Hello. I’m growing Granddaddy Purple, and this is my first grow. I have three beautiful plants that I grew from seeds I purchased here.
Yesterday, I discovered fungus gnats. I am growing indoors and have my grow room set up in a spare bathroom. I also have a fan going to circulate the air. My plants have pre-flowers, and based on what I’ve read, you can’t/shouldn’t use Neem oil in the pre-flowering stage. I think I read that you have to be careful with hydrogen peroxide mix in this stage, too. I know you can use apple cider vinegar, but I read that’s not very effective. I have ordered some yellow sticky traps and diatonaceous earth.
I need suggestions on what I can use to spray then. Thank you!
When I use DE I spread over the top of the soil then bottom water for a couple of cycles water breaks down the DE fairly quickly. I use sticky cards every grow there like the canary in the coal mine. Agree with @MidwestGuy Capt jacks is great a safe in flower
I didn’t think I had been watering too much, but I read that is often the cause and to stop watering for a few days. Typically, I stick my finger in the pot and check down 1-2 inches to determine if the soil feels dry. I’m using LED lights, so they aren’t getting a lot of heat as w/some other lighting.
Thank you so much for your response. I will get it right away.
Agreed. Any BTi product applied to pots will nuke the larvae, just takes a little bit. Then buy a large pack of sticky traps to get the fliers. When used properly this stuff is safe throughout grow and will eventually get rid of the gnats.
If youre growing in a bathroom, monitor yoir humidity. With the mosquito bit, i let them soak in a few gallons of water and stir them every little bit for about 6 hours then i water into the soil. Its perfectly safe amd you can leave the remaining bits on top. Then, allow your soil to dry and try to allow the soil to dry out a little longer between waterings. The key to watering is water slow. Like pour in a cup and walk away for about 10 minutes to allow the soil to soak up that moisture. Pour in another cup and walk away for another 5 or so. Then water in small increments until you just a tad of runoff. Feel how heavy your pots are and then youll have a muscle memory of what they feel like full, then wait until your leaves droop. Pickup your pot and feel how light it is. Thatll be a muscle memory on how it feels when its dry. Then water again slowly like before and then maintain a happy medium as far as a wet/dry weight. Youll know when its time to water. I havent had near the gnats the past few grows since i started that practice. Fungus gnat larvae thrive in the first few inches of soil. You can get them under control fairly easily. Also, if the bathroom isnt in use, cover your drains in the sink and tub.
Capt. Jacks, DE, mosquito bites. They will all work.
I’ve using a bug zapper in addition to covering the top of my buckets with 1 1/2” of filtered sand.
Bugs need an organic source like soil. Covering your top soil with DE and/or sand.
Thank you so much. I’ve ordered yellow sticky traps, Jack’s Deadbug Brew, diatomaceous earth, and mosquito bits. Initially, I ordered the first 3, and then I ordered the mosquito bits. If I use Jack’s and DE, should I omit using the mosquito bits?
1 way I use the bits is to put a capful in a gallon jug of warm water. Shake it up and let it sit for about 30min then shake again and lightly water each pot evenly across the surface
All you need to do is sprinkle mosquito bits on the soil. Every time you water it releases more bti to kill the larvae. No need to soak them and use the water. No need to bury it.
Just sprinkle it on the top soil of every plant in your house and within 2-3 weeks there will be no more fungus gnats.
