The small black bugs that you see swarming around your indoor plants are called fungus gnats. Fungus gnats are not enjoyable at all, and getting rid of them from indoor plants can be difficult. Fortunately, I can provide you some excellent advice to help you permanently get rid of these pesky little critters.
How to eliminate fungus gnats from indoor plants: There are six ways to get rid of fungus gnats in houseplants:
- Use a solution of water and hydrogen peroxide.
- Observe the drying of the potting soil.
- Plant repotting or replacement of the growth media
- Yellow sticky cards can be used to lure and capture fungus gnats.
- Pesticides should be added to the potting soil.
- Utilize a biological pesticide
Fungus gnats are generally innocuous as adults, but the larvae can injure property. The majority of the time, larvae consume algae and fungi, but they can also consume soil-dwelling plant roots, which can result in root injury and reduced growth. Fungus gnats should ideally be exterminated as soon as you see them. Continue reading to discover how to successfully eradicate fungus gnats from indoor plants and how to avoid repeat infestation.
I have potted plants, how can I get rid of the gnats?
Fortunately, there are several of organic and chemical-free ways to get rid of fungus gnats from your prized plants. You can use a traditional trap or common household goods like potatoes and dish soap!
Let the Soil Dry
It’s important to remember to let the soil dry out for a few days and refrain from watering your plant because fungus gnats and their larvae prefer to nest in moist soil. The gnats will be forced to live in an uninhabitable habitat as a result, and they will disappear in dry soil. Do not be afraid to skip your next watering in order to get rid of the gnats; your houseplant will be able to endure the dryness for a longer period of time than you might imagine.
The best advice is to take your plant out of the planter and drain any extra water from the bottom. Thus, there won’t be any dampness where gnats might deposit their eggs.
Use Traps
There are numerous traps you may employ to get rid of these bothersome bugs if you’re seeking for a speedier fix. You can choose to DIY these with a few common things or run to the store and buy specialist traps, depending on what best suits your needs.
- Pour a cup of white vinegar and a few drops of liquid dish soap onto a shallow saucer. The gnats will be drawn to the solution and fall into the trap if you place the bowl near your plant. Repeat the procedure until no more gnats are present.
- Sticky fly traps are an alternative if the smell of vinegar deters you from making your own homemade gnat trap. These little yellow paper sheets attract gnats and trap them with glue because of their brilliant hue. Although it might not be visually appealing, this procedure is simple and safe.
- Consider purchasing an indoor fly-catching gadget if you’re sick and tired of gnats in your plants and need an urgent fix. These are typically USB-powered and can be purchased locally or online. The blowers and LED lights draw the gnats, and eventually they are drawn into the trap.
- Are there any extra potatoes in the kitchen? Set a trap for them! Place the potatoes flesh-down on the ground after cutting them into little pieces. The fungus gnats will be drawn to the potatoes by their dampness. Just be careful that the parts don’t dry out otherwise it won’t operate.
Sanitize and Repot
Consider removing the plant from its planter and scraping out the soil if you want to take matters into your own hands. When doing this, take care not to disrupt the roots and take only what you can get rid of. Put the contaminated soil in a plastic bag and wash the planter with soap and warm water to sterilize it. Repot your plant into new soil after this is finished, then put it back into its planter.
Use a Spray Bottle
Take a spray bottle and combine water and dish soap in it. Repeat the technique until all of the gnats are gone by spraying the solution on the top layer of soil. If you’re seeking for a quick and natural solution to get rid of fungus gnats, try this.
How can I naturally get rid of fungus gnats in my plants?
You can sprinkle some cinnamon on top of the soil while you’re waiting for diatomaceous earth to arrive or as soon as you realize you have fungus gnats. The cinnamon stops them from laying eggs and acts as a natural fungicide and irritant.
Ceylon cinnamon is what you want to use, not the common variety that most people already have at home.
Water with Mosquito Dunks/Bits
The wonder solution known as mosquito dunks will stop fungus gnats in their tracks and is also quite simple to use.
