Getting Rid Of Fungus Gnats

Helpful Hints For The Frustrated Gardener

From Your Friends At Schriemer's

If you have troubles with fungus gnats in your home, you are not alone! While these tiny pests are definitely a nuisance, the adult (flying) gnats possess no mouth parts, so they won’t harm your houseplants. However, while the larvae usually only eat the fungi in the soil, they will eat the plant roots if they are not controlled!

Fungus gnats are a common problem with indoor plants, often encouraged to spend the winter in your home as a result of over-watering. The larvae spend part of their life cycle in the potting soils, feeding on the fungi that are found in the soil. Since fungi are abundant in overly wet, rotting soils, so are the fungus gnats - so wet soil is pretty much the culprit. Be sure to allow the soil of your indoor plants to dry down to at least 1/3 before you water. Be sure to water thoroughly when you’re watering, but make sure you allow the soil to dry out in between waterings.

To control the gnats when they’re in their larval stage, here’s a simple homemade remedy that works well;

• 1 litre warm water
• 5-6 drops of liquid dish soap (with no moisturizing lotions)
• 3 drops of sudsy ammonia
• 1 tsp. rubbing alcohol

Combine these ingredients in the warm water and mix thoroughly. Pour a quarter to a half of the solution around the top of the household container (soil). This is quite effective in controlling the soil-inhabiting larvae so they won’t develop into the adult flying gnats that are such a nuisance.

To control the adult flying gnats, place a large mixing bowl of sudsy water under a light source at night, for example the light under a kitchen sink. the next morning, you should find lots of gnats in the water. Another thing that helps is plugging the kitchen and bathroom drains at night, as this is where they tend to congregate.

If you’re looking for off-the-shelf products that are ready and easy to use, you can find the following at Schriemer’s;

Fruit Fly Trap - Non-toxic, easy to use, safe around the home and food. Has a 30 day life.

Fungus Gnat Spray - A ready-to-use spray that controls fungus gnats, mites and other insects on houseplants; also works well in small gardens and greenhouses.

Sticky Strips - Colourful strips of paper covered with a non-drying glue that can be suspended above plants with the wire hanger provided.

Sticky Stiks - Yellow patch of paper covered with a non-drying glue that you insert into the pointed end of an assembled plastic stick which is then inserted into the base of the plant.