Hey guys,

I was just posting about this and it dawned on me that I should probably start a thread..
After several years of battling fungus gnats, trying everything you can imagine, like sand, DE, BT, gravel, vinegar traps, sticky tracks, taping the pot surfaces, vacuums, essential oils, herb teas, cedar, gnat spray products, and many more, I finally figured out what works. It worked 100% and I no longer ever see gnats. I own MANY potted plants. I made a Youtube video to share this with other growers so I will let it explain.  Best of all it is easy and it's excellent for the health of the plants. Feel free to shoot if you have any questions. Also this will work with other insect pests like aphids, thrips, white fly, scale, etc. Enjoy.

I just use Gnatrol.
Fungus gnats are what it is made for and it works.
Glad to hear there may be other options.
What are the hazards handling neem cake?


Doug

edit: looked for it myself

https://www.kelp4less.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Neem-Cake-MSDS.pdf


there are hazards that need to be known if people use it.

I use hydrogen peroxide for 2 years now, I have not even seen one. I grow peppers, tomatoes, and about 50 other things are started inside. 99 cents a bottle and that lasts a long time. At most 1/2 cup per gallon, you only need about 1/4 cup. It also gives air to roots, and kills the damping off fungus too.
I have 125 containers, I need something quick! Works for me 2 years running.
I could use help with white fly's and SWD fruit fly! I heard DE works well for white fly. I just bought a Gilmour dry sprayer. Waiting for it to get here so I can ditch my squirt bottle improvised sprayer!

If you don't want to spend 8 min, here's a summary.

Ttop dress with neem cake. every time you water put 3 1/2 tsp in 1 gal water and let sit for a few hrs, not more than a day and water with that every time you water.  In a few weeks there won't be any gnats.

Will have to give that neem cake a go as last fall I got plagued with FG when I brought my houseplants indoors for the winter. Got rid of them after a while, but I'd rather avoid the little buggers from the get go.     

SCfigFanatic  I thought that hazard sheet was practically a joke. Of course its going to smolder when lit on fire (like most things). I've been handling this stuff and its completely fine. Neem cake is just the organic material (no chemicals) left over from pressing the neem seeds for neem oil. I guarantee this stuff is less toxic than most of anything else. Common sense stuff.  If you're applying it in mass, i.e. on acres of farm land, and it gets a bit dusty, then obviously it might be best to wear a dust mask. They are just writing up all of the unlikely but possible issues with it for legal responsibility purposes.

Glad the Gnatrol is working for you. It's biological warfare pretty much (the bacteria Bacillus Thuringiensis, or BT).  I have actually used it, and out of all the things that I tried besides the neem cake, I will say that it worked the best. It just didn't COMPLETELY eradicate them. Its also much more expensive. You can also try a product called Microbe Lift.  Its a fraction of the cost because it's extremely concentrated drops meant for the market of ponds, pools, etc., where 4 or 5 drops covers 100's of gallons. 

drew51 The problem with the Hydrogen Peroxide is that its going to kill everything, not just the pests. So that includes all of the beneficial organisms in the soil. I didn't want my soil quality to deteriorate over time because of it. The neem tea doesn't harm them, in fact it benefits them.  If it works for you and your plants are still as healthy as they can be, then great for you though! 

rcantor I do apologize that it's kind of long winded. I just like to cover all possible aspects and troubleshoots. Thanks for the summarization. 

I use Pyola for my orchard.
neem has been around for years, I've not tried it, but you can bet I look at safety and chemical content before I use it.
I posted for others to not have to look it up, beings you did not mention it.


Pyola