You simply need to place a small piece in your watering can and use it to water your plants. Additionally, each component will withstand numerous waterings.
These include the naturally occurring bacteria BTI as the active ingredient, which is poisonous to insect larvae like gnats and mosquitoes.
Toxins produced by the active substances only affect gnats, their larvae, blackflies, and mosquitoes. The gnat larvae are enticed to consume this rather than the fungus or roots because of this.
Hydrogen Peroxide Drench
Pour 4 parts water and 1 part hydrogen peroxide, 3 percent, over the soil of your plant.
The only effective method for eradicating the gnat population is to use hydrogen peroxide, which kills all fungus gnat larvae.
This dilute concoction has the ideal strength to kill insect eggs without harming your plant (it actually aerates the soil and cleans the roots).
Do not water your plant when it is already moist. Only do this when your plant genuinely needs water.
Use an Apple Cider Vinegar Mix
Killing out all of the eggs and larvae in the soil is crucial for getting rid of gnats in your houseplants.
After using the aforementioned techniques to accomplish that, you should catch every adult gnat that is still flying around to prevent them from laying more eggs.
Placing an apple cider concoction next to your problematic plant is one natural method for catching gnat insects. One teaspoon of sugar, two parts water, one part apple cider vinegar, and a few trace amounts of liquid dish soap should all be combined in a shallow dish (Blue Dawn is best).
Because apple cider vinegar is slightly sweeter than white vinegar and has an orange tint that also attracts pests, you must use it.
Use Yellow Sticky Traps
These sticky traps also work great if you don’t have apple cider vinegar or don’t want to deal with the vinegar scent. The gnats are drawn to them because they are yellow.
However, whether you employ the sticky traps or the apple cider vinegar approach, they only offer you a general idea of how terrible your gnat problem is. You must employ these techniques in addition to addressing the larvae issue.
Why do houseplants get fungus gnats?
Fungus gnats, which are frequently solely thought of as a small houseplant pest, can swiftly escalate into a serious problem (and inconvenience) if an infestation gets out of hand. Here’s how to spot fungus gnat infestations in your plants, get rid of them, and avoid them in the future.
What are Fungus Gnats?
Fungus gnats are a pest insect with the size of a fruit fly that mainly harms indoor houseplants. Adult gnats are drawn to the wetness in potting soil and lay up to 200 eggs on organic debris close to the soil surface. The eggs develop into larvae after approximately three days, and the larvae bury themselves in the soil to eat fungus and decomposing plant matter. Adult gnats resume the cycle by emerging from the soil two weeks later. Adults typically live for one week.
Given that they cannot bite humans and cannot transmit diseases, fungus gnats are perfectly safe to be around. However, as their population booms and their larvae begin to feed on the delicate roots of plants, they can become an issue for houseplants. A genus of plant infections called Pythium that causes “damping off in seedlings” may also be spread by fungus gnats.
Using regular management and preventative methods is essential for getting rid of a fungus gnat infestation once it has started. We’ve outlined a couple of the most effective strategies for getting rid of adult gnats and preventing the emergence of new gnats further down on this page.
How can fungus gnats be kept out of potting soil?
According to Colorado State University Extension, if you suddenly start having fungus gnat problems, you probably overwater your plants or have another moisture problem in your house. Since fungus gnats only lay their eggs in moist soil, if the moisture problem can be resolved, they will gladly leave (or, you know, die).
Instead of concentrating your efforts on the adults you observe flying about, UC IPM advises drying out the soil and eliminating the eggs and larvae. The greatest strategy for preventing an infestation is to make the soil an unfavorable location for egg laying and egg hatching because the adults will die at the ripe old age of two weeks regardless. Additionally, don’t be concerned that you’ll harm your plants; they want the potting soil to largely dry up between waterings. In fact, if you continue to overwater and smother the roots, you’re more likely to kill them.
