Grow Mediums Autopots & Fungus Gnats

[flyboy1256]

I'm on my 2nd auto grow. Can't say I had a issue with gnats. I usually just water them just enough and I don't let it run off and I let the soil dry all the way before I water again. Never have too much water and I seem to be gnat free

my current grow[emoji891][emoji263][emoji271][emoji91][emoji91] https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?ur...&share_tid=67026&share_fid=25553&share_type=t

 

[Clarky]

Sand seems to have worked.

 

[lunarman]

Sand seems to have worked.

It works great at breaking the lifecycle of gnats. Should almost put it on top of every pot but I can't do that when top watering.

 

[Clarky]

Looks pretty too.

 

[kushedy]

Sand seems to have worked on my next batch I am vegging up. Seems like the most cost-effective way to deal with this issue. As soon as you get them in the trays bottom feeding whack a layer of sand on top, job done.

I did use mighty wash in my flower room & it definitely killed everything above ground. Still got some bugs crawling around in the top layer of the pots coco but they are nearly done so I am not not bothering with sand on them.

 

[jokgga]

Regurgitating this old thread.. what kind of sand are you all using? It has been two years.. are there better solutions or is it better to put sand on the top?

Does the sand also help the soil retain moisture and prevent salt buildup from the top?

 

[GolfnRL]

I've been using autopots for a about a year, so 2-3 grows. No fungus gnat problems. Saw one of the little critters in my tent. I bought yellow cards. Hung them in the tent caught the lone little gnat on the card. After each grow I do a teardown, thoroughly clean the autopot system, wipe the entire inside of the tent, as well as washing the cloth pots that I used. I haven't experienced the autopots as contributing to a fungus gnat problem.

 

[Nosias]

I've been using autopots for a about a year, so 2-3 grows. No fungus gnat problems. Saw one of the little critters in my tent. I bought yellow cards. Hung them in the tent caught the lone little gnat on the card. After each grow I do a teardown, thoroughly clean the autopot system, wipe the entire inside of the tent, as well as washing the cloth pots that I used. I haven't experienced the autopots as contributing to a fungus gnat problem.

So happy to see you have found us all here.

 

[BII]

"....these are biological controllers using Bacillius thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) which the larvae ingest and die by infection of the guts!...."

The primary mechanism of Bti action does not involve "larvae ingest and die by infection of the gut" -- live bacteria are not even needed. Rather, Bt products kill by poisoning.

Protoxin proteins expressed by the bacteria (when commercial Bti products are manufactured by live culture) are 'activated' in insect stomachs with the resulting active toxin killing the larvae. Similarly, where plants have been genetically modified to express Bt (much of the corn and cotton in the U.S.), they express protoxin, do not kill by bacteria infection. Looking at the U.S. registered pesticide label of Microbe-lift/BMC, a Bt product, its only cites Bt "solids, spores and iinsecticidal toxins" as the Active Ingredients, and cites potency in terms of Intl. Toxic Units (ITU) -- not anything related to live bacteria.