Gnatrol organic bti larvacide on Ebay cheep and works well

johnnyq627

 

johnnyq627

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Just curious, did anybody try Cinnamon tea on those flies? I don't have gnats so I can't experiment.

A very nice prevention-idea (i.e., paint-strainer-bags) to keep fungus gnats OUT from first getting in the potting soil.

However, I think that it may not be a cure for already infected soil; as them nasty gnats will continue to reproduce more of the same
(but at least locally).

There was a small gnat infestation cooking in the 1 gal pots earlier this year when I made the switch to Queen size women's nylons (thanks Tyler). I was able to open the top, treat with Gnatrol and Neem oil, and then close it back up. It Worked out great! 3 treatments later (3 weeks) and they were all gone. Haven't seen a gnat since.

I have been searching for reasonably priced nylons that would fit over a 2 gal nursery pot. Maybe paint strainers are the answer. Gonna have to try some.

so its not house nats that be on fruit 

I think my promix bx was infested- it sat around opened for awhile outside- as I started potting up plants and cuttings I saw the gnats.  I purchased Mosquito Bits, which have the BTi larvacide, and sprinkled 1/2 tsp of them onto the soil surface of each pot and lightly incorporated them into the top of the soil.   I also made a tea with about a 1/2 cup in a gallon of water that I've used once to moisten the medium.  I'm afraid of giving them a full drenching, don't want to rot my freshly planted cuttings.  
About 4 days in, I'm seeing much less sign of gnats.  I think premixing some 'bits' into potting mix could be a good preventative measure, and I plan on doing that when I mix another batch.

gorge I thought it would also be a good idea to keep them in I brought in 5 plants to grow through the winter if one of them has an infestation it will keep them in and stop them from spreading to my other plants 

I will also water with some gnatrol in case there are some larvae lurking down below  after that it's up to the "Fig Gods" 

I agree with Johnny Q (Nick) that they are more annoying than they are harmful.  It is possible they can hurt a weak cutting, but a healthy vigorous cutting will survive them for sure.  I figure they probably add on average around 10% mortality to any given cutting.  I started at least 50 varieties a couple winters ago and had a mega infestation of the buggers by springtime.  There were only a handful (less than 5 I'd say) varieties that didn't make it. 

I also think it's a good idea even if just for the annoyance factor, but if you use contaminated soil (e.g. Miracle Grow, organic choice especially) they will still grow within the bags.  But it would stop them from spreading to other pots if the source of the infestation as coming from somewhere other than the potting mix you used.

I tried those mosquito dunks and had no luck at all.  It really just made my overwatering problem worse.

Has anyone tried using a cup with a little wine?

Nelson what are you trying to say get the nats a little tipsy and then coax them out of the house?  LOL 

Tried vinegar, not wine. No luck.

Dave, every summer when my dad is out in the backyard sipping his sacramento wine as he calls it within minutes of putting the wine glass down gnats will go in the cup. I haven't tried it myself yet but think I might just to see I have sticky strips but that dosent really take care of the problem just captures the stupid ones.

This is why I generally root cuttings in sphagnum moss & Pine bark as I have not noticed any gnat issues when I use this method. But I have noticed quite a few flying around in my basement where I have a few small plants soil used was pro-mix.

Cup of vinegar/w a drop of dish soap work well at killing fruit flies but didn't seem to have any effect on gnats... nematodes and neem oil seem to be a good combo.

Nelson I think I saw a video on youtube about using wine in a bowl to capture gnats 

I used to use spaghnum moss for all my cuttings and it worked great I think that the coir is allot less expensive than the moss and so far it has been working great this will be the 1st year that I used Clonex and I am definitely seeing a big difference than when I didn't use it 3 weeks and the roots are hitting the side of the cups already "great stuff"

"Thanks FMD Frank for turning me onto the coir" 

Would heating the soil up to kill the gnats work? I haven't had any problems with gnats luckily 

I think someone mentioned in past that they Nuke the soil before planting the newly rooted cuttings. I have never done that.

I first tried nuking my potting mix back in October.  50% ProMix HP and 50% Agway Pine Bark Mulch (it's like Pine fines), dampen the mix, put in ziplock bags and nuke for 3 minutes.  I would stop the micro every minute and mix it around in the bag.  So far no sign of gnats around the cuttings I started in early October.  Fingers crossed.

sterilizing potting mix

I went the microwave route to sterilize my potting mix because I heard using the regular oven method can stink up the house plus it takes a lot longer.

yeah Bill I think your microwave method is better than the oven allot faster and neater being that you can put it in a ziplock now I just have to find an old microwave :-)

How long and what temp do you do your soil? 

I just nuked it for a total of 3 minutes but stopped every minute to mix it around in the ziplock bag.  You could feel it was getting hot by the end but I never measured the temperature.  The link below compares three methods for sterilizing potting mix at home.

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/sterilizing-soil.htm

Well, it's been about 10 days since I started treatment of my gnat larvae infestation, and I am happy to announce....VICTORY!   I sprinkled Mosquito bits over the surface of the soil and also watered(lightly) with 'tea' I made by soaking a couple spoonfuls of the 'bits in a gallon of H2O.   I am also now taking preventative action with new batches of potting mix by hydrating my dry Pro-mix with the 'tea'.  With over 40 cuttings rooting, and more on deck, there was no way I was going to let that situation spiral out of control.   I lost some cuttings over the summer to those little buggers, glad I found this remedy and hope my endorsement might help others get the jump on 'em with this product.