Congratulations Jesse glad to hear you are gnat free 

Here's another way to get them while getting a workout,

This year I've done the first watering with a 4 to 1 mixture of water/hydrogen peroxide and a cover of gnat nix. So far I've see an occasional flyer but it is much better than last year. I will continue with an occasional peroxide dose and hope for the best but the gnat nix seems like a real winner and a more natural approach to our problem.

Pyola wipes em out like right now.

Doug

Yikes.... Keith... you are absolutely right.... skin is a pathway into our internals systems which is why medical patches, nicotine patches, etc... work so well.... extreme care is necessary with chemicals indoors as absorption through skin and inhaling of air borne particles are a very real concern...

Warning: Do not enlarge picture.
This stick pad is verry effective and safer than chemicals. Just place it close to your pots and they'll come looking for food and "stick". I use it until I take everything outside.

I use pyola because of what is in it.
Like with any spray used, common sense is your best friend.
killing adults does nothing for the larve feeding on your fig roots.

pyola spray by Doug B, on Flickr

SAS:  What is that stick pad that you put up?  I'm having some problems with gnats right now and that might be something that I would like to try.   

It's Victor mouse Glue Traps.
A couple along with the Electrionic Mosquito Swatter should reduce them a lot.

Pyrethrum Kills the lavage stage in the soil.

The gnats flying around are the adults. If you have a real problem with gnats, the larvae are eating new roots.

Mike

Mike.

I never lost a single plant that rooted inside during the winter. All of them will go outside in spring which is about a couple of months away. The gnats would disappear at that point.

If the larvae were eating the roots, wouldn't I see them thru the clear cups.  Just wondering.  I keep looking but nothing.  I also keep the top inch of the soil mix dry.

Sas,

I had a BIG problem last year, enhanced by no good gnat stuff.

The larvae is tiny and too small to see through the cups. If you are "infested", you can see them in the soil if you go down in the dirt (lol) a bit you will see something move, then freek you out about your plants. As I remember. Little bastards they are!

Those flying insects are just a very big nuisance. I don't see them as a threat to rooting with my rooting method. In fact I believe that the number one reason for failure is over watering and the second one is the quality (age) of cuttings. Of all varieties received this winter that are inside the house, it looks like I only lost one so far(had only one cutting of this one). Don't know about the ones outside yet as they are sitting on my patio waiting for warmer days.

I use self watering pots for rooting, which means no overwatering/underwatering which is a major cause for failure. Don't use lights or any additives. Just put the cutting in soil and water from below. I add water from below every three or four days, sometimes almost every week depending on how fast they dry up.
An example is shown below and size is not a problem when it comes to rooting. Unless space is an issue, I prefer medium sized containers 1 gallon and up, this way I don't have to up pot too soon and can keep the same container for at least one full season. I never see what's inside the soil, but now wondering if light (if using transparent pots ) help them thrive.

I know they are bothersome to see flying around our beloved figs but can anyone actually show me they are detrimental to healthy cuttings? Or, to healthy growing plants?

Last year I did everything I could to eradicate them. And I was successful. This year, I have them flying all about. Has not made one bit of difference that I can tell with regard to the health of my rooted cuttings. I also grow  few other plants including Kaffir Lime (which the gnats seem to love because the soil is kept moist). 

Everything seems healthy.

I've personally seen fungus gnats burrow up under the bark of dead cuttings but it's hard to say if they killed the cutting or went after it after it died. Here are some college articles.

http://www.greenhouse.cornell.edu/pests/pdfs/insects/FG.pdf

The first few weeks of a crop are most critical for fungus gnat control. Larvae prefer to feed on fungi rather than healthy plant tissue. Although fungus gnat larvae can eat plant material, they need fungi in their diet for optimal survival, development, and reproduction.
Chewing by larvae can cause direct root damage, and provide an entry into the roots for fungal pathogens.
Seedlings and young plants without fully developed root systems are particularly susceptible to their damage. [Fig.3]
Unrooted cuttings are also particularly vulnerable, with larval feeding interfering with callus formation and thus root initiation. Adult fungus gnats do not cause direct damage to plants, but are considered a nuisance pest to consumers. In addition, adults and larvae have been implicated in the transmission of plant fungal diseases, including Thielaviopsis, Pythium, Verticillium, and Fusarium. Larvae may transmit fungal plant diseases via their excretion. Adults may transmit these diseases via excretion or by carrying spores of disease organisms on their bodies. Disease transmission by fungus gnats has been documented in lab studies, but it is not yet clear whether fungus gnats play an important role in disease transmission under commercial conditions.


http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/do-your-potted-plants-have-fungus-gnats-0

Most fungus gnats are merely annoying and cause relatively little damage to plants. But several species of fungus gnat larvae feed on roots, causing damage to African violets and other houseplants. Others burrow into stems and leaves. Fungus gnat-damaged plants may show signs of wilting. Gnat damage may weaken plants and make them susceptible to root rots.


http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7448.html

Larvae, however, when present in large numbers, can damage roots and stunt plant growth, particularly in seedlings and young plants. Significant root damage and even plant death have been observed in interior plantscapes and in houseplants when high populations were associated with moist, organically-rich soil. Thus, a houseplant that is wilting may not indicate a lack of water, but rather root damage by fungus gnat larvae or (more commonly) other causes of unhealthy roots.

Gnats are more annoying than anything else.  But in my opinion they are an indication of overwatering.  Over the years I've learned (still learning) to control moisture and err on the dry side.  Helps a lot.

So, other than controlling moisture, I've tried everything under the sun to help out with gnat control.  Best options are:

• Nylon stockings - probably the best method of gnat control (My opinion only).  Posted about it here.
• Gnatrol Regimen
• Gnat Nix or Kitty Litter top dressing (Coop posted about Gnat Nix above) - Good stuff; a little expensive.
• Yellow sticky traps

Bumping this topic to see if anyone has tried using large organza bags compared to paint filter bags. Amazon has a 8x12 draw string bag at a reasonable price. This sounds like it could fit a gallon sized pot. They also have a 6x9 for smaller pots. It seems as though you could slip the pot in and tie around the tree. Of course you would still have to spray to control above the pot level. Any thoughts?

I just thought I'd add a very effective, natural weapon against these knats.....it is a gnat mite. You can purchase these guys through Arbico Organics. the mites seek out and kill gnats
MY neighbor has three dogs and treats her yard with specific nematodes (for fleas) purchased through Arbico and there are absolutely no fleas ( and we all know they are one tough parasite). there seems to be no need for any other repellant. I have not personally used these mites for gnats but those with a problem might want to investigate.

I ran across beneficial gnat mites as a possible solution but have not investigated yet...