Hi all! I’m new to owning plants and currently dealing with a fungus gnat infestation. 😭 I found these today on the sticky trap of my strings which I think are where my infestation started… Are they baby gnats or worse? They have a very similar body, they’re just smaller and different colored(I don’t wanna say the forbidden T word, but I’ve never seen them in the flesh and they scare me so much). 🥺💔 The plant is otherwise thriving, and needs to be repotted soon.
by JustAnotherGhostie
4 Comments
Oh you sweet summer child. I’ve seen these sticky traps absolutely carpeted with gnats. Be grateful you’ve only caught like 5.
Fungus gnats are super common. They travel along with the soil. Diatomaceous earth over the top of the soil and soaking water with mosquito dunks have always helped for me.
You’ll probably always see a few here and there, but the goal is to keep them from reproducing out of control.
This is what I did
* Neem Oil Spray, once a week till gone (Bonide Captain Jack’s Neem Oil)
* Sprinkle Diatomaceous Earth/Cinnamon over the soil to kill/repel them (HARRIS Diatomaceous Earth Food Grade)
* Let the plants dry out a bit, but not totally. Find out there watering requirements and if you don’t already have one, get a moisture meter.
* You already have sticky traps, so that is a start.
* Re-potting should help. Make sure the soil is well draining.
Hope this helps
They are fungus gnats, definitely not thrips.
Is it in its original potting soil from the store? These want well draining soil- that would be the only reason to repot any time soon. The soil from the nursery is meant to establish a root system and it holds onto water too well, resulting in constant moist soil where fungus gnats thrive and lay their eggs.
Upsizing the pot too early will lead to a lot of issues. These only need up sized once every couple years, when you can see roots coming out of the drain holes.
I have been using Happy Happy Houseplant Death drops. Add to water and it kills the eggs. You need a 2 pronged approach. They have a 2 week egg cycle. So you need to kill the eggs and the adults. Stickers help but you want to get rid of the eggs.
I have 200+ houseplants, gnats used to a constant struggle but now I just use the death drops. I water with the drops for 3 watering cycles, that usually knocks it out for me.