How to get rid of Fungus Gnats 4 Top Tips

Tips, Tricks

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Have you got Fungus Gnats (families Mycetophilidae and Sciaridae)? we show you how to deal with this problem/infestation, they are the little gnats(flies) that you see flying around the base of your plants and not just chilli plants they can appear on any house plant and in the greenhouse. The gnat lays it's eggs in compost and the larvae then hatch and this is what can cause damage to your roots. The average life cycle of Fungus gnats is approx 30 days. We show you our 4 top tips on how to prevent and cure this problem. Tip 1 Remove and replace the top few centimetres of compost. Tip 2 Cover your compost with either grit or sharp sand. Tip 3 Use a sticky fly trap purchased from a garden centre. Tip 4 Put a carnivorous plant at the base of your plant (Venus Flytrap). Sometimes also known as friendship planting. Please share and subscribe, thank you for watching. Also check us out on: FaceBook @ https://www.facebook.com/CliftonChilliClub Twitter @ https://twitter.com/CliftonChilli Google+ @ https://plus.google.com/110326687054688203654/posts Reproduction of this video is prohibited without express & written permission of the Clifton Chilli Club. All material is copyright. You are welcome to share & embed this video from it's original source only. © Copyright Clifton Chilli Club

Comments

Butterwort plants look nice, divide like crazy, aren't as picky about water (I use well water - not distilled), and work great!!! Like little gnat magnets!

Love the end solution, I had a fly trap as a kid. I loved it!!

Does it have to be DRY soil? when can u water ur soil again after doing this?

Finally! Playground sand, it doesn't hurt the plant so mix some at seed level and later on top. The sharp edges of playground sand cut the larvae, instantly better but takes 2-3 weeks to full cure. Toss infected plants and start new with some sand on top.

Don't use a Dionea. Use a Drosera Capensis or Pinguiculas

I think the venous flytrap is the coolest idea. I saw one gnat hanging around the window sill he other day. I guess it's because I out the plants out on he patio table for a couple of days, during the day, to get the sun we've been having. That and I've just changed my watering method from the tray to the top so the surface soil's more moist now.

Here are 4 more ideas people try: Let the soil dry out as much as you can and then water it with Hydrogen Peroxide 3% full strength or use ground up Mosquito Dunks or Gnatrol or Diatomaceous Earth . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdAs3TgfTzg "Dealing with Fungus Gnat Infestations for Indoor Potted Plants". One final option is to just grow in Perlite or some other non-organic substance that nothing can eat.

get rid of the top layer (thin) let them dry out then cover them in sand or rocks problem solved water no more gnats and no chemicals these ideas work GREAT

the flytraps i feel would let the fungus gnats escape... they are not interested in very small prey... they are designed that way...i am not even sure that the gnats could trigger the hairs on the inside.

Great video, thanks for the advice. 2015 has been a really bad year for gnats infestations, and it seems to be particularly with Chillies? Getting the wet / dry ratio is trial and error, I always water from the tray, not the top, so the top soil stays dry to stop the fungus growth. Stand the pots in water for 20 minutes then remove after they've had a drink. Hope this helps.

i tried a shotgun first at close range, but i missed

Great video. Thanks for sharing.

RIP matt the gnat :)

Diatomaceous earth (a fine gritty powder made up of skeletons of diatoms) shreds the larvae in the compost too. Just top dress or mix into the surface of the compost.