Hi all,
Ive discovered a few gnats in my tent, three to be precise. Ive ordered capt jacks neem spay, DE, and mosquito bits to get rid of them. My question is will that take care of all of them? I dont think its from overwatering but im a noob so i dont know, I wait until my soils completely dry before watering again, they get a gallon each probably every three to four days and they are in 5 gallon pots. Plants look great, nice and healthy but ive also read that overly saturated soil is a top culprit. They are going into flower next week and i dont wanna mess around with bugs so im trying to cover all bases and kill them all. Any advice is deeply appreciated!
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Neem oil shouldn’t be used during flowering, as it leaves a residue. Capt. Jack’s Deadbug is a good option. Capt Jack’s Deadbug or diatomaceous earth are good options for controlling gnats.
All that said, gnats are a symptom of overwatering. Let your soil dry out btw waterings.
Welcome to the forum.
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I had those pests first grow and Midwest guys suggestion is right on. He gave me that advice over a year ago and my pest were soon gone. They didn’t hurt anything but they bugged me so to speak. Good luck happy growing
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You got the bases covered. I’m using mosquito bits as we speak. I’ve had gnats sense I started Growin 6 years ago. I’m on my second dose of three. I’ll let you know how it works out. The problem isn’t the gnat it’s the larvae that eat your roots. When you see the gnat the damage he’s gonna do is already done. So make sure you do all three doses to stop the life cycle. You don’t have flowers yet so get them now. 
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Good advice given already. A couple small things you might want to add in to help:
- Bottom water if you can, pouring water into the saucer and letting it absorb up into the pot. This does makes watering tedious and takes more time. The benefit is you can leave the top few inches of soil dry for longer, and my understanding is that most gnat larvae live in the upper few inches.
- If you can’t get diatomaceous earth, or have to wait for it to arrive, place a physical barrier on top of the soil. Garbage bags work great. Put some rocks or something to weigh it down, in case a fan is blowing it off. This can reduce air/oxygen going to your roots, but likely you’re still ok. The benefit is that the adult gnats can’t land on the soil and lay more eggs, helping to interrupt their life cycle.
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@MidwestGuy @John7 @GardenDan @Dman1969
Thank you all for the information, I appreciate it. With all this info they wont be round for long!
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I will add to the above suggestions. For the adults, get a few of those cheap raid sticky tapes and hang em while you treat for the larvae and eggs.
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Lmaoo funny enough when i was shopping for all the other stuff, i saw a pack of yellow sticky traps and bought them on impulse. Glad to find out it was a good purchase! Thanks for the assist!
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Can believe we forgot to mention the traps! Good call Chitty!
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I might also say that one gallon per 5 gallon pot is probably too much. I use 1/2 gal per 5 gallon pot and still get a little runoff.
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I was worried about that, ive been trying to find the sweet spot, ive read so many different things about how much runoff you want. Some stuff says alot some stuff say none, so ive been just doin the good ole trial and error method. I just started the gallon watering about 2 weeks ago, ill go back to half gallon watering. Thank you for the help!
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Organic growing requires as little of runoff as possible because you’re not measuring ppm. It’s my method of choice so I don’t have to mess with all that.
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That’s really good to know! Every problem/ question ive had over the past few weeks just got cleared up lmaooo. Thank you!
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Just to add another solution for killing gnats in soil that worked for me is Dawn dish soap. I grow weed in a RDWC system and vegetables in organic soil in the same room. Gnats are easier to kill in the RDWC system than in soil.
The owner of my local nursery told me she adds 3 tablespoons of Dawn dish soap to a 1qt spray bottle and wets the top of the soil about 3/4 of an inch down every day until they are gone. I was shocked how fast that killed them. I tried neem oil and H2O2 and that did nothing.
Not certain how practical my watering solution would be for you, but I dig a little hole about 2 inches deep when I water my vegetables and cover it up with dry dirt. This way the top soil layer is always dry. It’s like bottom water feeding which I can’t do because I grow in 2 x 3 foot trays.
Not saying one method is better than the other, just providing another tool in your arsenal against pests.
Happy growing and good luck
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