Inspect Plants Before Purchase - If you see any fungus gnats fly up when handling the potted plant, reject it and those around it. The key here is consistency. 21 Plants That Repel Ticks: Fresh Smells We Love & Ticks Hate! Knowing how to kill fungus gnats is easy, but it's better off to prevent them altogether. If they consume their entire food source (typically fungus around and the actual roots of plants) the colony can die of starvation. Best Natural Ways to Kill and Prevent Fungus Gnats Petroleum jelly and vegetable oil. Their dad is vondumed by the gnats because he is outside … Soil should dry at least a little between waterings. The first move is to get rid of the adults to stop the laying of any new eggs. This article was co-authored by Lauren Kurtz. Heat your soil in the oven for half an hour at 160° F (71° C). % of people told us that this article helped them. If the problem is severe, you can also use a variety of traps, insecticides, and other controls to reduce the gnats. As a preventative measure you only need to do this once a year after the initial treatment. The best method for the outdoors involves either introducing predatory mites into the area or diatomaceous earth onto and into the soil. The larvae are best dealt with using a larvicide, which usually involves a bacteria that causes an infection that destroys them before they grow into adults. There are literally countless approaches to address both aspects. The Stratiolaelaps scimitus seeks out fungus gnat larvae and other insects. Otherwise, they continue their normal life cycle of birth to death in 3 to 4 weeks. As always, when I deal with an issue I try to write about it, not only so I can reference it later but so I can share it with the world. Dish soap is typically used in cider vinegar traps, causing any adult fungus gnats that land on it to sink, due to the decrease in surface tension that allows them to stand on top of pure water. Fill the 1-liter bottles to about 1/4 with the solution. Light the … So you might see them around the windows, your TV or computer monitor, and around lightbulbs, too. Choose any brand of fabric softener sheet that you’d like and place it evenly on the soil so it’s covering it up entirely. Getting rid of them and preventing them is pretty simple, so the whole thing becomes quite the relief. Pour ordinary vinegar (or beer) into several jars with lids. Keep the plant’s soil free … ... Let them hatch outside rather than somewhere in your home. Here are a couple of ways to get rid of fungus gnats in plants that are outdoors. If you see adults flying around in any significant numbers you need to act in the ways mentioned above, and quickly since their life cycle is so fast. Plants that are more easily harmed by fungus gnats are spider plants, wandering jew, geraniums, african violets, and peace lilies, so take extra care if you're growing these. Cover one side … Yellow Sticky Card Traps - You can find sticky card traps at Amazon for cheap and are extremely effective because you can place them right onto the soil where the adults are walking around. Don't create a bubbly mess. After that, you'll want to deal with any larvae growing in your houseplant soil. I think about what would happen if a bottle busted open during shipping. Fungus gnat eggs are generally planted in overly moist soil, though outdoors they're known to even use moist, rotting wood. Exterior Lighting - Replacing standard exterior light bulbs with low voltage, bug light bulbs that are less attractive to flying insects. Learn more about. Neem oil is also an effective soil drench to combat fungus gnat larvae. It also helps stop growing larvae from every being able to emerge out of the soil and through the sand. You can use products like neem oil, hydrogen peroxide, cinnamon, and AzaMax but in this case you're better off with mosquito dunks. Just pinch the top inch of your soil occasionally to check dryness. Fungus Gnat Pests on Indoor Plants! You'll find that they're small, as tiny as a fruit fly at about 1/16th to 1/8th of an inch in length. When you think about a fruit fly they tend to have a rounder shape overall, while fungus gnats are more like mosquitos in appearance but smaller. Always follow the instructions and safety recommendations provided with the pesticide spray. But most often they stick to the plants and soil. Punch some 5 – 10 holes in the bottle and hang these bottles 3 – 5 feet … The adults will grow from the larvae in waves and you need to be prepared to deal with several cycles. Beneficial nematodes are often used for organic pest control of a wide variety of pests, … Immediately save the remaining solution in the refrigerator. This serves as the bait. All that said, not every organic matter is preferable for gnats. Doktor Doom Total Release Fogger to kill fungus gnats quickly As the name says, this fogger spells the doom for fungus gnats! Apple Cider Vinegar to Kill Gnats Fast. Their wings are partially transparent, allowing you to see through them and their gray color. By using our site, you agree to our. The smell of the cider vinegar attracts the gnats and they get trapped inside. If it's moist and has fungus growing, especially in topsoil, they like it. http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7448.html, https://www.smallfootprintfamily.com/controlling-fungus-gnats-organically, http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/pests-and-problems/insects/flies/fungus-gnats.aspx, http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/degen.html, consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. Fungus gnats like to lay their eggs in moist soil, so if the top is too dry for their taste, they'll move on to another location (or die of old age in your window sill). Thankfully these are very passive methods that take nearly zero effort the first time and then you don't have to do anything else. So let me tell you how to get rid of these pests, what causes them, and how to prevent it from happening again. You can turn up an inch or two of soil and see if you can find any larvae. The pellet contains a bacteria called Bacillus thuringiensis, a subspecies of isrealensis. 1. Let Your Soil Dry Out - The first thing you can do is make sure you allow more time to pass between waterings of your plants. Diatomaceous earth is not recommended due to the damage it can cause to the rest of the insect population. An effective way to get rid of gnats outside is to introduce natural predators of fungus gnats to your garden. 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