I go off for two days and come back to this. I have six of these sticky traps that have about the same amount of dead ones. I have 10 sundews and they have all eaten well. I can only assume the big daddy Nepenthes Miranda HB has eaten a bunch. Why so many in just two days? There were none that I could see before I left.

I know the feeling.  I'd be scared to see how many I really have.

where did you get the white sticky paper?  I know the feeling. I think mine came with soil. I don't see them for a few days, then I see them again..and losing special cutting, which I can only blame these bastards!

wonder if there is  a home made recipe for stickness to catch them....

honey would atract them and they would get stuck in it. possibly

Grasa, I get my stick traps at Tractor Supply Store. You can also get them at Walmart and I think Home Depot has them.  Yes you can make them, Get a piece of "yellow" cardboard and smear a good coating of Vaseline on it.

Sticky mouse traps!!!

I had the same problem ...Started using diatomaceous earth food grade and it seems to keep them under control..  http://www.richsoil.com/diatomaceous-earth.jsp

And as far as how come so many so quickly, a bunch must have just hatched and all up in the air looking for food!

They multiply so fast it will get a person dizzy.

Like fleas the hatching cycle must be stopped or else they keep multiplying no matter how many you get in your sticky traps unfortunately.

Martin, what is your secret to stopping the hatching cycle?

If I can get through this year I may be using your secret.

Mike,

I've forgotten what you said you use for starting cuttings.  Perhaps sterilizing the starting mix or using a commercial seed starting mix which is usually sterilized would prevent the knats from even getting started.  I'm sure my knats came from the Miracle Grow Organic Choice potting mix I use for cuttings. (Or do these little buggers hitch a ride on the cuttings as eggs?) Next time I'm going to try Miracle Grow Seed Starting mix which is sterilized.  I think this is what ascpete uses.

Steve many many years back it was on the bags of potting mix   " sterilized".
Some years back i asked a older fella at a nursery if store bought potting mix is still sterilized and he said no they stopped that practice a good while back cause of the time and expense involved no i dont know if that holds true or not.

I did use MG and other store bought mixes on occasion and would put thin layers on metal trays in the oven and cooked it very well it smoked good !

Guess what when i rooted the scion there came the Knats dont know where they came from but they were in abundance so for me personally no more as it just was a loseing battle for several years.

An inch of pure sand on top will smother any emerging larvae/gnats, but they will have done their damage.  First I soak in BT.  Then comes the sand.  A moth ball on top will drive any flyers into sudden death.  I do like that panty hose idea over the drainage holes.

This is WAR!
Suzi

Please note attached post, It is very informative and the linked topic is completely relevant to the Fungus Gnat issue (some recommend dryer sheets to repel the gnats).

Gnat eggs are probably in the potting mix that is being used for growing the rooted cuttings. If the moist potting mix, soil or compost is zapped in the microwave for a few minutes, it would kill most eggs and spores (it can be placed in ziplock bags). I personally use the MG Seed Starting mix because it has produced the best results over the years (for starting garden seeds) and it is only 20 - 30 % of the growing mix. Also in my experience, Diatomaceous Earth mixed in to the top layer of the potting mix also reduces the Gnat larvae/adult population.

But as stated in the attached posts by Al Tapla, the source of infestation should be addressed.

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/show_single_post?pid=1271676057&postcount=12

Note: I don't get fungus gnats in the cutting cups, but I have had them in the 1-gallon and 5 gallon pots in the spring and summer.

I don't get fungus gnats.
But, I think it's because I use something in my watering that most folks don't.
I put a little liquid dish detergent in my plant's water. It kills soil pests.
Since it works as a surfactant, it also makes peat moss absorb water almost instantly,
and more uniformly. So a lot less water is needed.
Also makes soil nutrients more available to the plants roots.

Probably the only plant I've never used it on is for carniverous plants.

Dan, that's really interesting.  How much liquid dish detergent do you put in your water?  I think this is a great idea. 

Mike, Fungus gnats go from egg to adult in 21 to 40 days depending on temperature. You are just seeing the adults from egg laying a few weeks ago. It is safe to assume you have more on the way.

There is no scientific evidence that honey attracts fungus gnats. Since fungus gnats feed primarily on fungal hyphae along with yeast and bacteria, it would be surprising to me if they were attracted to honey.

I note that a number of people have said they get control with diatomaceous earth (DE) or sand. Attached is a 2007 paper from the Journal of Economic Entomology by one of the world leaders in fungus gnat research showing a failure to control with either DE or sand. I have not tried either one, but the experiments they report in the paper are well done in my opinion.

There is also a frequently stated notion that fungus gnats are due to "overwatering" of your media. It is true that the gnats require a certain level of moisture in potting media for their eggs to hatch and the larvae grow & develop into the adults. However, that range of moisture is very broad, ranging from very suboptimal to excessive for plants. Over watering can certainly cause growing problems, but it is, at worst, only a contributing factor in any fungus gnat problem you may have. Attached is an article describing moisture effects on a couple of different media. For one media, the moisture did impact gnat numbers but did not eliminate them. The moisture level had no impact on gnat numbers with a second media tested.

