What can you do to keep fungus gnats out of your houseplants? To prevent these little insects from taking over your plants, you can take a number of steps. Your quickly expanding plant will be strong and thriving without any pesky insects with only a few easy steps!
Avoid Overwatering
Overwatering is the main reason why fungus gnats appear on plants, so try to allow the soil completely dry out between waterings as often as you can. To keep gnats away, check the soil with your finger every few days, and once you notice it beginning to dry out, leave it that way for approximately a week. Keep in mind that these guys prefer damp environments, so pay attention to how often you water your plants!
Use a Pot with Good Drainage
In order to prevent the gnats from laying eggs and spreading, make sure the pot your plant is in has sufficient drainage. Additionally, having proper drainage will stop root rot, a horrible disease that grows in overwatered plants.
Check Plants Before Bringing Inside
When individuals initially bring plants into their homes, they frequently assume that they are bug-free. Even while that’s not always the case, it’s still crucial to examine your plants for gnats or any other bothersome small bugs before bringing them inside.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you still have unanswered queries about how to get rid of fungus gnats? To help you become the best gardening and houseplant expert you can be, we’ve included some frequently asked questions below.
Will fungus gnats go away on their own?
The fungus gnats won’t go away by themselves. You’ll need to take matters into your own hands and try several various approaches to get rid of them if you want to make sure that these bugs don’t remain for an extended period of time. The issue might be resolved by just draining the extra water, or if there are too many, traps may be necessary.
Can I spray fungus gnats?
Yes, spraying them is a good alternative if you want to be sure the gnats are gone from the plant. You have two options for treating insects: you can use water and soap to treat them naturally, or you can choose an aggressive insecticide spray from the market. Use caution while using these sprays because they can kill beneficial insects.
Do gnats fly around the house?
Although fungus gnats have wings, they only use them to fly around the soil or close to the plant. You might see some of them floating close to your mouth or nose because they are drawn to carbon dioxide as well.
Even though fungus gnats can be rather bothersome, neither you nor the plant in your pot will be harmed by them. However, it’s still critical to find them quickly to prevent an infestation. You’ll be equipped to deal with everything that comes your way if you follow our advise!
Where can I find gnat-free potting soil?
If you have a lot of indoor plants, it might be challenging to get rid of fungus gnats. The adults can effortlessly fly or leap from one plant to another, depositing their eggs in any location with moist soil.
The adult fungus gnats have a short lifespan, similar to fruit flies. Therefore, your fungus gnat problem will be solved once all the larvae have died.
Fungus gnats can be readily controlled without the use of dangerous synthetic pesticides by adopting natural pest control solutions and techniques. The greatest ways to get rid of those pesky flying gnats from your indoor plants are listed below.
Control soil moisture
Therefore, avoiding overwatering your plants is the simplest and most efficient way to control plant gnats and ultimately get rid of fungus gnats.
On most indoor plants, though, you don’t want to let the soil entirely dry up. To keep the ideal moisture level for your houseplants and get rid of gnats in plant soil, use a soil moisture sensor.
Indoor plant watering tools also make it simpler to water houseplants and aid in preventing overwatering, which will help you get rid of plant gnats.
Water plants from the bottom
When you water plants from the top, the top inch of the soil, where fungus gnat larvae typically dwell, tends to stay rather damp.
Without endangering the plant’s general health, bottom watering plants will make it simpler to maintain drier top soil.
Simply pour water into the plant’s drip tray or storage pot to water it from the bottom, and the plant will absorb the liquid through the drainage holes.
Never let your plant sit in water for an extended period of time. After soaking for around 30 minutes, drain out any extra water.
Use yellow houseplant sticky stakes
A very safe technique of pest control is to place a yellow sticky trap next to the plant. This will draw and catch the adult fungus gnats.
This will only work to control the adult population; it won’t address the root cause of the issue (the larvae).
However, yellow sticky traps unquestionably assist in preventing adult fungus gnats from flying to other plants.
Apply organic pest control products
To get rid of gnats in potted plants, pour or spritz an organic insecticidal soap or a neem oil mixture into the top of the soil.
I mix 1 tsp of mild liquid soap with 1 liter of water to produce my own insecticidal soap.
Neem oil has a lasting effect that aids in prevention and is excellent at killing pests that attack indoor plants. Neem oil can be purchased here.
After a few applications, these organic gnat pesticides ought to work; just be careful not to overwater your plants.
Why do gnats flock to my house plants?
Because of this, you might have noticed much smaller flying insects buzzing around your houseplants and mistaken them for common or garden fruit flies, but the more likely species is fungus gnats.
Soil gnats is another name for these little flying insects. In the potting soil of indoor plants, they thrive and reproduce.
Therefore, if you see little black gnats flying around or crawling through the dirt around your houseplants, they are most likely fungus gnats.
Fungus Gnats Are Part Of A Family Of Insects That Include:
- Bolitophilidae
- Ditomyiidae
- Keroplatidae
- Diptera
- Diadocidiidae
They typically eat mushrooms and dead plant detritus and are naturally found in moist forest environments.
Small Pests
Fruit flies are much larger than fungus gnats, which are considerably smaller. In actuality, they only reach a length of around a quarter inch.
