I learned this the hard way!
This man should be a doctor..
Not sure how to take that! Thanks?
Do you know if this product is safe to use with spagnum moss?
I don't see why not Jack, I don't think it will harm it, but to be sure it's probably better to check with the manufacturer, the contact details are on the packet.
My grand ma covered all my indoor plants with her old black tights I thought she was mad at the time, result was though I have never had a problem with these things and you can still water as normal.
Now I did adopt a plant that had fungus gnats years ago and I covered it also and after a few weeks I checked and they were all gone, I’m not sure if they needed to get out to breed but covering seemed to work I remember.
That's a great idea! I will have to try this myself! I can never seem to totally eradicate them, they virtually dissapear and then one gets going and they are back aagain!!
I've found that neem cake solution also works.
I'll give it a try, thanks
Luckily I have not had them yet - I'm sure my time will come. They use powder cinammon a lot here and people swear by it. On another subject could you give me any advice on my Peace Lilly Andy? I have had it two years, always beautiful, but now it looks like it's going to die. It is totally drooped. She's not thirsty and she's not pot bound. I checked the roots last night and the roots were really shallow and not many roots at all. The ones that are there are healthy though and not squishy. She was repotted last year because she had grown so much and was getting root bound so I don't know where all the roots are. Also this started badly after I cut the dead flower off.
Maybe root rot? When it was pot-bound they say to go to a little bit bigger pot. (I Googled it) I put rocks or gravel in the bottom of my pot for drainage and watch out for air pockets in the soil when you repot. They say wait to water until it's an inch dry from the top by using your finger and then water it till the water comes out the bottom of the pot - I heard they grow near rivers, so sounds like they stay damp all the time. Maybe the new roots are growing - no direct sunlight only bright indirect light - if it's near a bright sunny window people use a sheer curtain.
@@icemancometh8679 - thanks for this. Much appreciated. The room it is in now has a shear curtain and a lot more shaded. I ways water my plants the way you have mentioned, by checking the soil, and I am completely baffled. I got some new substrate today - do you think repotting with fresh soil in the same pot might help? Funnily enough someone else said hers is doing the same now that she's cut the dead flower of. I'm wondering if it's to do with that but I can't find anything on that. I've had her over 2 years, I don't want to loose her.
It's not going to hurt it to repot it it's just that make sure it's draining good - I'm worried about it possibly having root rot. I watched other RUclips videos and mostly they get too dry and I've seen where they separate the plants out and untangle the roots. You said you moved it maybe it's getting less light or adjusting to its new home.
@@icemancometh8679 yep would you believe it is root rot. This is very unlike me because I'm an under waterer not an over waterer. When I looked at her yesterday the roots looked OK but I didn't see the roots in the middle of the soil. When I was removing the old soil this evening there they were! Anyway she has new soil with perlite, I let the rest of the roots dry before I put her back in a pot but things aren't looking good. Give her a few days I guess. I don't think there is anything else I can do for her really
@@icemancometh8679 - no she's drooped all over the pot. She's not going to recover from this. I don't know how I did this! Looks like there is going to be an empty spot on the table
So helpful! Any tips for thrips now? 😅
I've not had them yet thankfully! But stay tuned you never know!! :-)
Great Video,
Thank you!
This man is not talking about the larvae, only eggs and adults, larvae feed also on roots and kill the plants, and as far as I can understand he says adults are emerging from the eggs 😂, big mistake, mine for misunderstanding or on him for not explain plain and clear. Larvae develop into pupae and from this stage develops an adult. Complete metamorphosis because they are Diptera. It's important to know the complete cycle for pest control.