Fungus Gnat Help?

Submitted ⁨⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨Polkira@lemmy.ca⁩ to ⁨houseplants@mander.xyz⁩

I have a fungus gnat problem with my houseplants, I’ve kept them relatively under control using Mosquito Dunks in my watering can since August and some yellow sticky traps but I can’t seem to eradicate them. I was considering buying nematode pot poppers but I’ve never used them before so I was wondering if anyone had any tips for application. All my plants are still relatively small so I don’t have many large pots for any of them (most are between 4-10").

Any and all recommendations welcome, having pests is really taking all the joy out of having plants. I’m in Canada so a lot of pesticides aren’t available to me.

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Vimes@ttrpg.network ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I had the same issue w being unable to eliminate them entirely for ages. Putting a layer of sand over soil in pot was what finally completely resolved it for me (in addition to continuing all the other stuff you mentioned).

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- Polkira@lemmy.ca ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  I’ll give it a shot! How thick of a layer? Like a cm or 2?
  
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  - Funkymatt@lemmy.world ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    I also had success with sand on top, a couple cm is fine- just enough to completely cover all visible topsoil. You may also want to start bottom watering if you can and leave the top undisturbed since the sand will migrate when you top water. You may need to reapply sand periodically so get a decent sized bag
    
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Dogwalker@beehaw.org ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Nematodes, 100%. Went from clapping flies around me every 2 minutes to nothing, absolute godsend.

Order them online for around 20 dollars, follow the instructions and mix it in when you water them next. They eat the fly eggs or something, whatever it is it works within a couple of days and lasts a long time. I do this whenever the flies start coming back, maybe every month or two, and after a round of repotting because of the new soil.

I also cover the tops of pots with tape facing down which helps restrict access to the soil and some of the flies will stick to it, but I will try the sand layer instead of that now based on the suggestion above.

I hope this helps, I tried a lot of things before I found this and feel your pain!

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spacemoss@lemmy.world ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I’ve been mixing mosquito bits in the pot/soil with great success. I toss in a handful about every 6 months. When I repot, I mix in roughly 1/2 cup per 4 quarts soil medium. Make sure the top inch of soil has a chance to dry out between watering. Make sure you don’t have water standing in your catch trays when watering. Switch out for aggregate clay or lava rock instead of a soil medium.

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- Polkira@lemmy.ca ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Unfortunately mosquito bits aren’t available in Canada. I’ve been letting them dry out between so I’m surprised they just come right back, I’m wondering if it’s to do with my plants all being watered at different intervals so there’s always at least one plant that has moist soil. Would the clay/rock work for all plant types? I’ve been using 1 part perlite, 1 part potting mix, and 1 part orchid bark for most of my plants since it tends to stay more humid where I am and takes forever to dry otherwise. The few succulents I have are mostly in 50/50 perlite and cactus mix.
  
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  - spacemoss@lemmy.world ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    I wonder if you can break up masquito dunks, aren’t they the same chemical? I have not had success with ferns in clay but epiphytes and ficus seem to love it.
    
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Beegzoidberg@beehaw.org ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
A comment I read spoke of getting carnivorous plants to help, and now I like having gnats around to feed them! I have three sundews and they capture a lot of gnats.

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- Polkira@lemmy.ca ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  I was considering sundews and was actually just checking for some at my local nursery but only saw venus fly traps and pitcher plants. I also don’t know if I’d be able to keep a sundew alive, how have you found the care for them? I’d say I’m still intermediate with skill level, I only started keeping more than 1 plant in April (up to ~50ish now but most were cuttings from friends so they’re all still fairly small)
  
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  - Beegzoidberg@beehaw.org ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    I think they’re easy! I only use rainwater or distilled, I leave about 1/2 an inch of water in the tray, I keep them under a grow light, and that’s it so far. They propogate easy too. I’d recommend watching some YouTube videos on their care, and order one online if it’s not too cold yet. The three I have are my favorites of the collection
    
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smeg@feddit.uk ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Ugh, bane of my life! I found diluted hydrogen peroxide worked, though you need to make sure you’ve got good drainage because after killing everything it leaves the soil very damp which is ideal for any survivors. Quarantining the infested plants in a separate room and not watering them helped, though this was with cacti so they managed to survive the drought!

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Shadow@lemmy.ca ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Bottom watering and a layer of d. earth on top was the only thing that solved it for me.

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