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lupner_gw

gnat like pests

lupner
17 years ago

hello, i am growing 2 plants, one better boy and one early girl in a container (sort of, bale of straw with holes filled with potting soil, osmocote and soil moist). the plants themselves seem to be doing well. the better boy is very small and has approx 30 small toms with more blossoms coming on every day. i am afraid that the plant is too small for all the toms. the early girl is just setting blossoms (better boy more mature when bought).

i notice when checking the plants that there are a few what looks to be gnats on the plants. when i water they come off the soil top.

does anyone know what they may be (sorry no way to post pics)? should i treat the plants and if so, with what?

thanks...

Comments (4)

  • weebay
    17 years ago

    Hi,
    It may be fungus gnats. I have had them in my containers because we have had off and on wet cool weather here. (I am in same zone as you . . )
    I am going to try to treat mine with mosquito dunks, because they haven't been going away.
    If you think they are fungus gnats, you may want to get rid of them before their larvae attack your plant.
    The BTi ( a naturally occurring bacteria, considered fine for organic uses) will kill the fungus gnat larvae. Use a part of a mosquito dunk left in watering can overnight and then water your plant with it.
    I have not yet tried it although I have my dunk soaking right now.
    So I do not have any personal experience with the results yet, but have read that it works well.
    Good luck!

  • lupner
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    hi weebay, thanks for the info. where do i find this product? can i find it at the local wally world (wal-mart), or lowes?

    i will give it a try. i guess i better look up what damage they will do to my plants, maybe they have already started!!

    thanks again..

  • weebay
    17 years ago

    You should be able to get them at any big or small hardware store. They come in packs where you get 4-10, and that should last you a long time for these purposes.
    The damage that these guys did to my plants look a lot like root rot because the larvae attack the roots.
    I am going to apply it once a week for a couple of weeks until I don't see them anymore.
    And hopefully our long awaited hot weather will just dry them out.
    Cheers

  • torquill
    17 years ago

    Bt only works on caterpillars (moth/butterfly larvae), not maggots (fly larvae) such as fungus gnats. This is a great source of annoyance for those of us who wish it worked on sawfly larvae eating rose and raspberry leaves.

    The good news is that fungus gnats are rarely a problem, particularly on established plants. The larvae normally eat fungus growing on organic matter in the soil, but they will sometimes eat plant roots in a pinch; the only time I've seen an issue from that was with seedlings, which don't have many roots.

    I wouldn't worry about it. If the adults bug you, take a yellow index card and smear some Vaseline on it, then hang it next to the base of the plant. It should mop up some of the little guys.

    --Alison