Cutting season is almost around the corner and of course most of the time with cuttings comes nats , last year they killed 50% or more of my cuttings , the cuttings rooted fine in the Root Riot the trouble came when I potted them up using Miracle grow potting mix , never, never, never, again .....................

This year I am going to try a soilless mix from my local Hydroponics store which is Coir, Perlite and Vermiculite 

I did speak to the folks at Bonide and told them I tried every thing known to man with little success the lady there explained to me that one chemical will not kill both pests meaning the nat and the larvae she recommended Bon-Neem II for the nats on the top of the soil and Systemic Granules  IC  for the larvae which is applied one inch below the soil when you pot up your cutting 

I'll let you know how I make out 

   

Systemic, the poison goes into the plant's SYSTEM. It makes fig, you eat poison. If you do fig leave tea, your drinking the poison. The people who make and sell this crap don't think about it, just the money. This is one of the insecticides which is a suspect for colony collapse in honey bees also because bees gather toxic pollen and nectar and bring it back to colony, and we eat the honey too.

Keep in mind I'll be using this on cuttings while they are indoors for a few months once the trees go outside in the Spring no more pesticide and it will probably take them 2 years to put out fruit so I assume it would be out of it's system by then 

Likely it will be gone or so diluted that it's not a threat..probably.  For me, systemics are wrong and I would never use them.

Dave coir will attract gnats also. Anything moist will, I've seen them in peoples hydroponic setups, DWC is the worst. aeroponics is the only system thats truly gnat free because the jets will knock them down and drown them. GNATROL Organic BTI is the only pesticide that worked for me, I'd refer it anyone rooting cuttings. the granules can be added to the potting mix when rooting for 6 weeks of gnat free soil then used as a water soluble if they show up after the 6 weeks. yellow sticky traps are also good to have.

Daniel, I realize that they will be attracted to any damp material but when you buy a product like Miracle grow potting soil that comes infested with them thats the problem , I tried the BTI Mosquito dunk, vinegar in a bowl, neem oil, Azamax, I even changed the soil and they won, hopefully this year using materials with less organic matter will help, we shall see

Dave if you need some GNATROL let me know I'm ordering some again this year and can send you some. I promise even with a infestation beyond belief this stuff works. 2012 I lost about 40 cuttings to the little bastard and 2013 looked to be the same way but gnatrol saved the day/season and is the only thing that worked. neem oil sucks on fig trees especially if it's not dormant. I tried the vinegar trap it sucked and regular bt didn't work either. I basically tried everything from the diy stuff to the over the counter crap at lowes and home depot and I'll never use anything else for gnat control again. GNATROL in combination with yellow sticky traps will insure a gnat free season for all cuttings. small and larger sizes can be found on ebay for cheap and a little goes a long way. As I said earlier I mix it dry with my potting mix for cuttings. about a teaspoon per gallon of soil. when mixed with water I use 2 tablespoons per gallon. they don't say it can be used directly in the soil but since you won't be eating figs from the cuttings anytime soon F the directions it's do or die with fungus gnats. Good luck and let me know if you want to try some I'm sure I'll have an extra oz I can send you. for the record after the plants are about 2 months old I don't use it anymore. I don't want bt in my body regardless who says it's safe remember the FDA is the same people who approved GMO's in America.