I wrote this in another forum in an existing thread but did not any traction. I hope some response here:

ficus wrote "A couple weeks ago lost many that were growing inside the house to the fungus gnats."

Now I know fungus gnats larvae feed on organic material in the soil as well as on roots. But since there is so much mass of organic material available in the soil that I thought there will be minimum damage to the roots but not a damage to death and thought fungus gnats were just more of a nuisance than the killers of plants.
I have fungus gnats and also I am losing this winter rooted and shooted plants. This makes me sad like having a team that has been running an 18~20 weeks marathon and its members start dropping out just a couple of weeks before the finish line. So, will it not be safer just to root the plants in Perlite/Vermiculite mix until repotting just before taking out after frost free dates?
I remember a post by Peg919 in this forum asking how long can the plants be kept in Perlite/Vermiculite mix and the answer was pretty long (~ 2 moths or so). If that is true, one can use just Perlite-vermiculite until frost free dates (& then repot in the final potting mixture). With Perlite/Vermiculite only, we may not get the fat roots which are so much appreciated but there shall be no danger of over-watering if there are sufficient drain holes and there should not be fungus gnats and plants will always be happy thereafter if there is good light, humidity and temperature (& periodically diluted fertilizer).
Where am I wrong here?

Also, I read a number of old posts on fungus gnats and most posts discussing fungus gnats were also mentioning Schultz potting mix and that is what I have been using. What could be the causing fungus gnats that could be causing death (lack of sterilization of bagged soil?)?

Hi Ottawan, I was aware you had some questions but could not answer right away.
I am not 100% sure it is what is called fungus gnats. Attached a picture of some dead ones, may be someone can identifie them. They are very small, much smaller than a fruit flie. They flie slowly , can be catched in flight and usually go to the window. When I spray the surface of the growing medium you can see 3,4 scramble out from under/in between the perlite, turface or whatever mix there is.
 I also found the surface covered by a very fine web holding on to the perlite turface, very much like the web from spider mites, but I do not  see any spider mites and the leaves have no web. All this happened when aI was handicapped after my shoulder surgery so I was not on top of things.
Dan certainly has a point, the figs might have been degrading and become  a host to the flies. I now question my timing and lack of good environmental control (light, temperature, moisture...)

Dan
My newly rooted cuttings have been in a 2'x4' greenhouse; some in Perlite-Vermiculite and some in Soil after rooting. The ones in soil have more tendency to die and I observe a lot of fungus gnats on glue strips that I placed in the greenhouse type enclosure. There are no temperature fluctuation other than that caused by lights ON/OF periods. Humidity is OK, watering is controlled on dry side. So, the death of good cuttings puzzles me. I am not sure if the fungus gnats are causing it. That is why I have the question mark and asking if someone else has recent experience. A search on 'fungus gnats' in GW forum has more discussion about plant kill by fungus gnats.
I don't think fungus gnats are problematic outside in the sun. What you have seen might be fruit flies. They are problem inside. They are not good fliers so they just buzz around the plants and walk near the pots bases.
My post is not a statement of facts that gnats are killing the plant but mostly a question.

Ottawan,
I bought some "Gnats be Gone", from Gardens Alive. You can log on to their website and read about it. It seems to work. I had some Gnats a few weeks ago and applied some. I'm not sure if it worked or not but I don't see anymore Gnats. The one drawback is the directions say to thourghly soak the soil. If it is already moist one really doesn't want to drown the figs. I used it sparingly. Soapy water sprayed on the surface will kill the adults but not the eggs. I did lose one healthy looking plant. It was an unknown extra one so I wasn't heartbroken over the loss. I can't say that the Gnats be Gone did it or something else. It did not affect the other figs I applied it to. The sticky tape kills the adults like the soapy water but you still have the eggs to contend with.

Good luck,
Peg   

I have come to the conclusion that one needs to use a self-made double acting soil drench. If you soil drains well, you shouldnt have to worry about killing the poor little rooted cutting.

I recommend a soil drench with insecticidal soap and pyrethin. The soap quicly kills the adults, but not the eggs. The pyrethin kills the left over eggs. You might have to do this a few times to make sure you disrupt the egg-> gnat cycle.