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Encanto Farms Nursery > Topics > SNS 203 for Fungus Gnats
 
 


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stevin

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Posted Reply with quote  #1 

has anyone ever used this product?
the owner of the local indoor gardening supply store highly recommended this and told me to apply it just when the plant needs water. the 2 methods of applying is a soil drench and foliar spray. the mix is 2-4oz to a gallon for the drench and 2-6oz for the spray.

the active ingredients are;
Clove Oil 1.5%
Rosemary Oil 0.53%
other ingredients(97.97%);
Water
Polyglyceryl Oleate
Lauric Acid

Are any of these ingredients a NO NO for young cuttings?

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garden_whisperer

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Posted Reply with quote  #2 
never heard of it myself. i did however read something that i have tried.

i have a few cups with gnats buzzing around i tood a fabric sofiner sheet and places on one of the cups around the soil and trunk of the cutting. and so far gnats will not go near that one. now with that said i cannot do this with all of the cups as i have more than 150 going right now.
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Grasa

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Posted Reply with quote  #3 
Get those ugly fly traps.. the darn gnats come out at night...I thought I had finished them until I put thos traps..and boy was I wrong!  So, I am decorating my bedroom window with more ... but this only gets the adults... I am also soaking them in warm soapy water, when I am transplanting, to give them a fresh start in the larger pot.  those creatures are a pain.. good luck there, Stevin!
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DesertDance

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Posted Reply with quote  #4 
Two days ago, I noticed one gnat.  Then there were 3.  Then I noticed some leaves withering.  Bad sign.  Every single cup and gallon pot are lined up in the garage on a long table.  Each has a moth ball in it.  A sheet of 9 x 12 clear plastic drop cloth was taped to the table with NO air holes.  Here and there are tempting saucers with apple cider vinegar, sugar, and a drop of detergent.  That always gets them, but not with the moth balls.  They die with the fumes and not one has made it to the apple cider death feast!

I call it the Infirmary, and they all look very happy and healthy in there.  We open the garage doors during the day for light.  Prior to the moth balls, I could tap any cup, and gnats would fly up.  They will stay in the infirmary or ICU, whichever fits for one to 3 weeks.  The cycle of the eggs/larvae/laying adults lasts up to 3 weeks.  I got the adults for sure.

Once they emerge from the Infirmary. They will all get one inch of sand on top of the perlite/peat soil, which smothers and kills any emerging larvae, and discourages adults from laying.

Fungus gnats are the scourge of baby fig plant growers for sure!  I'm taking advice here, and in the future soaking my sphagnum with BT solution to discourage those evil creatures!

I have some very precious cuttings that were gifted to me by generous members.  These were on my wish list, and I will be devastated if they don't make it, thus the drastic measures.

In my mind, THIS IS WAR!

Suzi
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Grasa

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Posted Reply with quote  #5 
Suzi, get yourself those ugly yellow sticky fly tapes... i did not see any, but hang them up anyway..the next day, i was disgusted of how many were caught...so , they feast at night..
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DesertDance

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Posted Reply with quote  #6 
Grasa, the damage is not done by the flying gnats!  The gnats have laid 200-300 eggs per each in the soil, and their larvae are what kills your roots.  Fly traps won't stop them, but moth balls and BT will.

Suzi
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stevin

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Posted Reply with quote  #7 
so i went ahead and did the soil drench on the 26th since my plants were due for a watering.
afraid that the soil drench solution would shock my plants, i was worried what i was going to see sunday morning when i walked into the spare bedroom/grow room. all my plants were standing at attention!!
no droopy or wilted plants. what i also noticed was the smell of the SNS 203 which smells just like mothballs, must be the clove oil....
i had also hung some of those sticky fly traps just inches above the plants. as of this morning i've only noticed 1 gnat stuck on the trap and no gnats running around the soil. did it work? i dunno yet....
but prior to the drench i would see atleast a gnat or 2 on the soil of just about every cup. i will re apply the soil drench when the plants are thirsty again....
i was told that the soil drench would also kill the larvae.
i will keep you posted.
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Pattee

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Posted Reply with quote  #8 
Steven thanks for the news on the SNS 203 . Where did you get this? I use the sticky tapes above the plants also - they can't lay eggs that way ! I've got to get some moth balls also - sheesh this is never ending !!
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tylerj

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Posted Reply with quote  #9 
Anyone in Canada use any product (homemade or otherwise) that works??? Now that we have the pesticide ban I was told by a couple nurseries there is nothing available retail. I'm slowly loosing a lot of potted up rooted cuttings to them. I successfully rooted every cutting.. but now they are dieing. How depressing.... :(
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stevin

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Posted Reply with quote  #10 
Pattee,
i picked it up at the local hydroponics store. i've seen it on amazon aswell.....

Tylerj,
Does the ban also include organic pesticides?
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ascpete

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Posted Reply with quote  #11 
I have just posted info on fungus gnats on another attached topic, It may be of interest for Organic Fungus gnat control.

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/show_single_post?pid=1276672856&postcount=24
tylerj

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Posted Reply with quote  #12 
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevin

Tylerj,
Does the ban also include organic pesticides?



organic stuff is fine i believe.
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newnandawg

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Posted Reply with quote  #13 
Stevin, I was wondering about your results from using the SNS203. I spoke with a guy at Natures Control http://www.naturescontrol.com/ in Medford Oregon and he
recommended using it. They sell beneficial fungus gnat predators and Predator Nematode "Double-Death" Mix!
DWD2

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Posted Reply with quote  #14 
Stevin, When you read the MSDS for SNS 203 from Sierra Natural Sciences, Inc., you see the product has only 5 ingredients. The product is 97.26% water, 0.11% Lauric Acid, 0.6% Polyglycerol Oleate, 1.5% Clove Oil and 0.53% Rosemary Oil. The lauric acid & the polyglycerol oleate are there to disperse the oils in the water. Basically what you are doing with this product is trying to cover your plant surfaces and growing media surfaces with clove oil & rosemary oil. Whether that is toxic to fig plants is not clear. Obviously, at SOME amount it is, but maybe not in the suggested range. I would proceed with caution if I were you. Maybe do a couple of tester plants next to similar plants untreated with SNS 203 and see what happens. Probably the gnats will get the 2 untreated & the oils will get the 2 treated. I hope I'm wrong.

Suzi, While at war, be aware both the concentration of Bti (lower appears to be better) and the frequency of use (once weekly looks better than every 3 weeks) affect how well Bti works against fungus gnats. Also note that sand and saw dust toppings have modest, at best, impacts against fungus gnats. See the attached publication.

At the end of the day, there are a limited number of agents that have scientific support that they can help control fungus gnats. As far as I have been able to find, they are: Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti), entomogenous nematodes (Steinernema feltiae), predatory mites (Hypoaspis miles), Bounce fabric softener sheets, diflubenzuron and many of the neonicotinoid insecticides. That does not mean some of the things bandied about won't work. But, if they are more than just marketing hype, you would think the big greenhouse growers would be all over them and there would be publications in the greenhouse magazines & the peer-reviewed science journals.

Good luck!

 
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jake

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Posted Reply with quote  #15 
As I posted in another thread use BTI (gnatrol) whenever you use water. I have no gnats (none), no dryer sheets, no moth balls, no sand, no sticky traps, just a large container of Gnatrol.
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