Not sure if this has been already mentioned, but I ran across this article with the above title today in a Greenhouse magazine.
Study was done by Cloyd , Marley ,Larson and Arieli at Kansas State U .  and U. of Illinois.
Conclusion was that Bounce dryer sheets did repel them , didn't eliminate , but lowered populations.
Couldn't find a link to the whole study , but a few mentions if you search the title of post or similar

Where are the sheets placed in relation to the potted plant?

Looks like they used 2" squares of Bounce dryer sheets.
For the lab experiment I think only the moist planting medium was one of the offerings, not planted yet.
With the article in Greenhouse Product News magazine there is a picture of round pot with a dryer sheet tucked in it , half in and half out of the pot.
Conclusion of article reads :
"Based on the results obtained from our study , it is evident that Bounce original brand fabric softener dryer sheets repel fungus gnats. However, there are still important issues that need to be resolved including the residual effects(based on age of dryer sheets) and distance of effective repellancy, response in a no choice situation, impact on fungus gnat larval populations and ultimately plant damage. As such ,the use of dryer sheets may be an alternative strategy to deal with fungus gnat populations in greenhouses. This may involve placing individual dryer sheets into a designated number of containers with plants which would repel adults and prevent egg laying by females thus reducing larval populations."

Sounds promising.

Fresh lavender works too.

maybe i'll stick one in a pot over the winter and see what happens.

pete

Thought I would bump this since many people have cuttings started or will somewhat soon.
I am using them (along with mosquito dunk water) on the ones I have started so far and they seem to be keeping the population way down, I've only seen a 4 or 5 , and a few of my cuttings were started back in mid November.
The "Outdoor Fresh" version of the Bounce dryer sheets is apparently the original type referred to in the article cited.
May be worth a try if you have trouble with fungus gnats.
The only downside for me is being around these kinds of smells can sometimes give me a headache.

FWIW - in most instances we'd be well served to consider fungus gnats a symptom of habitual over-watering, an excessively water-retentive soil, or a combination of the two. Rather than treat the symptom, it's probably wiser to focus on the root issue (a pun there, somewhere). Soils that are well-aerated and free-draining allow us to water freely w/o having to deal with the gnat problem; and they come with the inherent promise of greater probability that our plants will grow much closer to their genetic potential ..... with less effort on our part and a wider margin for (grower) error, as well.

Al        

Al ,
I am sure you've written about this before , but could you mention the mix you would use for best rooting of fig  cuttings .
I enjoyed the pun.
Kerry

Kerry,
I also read an article on the uses of Dryer Sheets, from cleaning pots and pans, keeping mice and rats out of the garage,  to getting rid of Gnats.
There are also many comments at the end of the article from readers regarding the toxic chemicals in the Dryer Sheets. I'll try putting the link
here for those who choose to read it.
5 New Uses For Fabric Softener Dryer Sheets

Since I discontinued the use of MG potting mix a couple of years ago I've
never had Gnats.

Hope this is helpful.

Peg
Z6. CT 

Hello Peg,

From what your saying is there in the potting mix?? If so, what potting mix did you switch to??? Wondering if you would have to start with the switch at the beginning or would you contaminate your other bags or does the new potting mix come with something already in it to stop the gnats???

The gnats thrive in a wet environment, so heavy soils and/or over-watering provide a perfect environment. Eliminate the wet soil & the gnats disappear. In eliminating the WET soil, you also provide by default, a much more favorable environment for good root health. Root health, usually overlooked by a large % of growers, is a requirement for healthy plants - so much so that we can say it's impossible to have a healthy plant if the roots aren't healthy. The roots are the heart of the plant and are the primary consideration of accomplished growers.

Kerry - I've said before that as far as rooting fig cuttings goes, it's one of the easiest plants to root. I see a lot of directions for methods that would be poor or mediocre if carica was a more difficult species, but because the plant is genetically so vigorous, it usually roots in spite of what we do. ;-)

If I had to offer guidelines that follow good horticultural practices, I would tell you it doesn't matter too much what you root in, but it should be sterile for best results and consistency. It should be very porous - cuttings, like seeds/seedlings like LOTS of air in the root zone. Whatever you use for a medium should ENSURE there won't be a film of water covering the end of the cutting - this means that mediums like potting soil are poor choices on two counts - sterility and water retention.

Mediums like screened perlite, screened Turface, crushed granite, pumice, are all good choices for cuttings.

Use your imagination to keep humidity high surrounding the cuttings to slow evaporative/transpirational water loss, but do ensure some air circulation. Don't fertilize until you're sure the cutting has struck - increasing the TDS/EC of the medium solution reduces the cutting's ability to absorb water.

That's about it - you have a lot of leeway & there is no need to jump through 100 hoops to get cuttings to root. Using your noodle to embrace a simple concept offers a lot more flexibility than following someone's complicated set of instructions.

Al   

Luke,
To answer your question. I guess it was about Mar.  3 years ago when
it was getting time to pot up my new cuttings. I switched to a potting mix
that came from a local wholesale nursery. They don't always have the
same mix. The first 2 years I got the same brand but last year I had to 
choose a different brand. Both worked well and I've had NO Gnats since I made the change. The change worked for me and its a blessing to be rid of the Gnats.

Peg
z6, CT

Peg , Thanks for posting that dryer sheet info.
I think for now I may stick with the mosquito dunk water and only bring out the dryer sheets if I feel like I really need them.

Al , I asked about your mix because my experience with screened coarse perlite alone has been poor. It was coarse perlite, but not the kind with added fertilizer that some places sell now.
 With a 80/20 mix of perlite/potting mix , I've been getting around 65-70% of my cuttings to make it to plants , though it takes more pampering than I would like to do , and with the screened perlite alone less than a third of that. With perlite and milled sphagnum moss even less.
I thought maybe you had a sterile mix you found worked best for you , other than screened perlite alone. Haven't found the turface anywhere nearby, I think the closest place is more than an hour away in a direction I rarely travel. Being in the granite state , I should be able to find some granite grit to try.

Hey Kerry, if you run out of dunks you can try GM corn that produces the Bt toxin. In theory it should work, scary.

Some auto places sell baked DE as spill absorber, I have been thinking of trying that. Here is a pic of a bag.


And here is a GW post discussing the use of the stuff in Al's gritty mix. here it is

Al, does ph affect rooting significantly? I know a lower ph increases water uptake in cut flowers so I have a hunch about cuttings.

Funny you should post that Brent , I just went out and bought a bag of that yesterday to give it a try.

Good luck, I assume adding a little bit to the tops of containers would do a number on fungus gnats too.

I was warned off the NAPA floor dry.  I was told that it dessicated cuttings.  I can't recall if it was used alone or in a mix. 

I had bought a bag, but never used it.  It might be a good idea to experiment a bit before using it for a lot of cuttings. 

Thanks for the heads up on that Mary Ann.
I am going to only experiment with it as I do with other approaches. My regular way works alright , but if I can find a way thru trials to improve it, that would be great. Your recommendations have always proved helpful.

Tapla ,
How often would you expect to water a porous medium like this Napa Floor Dry ?
I soaked it for 24 hours first , then put in a cutting that has roots about 1/4 inch long.
Thanks.