Holy GNAT!

[jnunez918]

I've scanned for other posts but only saw a comment about cinnamon. Long story short..I do my seed starting in my dining room due to large windows and its next to backyard. I've started basil and have some 1-2cm seedlings. I now how gnats everywhere. The buggers have even shown up in my bathroom. I sprinkled the cinnamon I read about but it has done nothing. I dread planting my seeds to get ready for spring. HELP!

[stella1751]

The same thing happened to me in fall 2010 when I tried to over-winter some peppers. I tried everything, even chemicals, but nothing worked. Someone recommended a bowl or cup of water to drown them, but that didn't work for me. Every three days, I would have a new hatch. The plants finally died, and I blame the fungus gnats.

This year, I began some seeds way too early, just to play around. When the fungus gnats--where did they come from?!!--showed up, I began dispatching them, one at a time, by hand. I squish them into the soil and against the side of the pot.

I don't think I have the same strain of gnats, though, this year. Those other ones were fiends. I could have spent every waking hour killing them, and I bet they would still have prevailed. Best of luck to you!

[applestar]

@stella -- even for you, squishing gnats one by one seems a daunting task.

I've made several suggestions in the past that I think will come up if you search the forum for fungus gnats under author applestar. Also look for posts by rainbowgardener.

[Kisal]

Cinnamon never worked for me, either. The only thing that does eliminate fungus gnats for me is allowing the soil to dry out a bit more. The depth to allow it to dry will depend on the size of the containers. Larger containers can be allowed to dry to a greater depth than very small containers. The excess moisture is what keeps the fungus alive that the larvae feed on. [img]https://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/Kisal_photos/dunno.gif[/img]

[PunkRotten]

I started to notice gnats coming out of nowhere all of a sudden recently. I never recall seeing them indoors or atleast not in this number. I think it is because I bought a few carnivorous plants, which I keep their soil moist, has attracted them. The good thing is the plants will probably eat them if they get too close . But I am seeing them in different parts of the house.

But I think I maybe starting my seeds outdoors in a mini greenhouse. Hopefully they don't give me any problems. I think I heard once you can use a little bowl or something filled with vinegar and that keeps them away. Maybe that is for fruit flies though. Not sure.

[rainbowgardener]

Yes, the vinegar is for fruit flies.

A shallow bowl of soapy water next to the pots should help-- sometimes the fungus gnats will help you out by drowning themselves in it.

The cinnamon really works for me but not by sprinkling it. I put a bit of cinnamon and some chamomile (both anti-fungals) in the water I water with. The cinnamon and chamomile don't actually harm the gnats, they work against the fungus that the the gnats eat. No fungus no gnats. So the anti-fungals have to get down into the soil.

And Kisal is right, you need to work against the conditions that create the fungus, so letting the soil dry out in between waterings as much as you can (with baby seedlings there's a limit to that, you can't let your seedlings dry out too much) and keeping some air circulation. A small fan on the area, turned on a few hours a day should help.

[jnunez918]

I've only been using a spray bottle to water my basil seedlings. They are still really small. Unfortunately I think the pot was sitting in the saucer with some stagnant water and I didn't notice. I'm waiting for a warm day to put it outside and hopefully dry it out.

[digitS']

I'm still in a house where nearly every plant has a yellow sticky trap. Other than on those traps, I haven't seen a gnat elsewhere this winter.

Just as on that "Tortured Pepper" thread in the Vegetable Gardening forum, I can suggest [url=https://www.planetnatural.com/site/gnatrol.html]Gnatrol (click)[/url] - Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti). It is what I find recommended on the internet. When I talked to the guy at the garden center several years ago, he suggested [url=https://www.planetnatural.com/site/mosquito-dunks.html]Mosquito Dunks (click)[/url]. They are also Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti).

I went with the sticky traps and everything is okay here.

Steve

[soil]

My tips to avoid fungus gnats

Do not overwater, bottomwatering helps a lot in some cases

Don't buy crappy bagged soil, I can almost assure you almost all the bags at the store have some sort of bug in them, usually fungus gnat eggs.

Proper ventilation for your area where the seeds are starting and the soil itself. Prop a small fan next to tour plants this will help keep the buggers off and strengthen your plants stems.

Food grade diatomaceous earth also helps when small outbreaks occur, though it works best when dry do it goes well with bottomwatering.

Usually when you get fungus gnats it's a sign something is out of whack

[nedwina]

Since no one has mentioned it yet, I'll add my method: 4 oz hydrogen peroxide per gallon of water. Mix up a coupla containers and use all the time to water. Works well.

I've also used skeeter dunk tea with good results, but the H2O2 is cheaper and not as messy~

I'll second the "beware of cheap bagged medium" advice- I used playgound sand once to store beets in the basement. (Yeah, bad idea.) It was loaded with fungus gnat eggs. When I lifted the lid a short while after setting it up, a huge cloud flew out. So gross. Took me forever to get rid of all of them, as they had been sneaking out for awhile, and had settled into every pot in the house.

[digitS']

. . . I used playgound sand once to store beets in the basement. (Yeah, bad idea.) It was loaded with fungus gnat eggs. .

Wow!

Now I know another good reason not to carry a heavy bucket of sand up and down the basement stairs. I did that . . . . . once.

Steve

[GardenRN]

I thought gnats and fruit flies were the same thing.

Maybe that's just here in Virginia lol.

[GardenRN]

A google search revealed.....I was wrong!

[nedwina]

A google search revealed.....I was wrong!

There are quite a few tiny flies that can get outta hand indoors. There's one kind that will set up shop in your drains (ick).

[nedwina]

. . . I used playgound sand once to store beets in the basement. (Yeah, bad idea.) It was loaded with fungus gnat eggs. .

Wow!

