gnats

[RansacktheElder]

Alright, first problem with pests of any kind so far. I've noticed that when the lights are on and the heat is up I see one or two gnats, fruit flies, whatever, flying around mainly down low among the soil. Are these to be feared and hunted down with extreme prejudice? Or should I let them go? How should I proceed here fellas?

 

[Donk Frog]

look 4 translucent little worm like larva in the grow medium (rockwool, soil, promix) if you have adults u have larva, adults are not harmful to plants they feed off dead plant mater. Keep the garden free of dead leaf material. The larva will chew and attack your root system leading to lack of vigor in your plants, if in not in hydro give them a neem drench then cover the top with a inch of dry sand this will prevent the adults from laying more eggs as they need a moist medium the medium under the sand will stay wet and the sand will drain and dry fast. If in hydro try no pest strips for adults and gnatrol for the larva

 

[RansacktheElder]

sweet, thanks!

 

[Husbandnwife420]

right now im having prob with nats ther larve are eating all my lil seedlings from the roots up thay killed 3 baches before i figured it out dam wasted sooo many awsom seeds tryin to figure it out what cind of sand shuld i use beach sand flushed?

 

[leadplant]

diatomicous earth

sprinke some on top of your soil. lightly mix into the top inch. Pour some down the inside walls of your pot where the soil shrinks as it dries.

nontoxic, cheap, lasts forever
why isnt everyone usin it?

 

[RansacktheElder]

I'm on it!

perlite spread on the top works just as well, the light reflecting off the white fucks with em as well. i bottom feed though:)
gnat off and pest off combined works well also lotsa yellow sticky traps to catch the fuckers
good luck dude they are easy to control but a bugger to get completely rid off.
ripz

Thanks Ripz! I'll layer some pearlite on them tonight when the lights come on. I have the pest strips and haven't seen any in the last two days or so. When I'm done I'll bleach out the pots and fumigate the box. I definately don't want them bastards around when I grow the good stuff.

 

[mace]

I've perlite'd the tops of my containers and it has help. Something to note, they seem to breed in the bottom holes as well. I used some perithrium (sp) and killed the fuckers off. will keep doing it to kill the cycle

 

[SSHZ]

I've used Gnatrol with GREAT success.....it's kills the gnats in the larva stage. Basically, after a week or so- 99% of the problem is gone since their life expectency is very short. The flying adults won't be much of a problem or harmful to the plants, other then them being pests. The young feed on the roots- that's why you have to kill them in the soil! 1-2 applications simply does the job.

 

[Guano]

Get some yellow sticky traps too,helps keep numbers down.

 

[mickeyspliff]

Gnats have eaten many seedlings of mine, larvae will eat out the stem. Fine sand worked for me, so did azactrol, a neem extract.

 

[the Rock]

i use SM-90 applied when watering once a week for a couple weeks;stuff kills them larvae, eggs dead i use the sticky things also