Therefore, despite your incorrect belief that they are too small to do any real harm, their larvae may and will harm your indoor plants.
Fungus Gnats Like Warm Moist Soil
Fungus gnats are frequently drawn to indoor plants because they lay their eggs in damp soil.
When the eggs hatch, the young birds will eat roots, algae, fungi, and other organic matter like potting soil.
Fungus gnats are generally innocuous as adults, but the larvae can destroy your houseplants.
The larvae, as we have seen, are the ones that cause the greatest harm because they may feed on plant roots that are buried in the soil, which can cause damage to the roots and stunted growth.
A fungus gnat is most likely what you are witnessing if you notice tiny black gnats flying or crawling about in the dirt surrounding your houseplants.
Gnats are a result of Miracle Gro?
Most of the time, houseplants give your home a serene, friendly appearance. Those indoor plants can occasionally be home to pest infestations, especially if you self-planted them in bags of soil. Small black flies have occasionally been detected in brands of bagged soil like Miracle-Gro, although their presence in soil is not all that surprising. It’s likely that the tiny black insects you discovered in your Miracle-Gro soil bag are fungus gnats, which are known to infest unsterilized soil.
What natural cure gets rid of gnats in houseplants?
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 hydrogen peroxide works by killing all the fungus gnat larvae, which is the only true way of killing off the gnat population.
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.
How can I quickly get rid of plant gnats?
She asked me to write about a true issue she was having with her indoor plants. Of course! I bet many of you are struggling with the same issue.
Have you ever purchased houseplants for your home or office with the intention of bringing some nature indoors but noticed after a week or so that obtrusive small black flies are darting in and out of your line of sight with your computer screen? Ugh! You have a problem with fungus gnats!
Although fungus gnats resemble tiny mosquitoes or fruit flies, they are unrelated and do not bite. They can be spread by cut flowers, especially those with stale vase water, or even by plants with unsterilized soil (poinsettias can be the worst).
In moist plant soil, residential drains, and sewage areas, fungus gnats can be found. In wet soil, fungus gnats lay their eggs. Prior to developing into adult gnats and flying out of the plant soil onto your face, their larvae, which are only one-hundredth of an inch long, are almost impossible to notice. They eat plant roots, soil-borne leaves, and decomposing plant matter. It takes them around 10 days to grow. Indoors, they can reproduce all year long.
This issue is being exacerbated by the gentle care you provide your indoor plants, including watering them. The fungus gnats will like staying in your home if the soil of your houseplants is continually moist. The growing medium used for houseplants is another factor. Numerous potting mixture types contain components that hold onto moisture, and everything that promotes moisture also promotes fungus gnats. To avoid potential pests, Good Earth Plant Company only purchases from nurseries that pre-treat the soil.
So what can you do to combat these annoying little gnats? You must approach the issue from many angles.
Start by starting to wait longer between waterings for your indoor plants. One to two inches of the surface ought to be entirely dry. Sub-irrigation functions well for this reason, among others.
2. Make careful to get rid of any fallen or decomposing plant materials (leaves and roots) as these serve as fungus gnat larvae’s feeding sources. Place a few slices of uncooked potatoes on the surface of the soil to see if you have them. Take a look at the bottom after a few days. Are they chewed-looking? Your plants contain fungus gnat larvae.
3. You can cover the soil with a quarter- to-half-inch layer of diatomaceous earth or horticultural sand (NOT playground sand) to control the larvae. If you water it, the plant will dry out more quickly and fool the fungus gnats into thinking it is not a good site to lay eggs. Additionally, they are actually cut to death if they crawl across the DE.
4. Add one tablespoon of liquid dish soap and one teaspoon of white vinegar to the water every other time you water. The fungus gnat larvae will eventually perish as a result.
5. You can remove the plant from the pot, remove as much soil as you can without harming the plant, and then repot it to expedite the process. Place all of the used soil in a sealed bag and discard it. It cannot be applied elsewhere because doing so will just exacerbate the issue.
6. You can create organic traps on your own to get rid of the adult fungus gnats. You can pour a few drops of liquid dish soap to the bottom of a deep bowl after adding apple cider vinegar or red wine. Put it next to the infected indoor plants. The gnats adore it and will suffocate in it if they fall in. Every couple of days, replace it.
7. You can either buy or manufacture some sticky insect traps. Use pieces of bright yellow colored cardboard and smear Vaseline all over them. For optimal effects, place them horizontally over your plants. Use a card holder from your florist, or one that comes with a plant. Put the card holder with the sticky trap inside, then affix it to your plant.
8. Some backyard gardeners fervently advocate adding three percent hydrogen peroxide directly to the soil of your plants. I wouldn’t advise this as your first option if you have a plant that is very priceless or sensitive.
It could be extremely difficult to entirely eradicate fungus gnats on your own if they frequently infest your plants, especially those in your office. In one instance, the gnats were entering through the ventilation system from another office, as I’ve seen!
We only utilize plants from reputable growers, and our experts take great care to prevent conditions from becoming such that fungus gnats can easily reproduce. We quickly remove any infected plants from our care (which doesn’t happen very often) to prevent fungus gnats from spreading to the rest of your plants.