Now I know another good reason not to carry a heavy bucket of sand up and down the basement stairs. I did that . . . . . once.

Steve

LOL.

Actually the sand was a good idea for beet storage, I just got the wrong kind, if ya can believe it. (Sand is sand, right? Noooo. Learning curve!)

Sharp/builders sand is made from crushed quartz, and since it has rough edges, it breathes & drains. Playground sand is soft and locks up, and holds moisture. So my beets rotted too, in addition to having the fungus gnat cloud. Better luck next time!

[jnunez918]

Could it be the miracle grow seed starting soil encouraging the fungus/gnats??? I didn't use it last time I seeded indoors. Should I mix my own? What would be good for seed starting? peat and compost?

[soil]

imo the miracle grow soil HAS fungus gnat eggs inside it already. as is the case with many many people I know locally. no one I know buys that stuff anymore.

[jnunez918]

imo the miracle grow soil HAS fungus gnat eggs inside it already. as is the case with many many people I know locally. no one I know buys that stuff anymore.

Thx for solving that prob! I was about to start some heavy duty seed planting! What should I use?
I have some compost, should I mix in peat moss?

[stella1751]

Can gnat eggs survive sub-zero temperatures? I like Miracle Gro Moisture Control. I have a bag outside. (Forgot to move it into the basement before winter settled in.) If that is the source of my gnats, I could safely use it for the rest of my seedlings, come March, right?

[nedwina]

imo the miracle grow soil HAS fungus gnat eggs inside it already. as is the case with many many people I know locally. no one I know buys that stuff anymore.

Thx for solving that prob! I was about to start some heavy duty seed planting! What should I use?
I have some compost, should I mix in peat moss?

Some people do mix their own seed starting mix, but I prefer to just buy a bag. For seeds, moreso than seedlings or plants, you really want a light, well draining medium that's not harboring anything that might effect the seed or newly emerged seedling. Usually it's a combo of finely ground peat & perlite. Sometimes there's other stuff thrown in, like "compost" but alot of commercial compost is just filler without much nutritional value since it's been processed in one way or another.

I wouldn't recommend using just peat & homemade compost, unless you have a way to grind the peat fine and are sure that your compost is completely finished and screened down to very small particles. And throw in some ground perlite too maybe, to lighten it up more. Certainly some people DIY with great results. But better to bite the bullet & buy the bag, IMO.

[nedwina]

Can gnat eggs survive sub-zero temperatures? I like Miracle Gro Moisture Control. I have a bag outside. (Forgot to move it into the basement before winter settled in.) If that is the source of my gnats, I could safely use it for the rest of my seedlings, come March, right?

Maybe, LOL. The center of the bag may have some nice insulation, maybe enough to keep the eggs viable, I dunno.

I'd do some searching around & find out where they're native- that'll give ya an idea if they can survive cold temps~

[digitS']

One cannot actually avoid these things in the outdoor environment. If one brings the outdoors, indoors . . .

Identifying a product and avoiding it, doesn't seem to me to suggest much of an advantage.

Fungus gnats are probably either [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sciaridae]these (click),[/url] or [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycetophilidae]these (click)[/url].

With species numbering in the thousands and a range that includes "antarctic islands and mountainous regions above 4,000 metres" and "caves" - they are all around us!

Steve

[gixxerific]

I have used cinnamon in the past and it seemed to work. I did not use ove this winter and I have them bad. For spring plantings I will use cinnamon and chamomile tea. It worked for me.

[soil]

as ive said before,

1 part compost
1 part sharp sand
1 part screened lavarock,pumice, and at last resort perlite.

best seed mix you can make. specially if its homemade compost.

if your compost is a little dense you can add more sand or lavarock. you want it to drain almost immediately when you water.

not only will you have less problems, your plants will most likely do way better than any store mix.

you go through all the trouble to start seeds instead of buying them, why buy crappy soil? makes no sense to me.

[stella1751]

One cannot actually avoid these things in the outdoor environment. If one brings the outdoors, indoors . . .

Identifying a product and avoiding it, doesn't seem to me to suggest much of an advantage.

Fungus gnats are probably either [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sciaridae]these (click),[/url] or [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycetophilidae]these (click)[/url].

With species numbering in the thousands and a range that includes "antarctic islands and mountainous regions above 4,000 metres" and "caves" - they are all around us!

Steve

You are 100% right, Steve. Once I thought about it, I remembered a time, about a decade ago, that I gave my daughter a lilac shoot to take inside. After two months, she dumped it. She told me it had gotten "little black flies" all over it. They clearly do over-winter in Wyoming.

The ones I have now aren't bad. One or six show up. I kill them. They're just not the same type I had in fall 2010 when I brought peppers inside for the winter. Like my daughter, I could not do anything about that strain.

If you think about it, any fungus gnat that calls Wyoming home is going to be a little cantankerous, right? I can deal with the ones in the Miracle Gro; I just likely won't be able to over-winter anything

[shadylane]

Soil can be sterlized if you think it is contaminated with bugs and larva by heating it in the oven. If you see bugs there will be larva who are the real damage do'ers.

Place the soil in any sizeable pan and spread the soil 4" in depth. Cover with aluminumfoil and bake 180-200 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Keep the foil on top till ready for use. There may be a slight order when doing this.

[rainbowgardener]

There may be a slight order when doing this.

That's a polite way of saying it stinks! I have done this, but it does stink up the house for awhile.

[Susan W]

On those pesky Fungus Gnats.... We notice them inside, which means they must also be hatching up a storm in outside containers, and same pots moved outside. Is it the breeze that blows them off so we don't notice them? There must be enough to complete the life cycle, so when the same pot comes back in, we see the critters.

[shadylane]

This web-site may be helpful, speaks about the life cycle
https://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05584.html