I find Bounce dryer sheets repell the gnats enough such that I do not observe any problems with rooting cuttings or tender vegetable starts. Although I do not have direct experience with other methods, people claim good results with Bacillus thuringiensis, predatory mites and predatory nematodes, all of which have good support in the scientific literature.

nope.. no gnats. and i only use MG seedling soil and MG perlite for my cuttings. i know MG potting soil gets gnats. i repotted my ficus tree.. not common fig, with their regular potting soil and within few weeks, i was seeing gnats. i put dryer sheets on it top. that seems to have helped. other thing is keeping top of the soil dry. that also helps for whatever reason. on the front of our house facing south, there is little flower bed that my wife keeps. during the late fall when the temp goes down and there are lot more moisture, that area will get ton of gnat once the sun comes out suddenly. it's nasty. i sprayed the whole area few years ago and no more issue. i wasn't going to eat anything out of there, so i sprayed with one of those pesticide that has death skull on them.

Hoos,
I've tried them all, and any brand will work equally well.
After using detergent for over 40 years, I generally just eyeball it now, tip the bottle, and squirt!
You really can't use too much, since it won't hurt the plant, it's leaves, or it's roots.
Surfactants are used in many foilar sprays to help the product penetrate, and adhere to the leaf.

But, if I was to judge, i'd say about 1-2 teaspoons to a gallon of water is generally what I aim for.
or just about 10 drops to a pint of water.
Any more than that is a waste of detergent.

Dish detergent is also biodegradeable, so it breaks down in the soil within 5-7 days.
And feeds the natural soil bacteria, which is why I use it with every watering, or in some cases, every other watering.

Do you have plants in other rooms of the house?  Or trash bags with fruit/veggie material?  If so it is possible that your sundews are attracting them from everywhere in the house.  Either way just give them a couple days and the sundews will get it done.  At least they do for me.

Thanks Greg. I thought the gnats were gone, well they were for a few days. When I came home from a two day trip there were hundreds of dead ones. I will
keep plugging away.

Please note attached info found at linked website. I have not purchased from them, I have purchased Mosquito Dunks, which is the same active ingredient BTI, and is available at Lowes and HomeDepot.

Pesky fungus gnats driving you crazy?
Get BTI that specifically controls the larva of fungus gnats and helps break the reproductive cycle to get rid of them!

What is Bacillus thuringiensis?
BT's are a biological pesticide that contain naturally occurring bacteria in different strains that target specific insects.  BT's are not known to be toxic to animals, birds, humans, fish or beneficial insects. They do not persist in or contaminate the environment in any way. BT v. israelensis is required to have EPA warning and caution labels as is the requirement by law for ANY registered pesticide- whether they are considered acceptable for organic use, environmentally friendly or not.

How does BTI WDG work?
It is not effective against the adult fungus gnat. The gnats (which live for 7 days) lay their eggs in healthy soils and it takes the eggs approximately 4 days to reach the larval stage. It is the larva that causes damage via feeding on plant roots causing wilting and death. The larva eat the BTI becoming infected with the bacteria and die! It may take 3 weekly applications to effectively control oncoming generations of gnats. It is quite common to get new plants that have fungus gnat larva in the soil. New potting soil may often contain the larva. BTI is the safe answer for these situations. We also recommend using yellow or blue colored sticky traps as a monitor to let you know when infestations are starting and as a trap to catch the adults. Some say blue traps work better but the yellow traps work equally well in our experience. Laying the sticky traps in a horizontal position across the container rim will catch a lot more adults as they are more prone to land on a flat surface. You can also set out a jar of wine or cider vinegar to use as an indicator and trap as the gnats will be attracted to the smell, dive in for a drink and drown.

BTI can be used in greenhouses, homes or outside. May be used on all food crops, houseplants, seedlings; wherever you have a problem with fungus gnats!

Fungus gnat adults are about 1/8 inch long, spindly looking flies with long legs and long, thread-like antennae. Their wings have a distinct Y-shaped vein at the tip. They resemble tiny mosquitoes more than common flies. Larvae live in the soil and can be difficult to find. The eggs are about 1/100 inch in length and laid in clusters. The larvae are more likely to be found in the early morning in the topsoil layer of a very wet pot. Larvae are translucent gray to white, about 1/4 inch long, wormy looking with no legs, and with shiny black heads. These insects can infest a crop from soil or algae under benches, from contaminated potting soil or by flying short distances from plant to plant.
Larvae can cause plant damage by feeding on the root hairs and fine feeder roots of plants. They can tunnel into the base of cuttings or plant stems. Plants attacked by larvae lose their vigor and will have yellowing leaves. Roots will exhibit small brownish scars on the surface.

A good trap for these annoying bugs is to put out small containers filled halfway with cider vinegar or some cheap beer in areas where  you are having problems with them. They dive into the vinegar and drown. Strain and reuse the vinegar until you have gained control of them.

Sticky Traps are most effective when place horizontally on the potting media surface, although vertically positioned cards hung over the crop canopy are also effective and trap more of other types of insect pests as well. In greenhouses place the traps under benches, close to intake vents, near doorways and outside of the the greenhouse can give you more information to detect breeding areas.
Potato slices: Slice potatoes into 1 by 1 by 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces. Placed on the surface of potting media the slices are attractive to the larval stages of fungus gnats. Leave the in place for about 4 hours before counting the number of larvae on and under the slices (Lindquist 1994). This method can be used to detect areas where larvae are developing. For smaller infestations use the potato method to catch and dispose of as many larva as you can.
To keep gnats from pestering you try a few dabs of pure vanilla extract on your skin or clothing. This is supposed to keep gnats at bay and vanilla has such a pleasant smell!

http://www.ghorganics.com/BTI_For_Fungus_Gnats.htm

Thanks Pete. I am already using the BTI and I will try the vinegar to drown a few also. Using sticky traps also.