Step 1: To prevent the problem from spreading, quarantine your diseased plants away from other houseplants, as you should with any infestation of houseplant insects.
Step 2: Stop watering once the soil has nearly dried out entirely. The soil’s surface must feel dry to the touch.
Step 3: To provide additional insurance, get some diatomaceous earth. As directed on the container, sprinkle it on the soil’s surface only while it is dry because it loses its effectiveness when it absorbs water. The powdery dust known as diatomaceous earth is really composed of fossilized algae. It has the consistency of baking soda to people and animals, but the crystals feel like broken glass to soft-bodied insects. They are doomed the moment they crawl over it. This approach is preferred by The Old Farmer’s Almanac.
The fourth step is to set up a trap to catch the annoying adult fungus gnats. A traditional apple cider vinegar funnel trap is effective. Also available are sticky traps. According to UC IPM, yellow fungus gnats are particularly attractive, so if you can, attempt to find one and place it on or near the potting soil’s surface.
Step 5: You can resume watering, but this time, don’t go overboard, once the soil has totally dried at least an inch down and you no longer notice any traces of fungus gnats. Consider replacing your pot with one that does if it doesn’t have drainage holes so that water doesn’t collect in the bottom and damage the roots before they have a chance to absorb it. (Read more about the significance of drainage holes here.) Instead of watering on a regular schedule, water only when the soil is dry to the touch an inch or two deep, and stop when the water starts to run out of the drainage hole and into the saucer. (And if any of this is news to you, check out our in-depth guide on raising plants for further advice.)
Drying Out Soil
Overwatering plants is a major cause of infestations. Theoretically, you can keep your plant soil dry and inhospitable to gnats by spacing out your watering sessions.
Remove about 2 cm of soil from the plant. As a result, the larvae and eggs are exposed, hastening the soil’s drying process.
Prior to watering once more, let the soil to dry to a depth of about an inch and a half.
It did lessen the amount of larvae squirming around beneath the dirt, but it didn’t totally solve the issue.
Many plants can’t go for lengthy periods of time without water, so if you start watering normally again, the gnats will just start to reproduce once more.
Cider Traps
Apple cider vinegar is the ideal bait in this practical trap since gnats are drawn to it.
The gnats will now try to crawl through the tiny holes in the cling film, but they won’t be able to do so because of the vinegar, and they will drown in it.
The biggest drawback of this approach is that it only eliminates adult gnats, leaving hundreds of larvae and eggs still present in the soil unharmed.
However, it did kill a fair amount of adult gnats, severely reducing the gnat population’s ability to reproduce and lowering the overall population.
Potato Slices
Slices of potato are an inexpensive way to gauge the extent of the infestation and, incidentally, get rid of some larvae because gnat larvae adore raw potatoes.
Pull out the chunks after waiting 4 to 8 hours. The potato will literally be covered in larvae if the infection is severe.
Only dozens of larvae can be eliminated by each potato slice at once. Because adult gnats can lay 200–300 eggs at a time, it would be impossible to eradicate a severe infestation with only potato pieces.
But it’s great for determining the extent of the gnat population and testing the efficacy of your other strategies.
Chamomile Tea & Cinnamon
Strong natural fungicides like chamomile and cinnamon eliminate the principal food source for gnats, rendering the soil uninhabitable.
Boiling water is used to make one liter of strong chamomile tea. Once the tea has cooled, it is combined with four parts water. As normal, water plants with tea mixture.
Spread cinnamon liberally throughout the soil’s surface for a double dose of fungicidal effects.
The gnat numbers were drastically decreased by the chamomile/cinnamon dousing within days, but the surviving population continued to grow over the following few weeks.
Can vinegar be sprayed on plants?
The most popular application for household vinegar is as an organic weed killer. When used on those annoying, difficult-to-kill weeds, they will vanish in two to three days, but you must be cautious when spraying it around specific plants because it may be damaging to them. To complete the task, combine one gallon of white vinegar with a cup of salt and a few tablespoons of dish soap.