Very thorough and informative review. I appreciate you using your knowledge and resources to confirm viability, count and general results. I couldn't ask for anything more. Excellent job! Thank you
Thank you for such a scientific analysis. I just planted some seeds and have a few gnats and am looking for a viable solution to eliminate them. My environment is sealed and if these work I feel I have a good chance of ridding myself of them fully. The shelf life and slow release is also appealing to me. Many other products are much more expensive and have a much shorter shelf life. These seem to be able to last and for less than $20 are worth trying. Also employing some sticky traps to help with the flying buggers. Good luck in your fight against the gnats and thanks again for the review.
Good to know you had success opening the sachets and splitting them up! I just ordered one of these packs and felt a whole sachet would be quite a bit of overkill for one plant, especially some of the smaller ones.
Yeah, I read more about the nematodes life cycle, and they should be able to reproduce as long as they have sufficient gnat hosts to lay eggs in. I want to run a test someday to see if encasing a gnatty plant inside a plastic bag and unleashing just a couple of the granules would lead to eventual eradication. I feel that it would, but it make take several life cycles probably on the order of a couple of months. I believe the reason that an entire packet is recommended is that it speeds up the process; you're not waiting for a gradual resolution of the predator and prey fluxes, but rather you attack the gnats with an overwhelming army of nematodes so there are always hungry nematodes hanging around to destroy any new larvae that emerges. Whether adding fewer granules than recommended is successful will likely depend on how many plants one has and how infested. The more plants there are, the greater the odds become of some hidden reservoir with a lone survivor gnat that then promptly repopulates all the soil. I had fewer than 10 pots and so it worked out.
@@marytomahawk9541 I'm still waiting to get some new gnats!!!! it's winter here and I have none (i did eradicate them completely). But probably in a month or so I will do some experiments
Thank you for your work! Quick question. When dividing the packet did you use a fabric to put the nematodes resin balls in or just a paper towel? Im asking because I want to divide them too as I have a lot of pots and I dont want the nematodes to get stuck in a wrong material.
I used a paper towel, and it was just twisted closed. I think the only reason I used it was because I weighed out and prepared equal portions ahead of time, but you could simply add the resin balls to the soil directly, the packet itself has no purpose other than ease of handling. I wouldn't use fabric because it would take years to degrade, so no need to have that in the soil
@@pikas_palace Thank you very much! Best regards! Gotta love nerds! They are mostly critical thinkers and they research things on their own instead of just being told.
Thank you for this amazing review! Question: I had covered my plants with sand to deter the emergence of new gnats and because I was on holiday for 10 days and couldn't water them. Should I remove the sand before applying the nematodes?
No, it shouldn't matter. But sand dries out quickly, so make sure to deposit the nematodes in the layer of soil below so that the worms can stay moist. I've actually more less used this method to help control gnats. I release the nematodes to take care of the larva, and cover the surface of the soil with a half inch layer of very coarse sand, or maybe more like tiny gravel. It makes it a lot harder for any new gnats to lay their eggs
I just purchased this Pot Popper, and the weather was good while it was shipping so they should be ok, but I don't want to use them until next month, how should I store them? will they stay wet inside their ball world and stay well if they don't experience extreme temperatures? (hot OR cold)
this is better than any amazon review ive seen about this product
Very thorough and informative review. I appreciate you using your knowledge and resources to confirm viability, count and general results. I couldn't ask for anything more. Excellent job! Thank you
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for such a scientific analysis. I just planted some seeds and have a few gnats and am looking for a viable solution to eliminate them. My environment is sealed and if these work I feel I have a good chance of ridding myself of them fully. The shelf life and slow release is also appealing to me. Many other products are much more expensive and have a much shorter shelf life. These seem to be able to last and for less than $20 are worth trying. Also employing some sticky traps to help with the flying buggers. Good luck in your fight against the gnats and thanks again for the review.
Good to know you had success opening the sachets and splitting them up! I just ordered one of these packs and felt a whole sachet would be quite a bit of overkill for one plant, especially some of the smaller ones.
Yeah, I read more about the nematodes life cycle, and they should be able to reproduce as long as they have sufficient gnat hosts to lay eggs in. I want to run a test someday to see if encasing a gnatty plant inside a plastic bag and unleashing just a couple of the granules would lead to eventual eradication. I feel that it would, but it make take several life cycles probably on the order of a couple of months. I believe the reason that an entire packet is recommended is that it speeds up the process; you're not waiting for a gradual resolution of the predator and prey fluxes, but rather you attack the gnats with an overwhelming army of nematodes so there are always hungry nematodes hanging around to destroy any new larvae that emerges.
Whether adding fewer granules than recommended is successful will likely depend on how many plants one has and how infested. The more plants there are, the greater the odds become of some hidden reservoir with a lone survivor gnat that then promptly repopulates all the soil. I had fewer than 10 pots and so it worked out.
I'd LOVE to see that experiment
@@pikas_palace
@@marytomahawk9541 I'm still waiting to get some new gnats!!!! it's winter here and I have none (i did eradicate them completely). But probably in a month or so I will do some experiments
Thank you for your work! Quick question. When dividing the packet did you use a fabric to put the nematodes resin balls in or just a paper towel? Im asking because I want to divide them too as I have a lot of pots and I dont want the nematodes to get stuck in a wrong material.
I used a paper towel, and it was just twisted closed. I think the only reason I used it was because I weighed out and prepared equal portions ahead of time, but you could simply add the resin balls to the soil directly, the packet itself has no purpose other than ease of handling. I wouldn't use fabric because it would take years to degrade, so no need to have that in the soil
@@pikas_palace Thank you very much! Best regards! Gotta love nerds! They are mostly critical thinkers and they research things on their own instead of just being told.
Thank you for this amazing review! Question: I had covered my plants with sand to deter the emergence of new gnats and because I was on holiday for 10 days and couldn't water them. Should I remove the sand before applying the nematodes?
No, it shouldn't matter. But sand dries out quickly, so make sure to deposit the nematodes in the layer of soil below so that the worms can stay moist.
I've actually more less used this method to help control gnats. I release the nematodes to take care of the larva, and cover the surface of the soil with a half inch layer of very coarse sand, or maybe more like tiny gravel. It makes it a lot harder for any new gnats to lay their eggs
science for better life
Did you ask the nematodes for consent before you used them?
Silence is consent
I just purchased this Pot Popper, and the weather was good while it was shipping so they should be ok, but I don't want to use them until next month, how should I store them? will they stay wet inside their ball world and stay well if they don't experience extreme temperatures? (hot OR cold)
I stored them in the fridge for months and they stay viable. I'm sure room temperature is also fine
The main thing is not to let them dry out, so you could place the ball inside a sealed plastic bag just in case