I have a gnat problem. They love my fig cutting practicing almost as much as I do. Two days ago I put bright-yellow sticky traps where their main Gnat Headquarters is located. I tried poking holes into a container's lid and filling it half with white vinegar, after a month it showed about 80 of 300 gnats fell for it. Please share any advice about getting rid of gnats.

I learned the hard way. I only water from the bottom using Gnatrol. I put out sticky traps
and I have twelve carnivorous plants.

I tried the wine/vinegar in a container method but it didn't work at all for me last winter.  The fruit flies like it, but not fungus gnats.

Jonathan....I had gnat problems last year and they pretty much disappeared.....I have daddy long leg spiders that snuck into my home....but I don't kill them, I let them make a few webs by the bright windows....so I am about 99pct free of gnats around my little cuttings.  So go outside and get a few small spiders.   Maybe You can get a 25 watt bulb with a casing around it and hang it outside...letting spiders make webs around it and then bring inside and turn on at night.

Just an Update....killed a gnat.... so make it 100pct Gnat free....LOL

carnivorous plants, there are a couple threads about them on the forum, work great

I love my hanging pitcher plants, they do seem to get the gnats on this floor, maybe i should move one to the basement... the BT seemed to work for a bit and the nematodes also worked for awhile but they just seem tot keep coming back!!

One word ...Nematodes! Recommended by a forum member in another thread, I used these over a month ago and my gnat problem has been eradicated in one treatment. I'll never use anything else again. http://www.arbico-organics.com/product/nemattack-nematodes-feltiae/266

I wonder if my nematodes were good, I have never had them fail me before... need to look at what is left under a microscope...

Wow armando93223, I always thought daddy long leg spiders looked scary, but I would try that organic method if I had any daddy long legs. I haven't tried nematodes, it sound like a good suggestion. I have seen them for sale at amazon.com
Has anyone ever used homemade lye soap suds spray against gnats?

So just like there's Chocolate and Cinnamon Babka, there's bad and good nematodes. I honestly didn't know that. Thanks.

I gave up on rooting in the winter, i cannot stand these creatures, they ate so many of my special cuttings... In the Spring, outside, they seem to grow better. So, now I will wait until weather is better. i have a large 5 gallon clear bottle ( comes with water) cut the bottom off and use it over the cuttings. it works great and if gnats are out there, they find their predators.  i wish you luck, the spider sounds good. I had a pet one by my window, got really fat and is gone now.

Will the gnats affect the 3 gal figs too or they are mostly a danger to cups and 1 gals?

Anywhere there are freshly grown roots. Freshly rooted cuttings are hit a bit worst because all their roots are all fresh.

What do the gnats look like and what damage do they cause?

No damage just very annoying. Especially when you breath in or eat some each day. I am just wanting them to vanish 100%. They are tiny bugs that can fly up anyone's nose in a blink of an eye. Here are some pictures I just took.

One thing I did last year that seemed to work better than doing nothing was I put a coffee filter around the bottom of the cups or small pots and held it with a couple elastics (since they WILL find there way in through the drainage holes) and then I put about 1" of sand on the top. I do this right away so they can't get a chance to get established in the cups.

Oh - thanks for the pix. I do have some of those. About no damage, tho, someone posted that they had lost cuttings to gnats, so I'm curious about that part.

each adult gnat lays something like 300 eggs and in 14 days all over again, these are the hungrier babies ever, they are tiny and crawl under the new bark, and eat the cuttings from inside out , they are awful... get rid of them asap.

tyler, I did an experiment with some summer cuttings this year similar to what you're talking about. Instead of wrapping the filter around the cup, I cut the filter to fit in the cup covering the drainage holes. I then poured about an inch of sand in the cup to hold the filter in place. I added my planting mix and planted the cuttings and then added about 1 inch of sand on top. I found no evidence of gnats in those cups while there were plenty of them flying around and in other cups without the sand. I also used permethrin in my first watering in case there were eggs in the soil mix.
"gene"

That sounds even better Gene... thanks for the tip!

Tyler

Thanks for sharing. 

Best,
Tam

I just need to underscore what Grasa said explicitly and what other posters alluded to.  Fungus gnats MOST DEFINITELY CAUSE DAMAGE.
Since this might be the first of many "fungus gnat" posts of the season, it is important to establish that right away. 
As a nubie last year, I went through the first half of the winter season thinking they were just a bother...when in reality they are the DEVIL'S SPAWN and are EVIL INCARNATE.  (OK, they don't mean to cause damage...they just do!)
Cheers,
Jim

I noticed that I have fewer gnats in the area where basil grows. I searched for other plants that gnats do not like and found this (link: http://naturehacks.com/gardening-and-plants/how-to-naturally-repel-gnats/ ):

This tip can help repel gnats and beautify your yard at the same time. There are certain plants that gnats just absolutely hate. When strategically placed around your yard, you can insure fewer pests. Lavender is a beautiful, aromatic plant with a myriad of uses. Humans love it, gnats, not so much. The added bonus is that not only will you repel the gnats in your yard, but you can use lavender for cooking, decorating and aromatherapy uses. Another lovely plant that the bugs will hate is lemon balm. This plant has a lovely scent that will be a great addition to any garden. One of the most aesthetically pleasing, bug repelling plants is the scented geranium. These repel gnats best growing in hanging planters along your porch or patio.

Anybody can confirm or deny the repelling usefulness of the plants above?