Gnats ! are my plants too small to treat?

[Cosmic Charlie]

I just planted 5 from seed 3 days ago and already 3 have popped up. However the bad news is I saw 3 gnats and killed 2 of them. I have heard mosquito dunks work and also you can put an inch of sand down. Wondering since two haven't popped yet and 3 are barely an inch tall are my plants too young to treat? and what would my best option be?

 

[The Dude]

I know there are three most often used way to try n cull an issue with fungus knats.(lil bastards LOL) a strong brewed all nutural peppermint tea,Neem oil with water drench,and more over the Dunks.being a seedling I couldnt even make a valid guess short of the tea...Maybe,since its so young, I dunno.sorry bro. also the whitefly yellow sticky traps too.

 

[Mr Piggy]

They are too young for mint tea or neem. Stick with the dunks, the bacteria in them has no interaction with the plant what-so-ever. Make sure you soak the dunk bits in dechlorinated (NOT tap) water or it's all for nothing. The chlorine will kill the bacteria. Don't expect the gnats to go away the same day, it takes a minute for the adults to die off and the larva as well. In a week or so they should be all gone. If they are reoccurring after that then do it again until it works. I can't stress dechlorinated water enough.

Also take the time to figure out where they are getting into your grow from. Is your intake filtered? it should be. Do you store your soil outside? It's best kept indoors. There's not much point to fighting them off if you're leaving the door open for them.

 

[sugarman1210]

What about...

Can you not make and use Cali Clean on these? It is a natural hot pepper solution. The recipe is on here somewhere. Also this may help:

Vinegar – Gnats are attracted to the smell of vinegar and iyou can use it as a tool to get rid of them. Take a shallow plastic bowl and pour vinegar in it to cover the bottom. Then wrap a clear plastic wrap covering the bowl and poke small holes in the wrap. The gnats will soon smell the vinegar and get in through the holes, into the bowl but are not able to get out of it. You can replace the bowl regularly and keep two or three around your home. (Keep it away from your medium as well due to PH)

A variation of the vinegar trap can be to add a few drops of liquid detergent or a cooking oil with it. This way the gnats are killed as soon as they try to drink the liquid as they fall into it.

Other ways...


Fruit Juices/Sugar solution – Juices and sugar water are as effective as vinegar in trapping gnats. Use in the same manner as mentioned above for vinegar.

Rubbing Alcohol – Pour a diluted solution of rubbing alcohol with water in a spray bottle and spray it whenever you see a gnat around.

Citronella – Citronella oil can be easily purchased from a store to be used as a repellent for not only gnats but also other creepy crawlies such as mosquitoes and fleas. Mix two cups of water with two spoons of the oil in a spray bottle and add a few drops of liquid soap to allow the oil and water to mix. You can spray this mixture around home, near plants, and near garbage cans to prevent gnats from coming. The best part about this is it is harmless to other pets at home, harmless to house plants and leaves a pleasant citrus like smell around the home. You can repeat the spray every alternate week.

Vanilla – As is the case with citronella, gnats are also repelled by the smell of vanilla. You can purchase a bottle of vanilla extract or vanilla essential oil from your local store and again make a mixture of two cups water, two spoonfulls vanilla and few drops of liquid detergent in a spray bottle. This can be sprayed regularly at the places most infested with the flies.

Dryer Sheets – These sheets commonly contain an ingredient called oleander that acts as a natural repellent. You can put these dryer sheets around garden areas or near potted plants to prevent gnats from making their home in your gardens and plants.

This stuff came from http://www.brighthub.com/environment/green-living/articles/86083.aspx

Hope this helps.

 

[happily]

dunks work EXTREMELY well........extremely

 

[Mr Piggy]

Can you not make and use Cali Clean on these? It is a natural hot pepper solution. The recipe is on here somewhere. Also this may help:

Vinegar – Gnats are attracted to the smell of vinegar and iyou can use it as a tool to get rid of them. Take a shallow plastic bowl and pour vinegar in it to cover the bottom. Then wrap a clear plastic wrap covering the bowl and poke small holes in the wrap. The gnats will soon smell the vinegar and get in through the holes, into the bowl but are not able to get out of it. You can replace the bowl regularly and keep two or three around your home. (Keep it away from your medium as well due to PH)

A variation of the vinegar trap can be to add a few drops of liquid detergent or a cooking oil with it. This way the gnats are killed as soon as they try to drink the liquid as they fall into it.

Other ways...


Fruit Juices/Sugar solution – Juices and sugar water are as effective as vinegar in trapping gnats. Use in the same manner as mentioned above for vinegar.

Rubbing Alcohol – Pour a diluted solution of rubbing alcohol with water in a spray bottle and spray it whenever you see a gnat around.

Citronella – Citronella oil can be easily purchased from a store to be used as a repellent for not only gnats but also other creepy crawlies such as mosquitoes and fleas. Mix two cups of water with two spoons of the oil in a spray bottle and add a few drops of liquid soap to allow the oil and water to mix. You can spray this mixture around home, near plants, and near garbage cans to prevent gnats from coming. The best part about this is it is harmless to other pets at home, harmless to house plants and leaves a pleasant citrus like smell around the home. You can repeat the spray every alternate week.

Vanilla – As is the case with citronella, gnats are also repelled by the smell of vanilla. You can purchase a bottle of vanilla extract or vanilla essential oil from your local store and again make a mixture of two cups water, two spoonfulls vanilla and few drops of liquid detergent in a spray bottle. This can be sprayed regularly at the places most infested with the flies.

Dryer Sheets – These sheets commonly contain an ingredient called oleander that acts as a natural repellent. You can put these dryer sheets around garden areas or near potted plants to prevent gnats from making their home in your gardens and plants.

This stuff came from http://www.brighthub.com/environment/green-living/articles/86083.aspx

Hope this helps.

For the love of whichever god you worship, do not spray alcohol on your plants!

These may be good solutions for gardening, but the dunks and BT products are what works without interfering with the plants. If you follow the instructions we have provided dunks will be the final gnat solution.

 

[sugarman1210]

The alcohol reference was for gnats not on plants. Sorry.

 

[Cosmic Charlie]

Hey thanks Yall !!:clap: Gonna use the dunks. I was just worried cause they are just seedlings. AFN rocks !

 

[Cosmic Charlie]

On a much better note all 5 are up and looking good and havent seen a gnat all day... although I am sure those lil bastards are lurking somewhere! I will keep my eyes peeled and begin with the dunks at the first sign f them!

 

[Cosmic Charlie]

They are too young for mint tea or neem. Stick with the dunks, the bacteria in them has no interaction with the plant what-so-ever. Make sure you soak the dunk bits in dechlorinated (NOT tap) water or it's all for nothing. The chlorine will kill the bacteria. Don't expect the gnats to go away the same day, it takes a minute for the adults to die off and the larva as well. In a week or so they should be all gone. If they are reoccurring after that then do it again until it works. I can't stress dechlorinated water enough.

Also take the time to figure out where they are getting into your grow from. Is your intake filtered? it should be. Do you store your soil outside? It's best kept indoors. There's not much point to fighting them off if you're leaving the door open for them.

Mr. Piggy how much of one of those tabs should I use for 5 seedlings ? and how much water do I put it in? and also I p.h. the water first and afterwards adjust after? Sorry just wanna make sure I do this right. Thanks a lot for your help with the dunks!