It might not be that obvious on the video but there are literally hundreds of little fungus gnats on top of the soil
TelomereTelemetry
Oh boy that’s a lot of gnats. For an infestation this bad step one is replacing the soil with something better draining- overly dense potting soil, especially if it has a lot of wood bits in it, is a gnat farm. Miracle gro brand is especially infamous for this.
Step two is bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (mosquito dunks, gnatrol), a soil bacteria toxic to some insect larvae but harmless to humans and pets. It’s a biological control so it isn’t as fast as a chemical pesticide, but it won’t harm the plant at all and is the easiest way I’ve found to get rid of them.
Pilea_Paloola
You need to go nuclear. Scrape the first couple inches of soil and replace. Get some diatomaceous earth. It’s ground up silica so be careful of dust. It works best with dry soil. Then when time to water, bomb the soil with 4 parts water, 1 part hydrogen peroxide. It kills the larvae. Start watering with a mosquito dunk tea. If you still have issues, call in the calvary of “beneficial nematodes”.
dmi123456
Alternatively, try neem oil. This meant I got my problem under control, but it was also significantly less.
My tip would be to replace the soil and then get the stragglers under control with neem oil.
Since then I no longer use soil but Seramis, so it works quite well for me.
Beautiful-Big-3435
repot her and toss that soil you could also water with hydrogen peroxide or add mosquito bits to soil (:
OnionPlease
water with nematodes they love that shit
scott_codie
Put diatomaceous earth on it and let it dry out. Always treat fungal gnats early!
Salthy_sophy
You can buy something in the store (do not remember the name). Put it in the shower en spray it on. Leave it for 12 hours and the shower the plant. Take it out and repot it. And then spray it in the shower again. Leave it in another room where there is no other plants and see if it is saved🙏
tecneeq
This is a case for either nematodes or repotting. If you repot, make sure you wash the roots clean properly.
Artistic_Western_623
I once discovered a fern that looked exactly like this. It sucks.
The easiest thing to do is:
Put it outside if the weather is suitable.
Give it a good soak with nematodes. You can also use BTI in the same water.
Place sticky traps face down all around the soil.
Don’t water again until fully dry, and keep using BTI water.
Well the easiest thing to do is ditch the plant, but the above will do the job.
Get a vacuum, set it to low/medium and suck all the flying gnats! That’s what I do when there are alot flying the pots around! You can blow at the soil to get the ones close to the surface to fly/move around.
Mom_baMentality
What kind of plant? 👀
No_Yogurtcloset_8029
I fucking hate them with a passion. I’ve found neem meal on the soil to be effective. Although it doubles as a fertiliser so may not be good for low feed house plants. Nematodes also work very well but it takes time. I also personally love the sun dew (think that’s what it’s called?) Carnivorous plant, very effective for catching those little flys. Place one beside it and watch the carnage ensue.
plaantgirl
do it! ain’t no shame in starting over with a new plant hahaha
idyemyeyebrowsblack_
Instead of throwing it away why not throw away all the soil and rinse the roots really good?
Giosauce
Get a carnivorous plant 🙂
paolobarbados
Fungus gnats, right?
I was in your position about a year and a half ago, and naïvely underestimated those beasts.
From one plant, they spread over the entire house and I still haven’t gotten rid of them to this day.
The stem looks like it could survive just in water for a while, so you might be able to save the plant.
minebe
Propagate the plant and throw out the soil could be a nice compromise if you don’t want to try it extermination
CalliopeCelt
guineapigoverlord69
Mosquito Bits are a miracle worker
thumpetto007
Ok, so fungus gnats are mild nuisance pests. They dont spread diseases, only their larvae does very mild and usually unnoticeable damage to very young weak plants. Unless you are a plant nursery doing delicate science with baby plants, fungus gnats are just a visual nuisance.
What OP posted is a very mild infestation. Just leave them alone, water properly and their population will stabilize (lets pretend the pop. is exploding which doesnt look like it)
What i mentioned damage wise is mostly a technicality. Just pretend they arent even there, and you eliminate the problem you have fabricated in your head.
MikeCheck_CE
Fungus gnats eat fungus in overwatered plants.
Your pot size looks huge for the size of the plant, it’s remaining wet for too long you need more wet/dry cycling happening to kill the fungus.
Repot in fresh soil, make sure that it can drain excess water somewhere freely.
Valuable-Ruin-2652
Perhaps entertaining diatomaceous earth powder sprinkled on top of the soil after you change it may help too.
atypicalperception
Im a firm believer in what I like to call “Planty Hose.” Cover that sucker with panty hose and kill them off. It’s a longer game though.
25 Comments
It might not be that obvious on the video but there are literally hundreds of little fungus gnats on top of the soil
Oh boy that’s a lot of gnats. For an infestation this bad step one is replacing the soil with something better draining- overly dense potting soil, especially if it has a lot of wood bits in it, is a gnat farm. Miracle gro brand is especially infamous for this.
Step two is bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (mosquito dunks, gnatrol), a soil bacteria toxic to some insect larvae but harmless to humans and pets. It’s a biological control so it isn’t as fast as a chemical pesticide, but it won’t harm the plant at all and is the easiest way I’ve found to get rid of them.
You need to go nuclear. Scrape the first couple inches of soil and replace. Get some diatomaceous earth. It’s ground up silica so be careful of dust. It works best with dry soil. Then when time to water, bomb the soil with 4 parts water, 1 part hydrogen peroxide. It kills the larvae. Start watering with a mosquito dunk tea. If you still have issues, call in the calvary of “beneficial nematodes”.
Alternatively, try neem oil. This meant I got my problem under control, but it was also significantly less.
My tip would be to replace the soil and then get the stragglers under control with neem oil.
Since then I no longer use soil but Seramis, so it works quite well for me.
repot her and toss that soil you could also water with hydrogen peroxide or add mosquito bits to soil (:
water with nematodes they love that shit
Put diatomaceous earth on it and let it dry out. Always treat fungal gnats early!
You can buy something in the store (do not remember the name). Put it in the shower en spray it on. Leave it for 12 hours and the shower the plant. Take it out and repot it. And then spray it in the shower again. Leave it in another room where there is no other plants and see if it is saved🙏
This is a case for either nematodes or repotting. If you repot, make sure you wash the roots clean properly.
I once discovered a fern that looked exactly like this. It sucks.
The easiest thing to do is:
Put it outside if the weather is suitable.
Give it a good soak with nematodes. You can also use BTI in the same water.
Place sticky traps face down all around the soil.
Don’t water again until fully dry, and keep using BTI water.
Well the easiest thing to do is ditch the plant, but the above will do the job.
https://preview.redd.it/zg0983m3gxkf1.png?width=341&format=png&auto=webp&s=124abd37c0b133a6021221ea3a3cda4790fdfedd
Get a vacuum, set it to low/medium and suck all the flying gnats! That’s what I do when there are alot flying the pots around! You can blow at the soil to get the ones close to the surface to fly/move around.
What kind of plant? 👀
I fucking hate them with a passion. I’ve found neem meal on the soil to be effective. Although it doubles as a fertiliser so may not be good for low feed house plants. Nematodes also work very well but it takes time. I also personally love the sun dew (think that’s what it’s called?) Carnivorous plant, very effective for catching those little flys. Place one beside it and watch the carnage ensue.
do it! ain’t no shame in starting over with a new plant hahaha
Instead of throwing it away why not throw away all the soil and rinse the roots really good?
Get a carnivorous plant 🙂
Fungus gnats, right?
I was in your position about a year and a half ago, and naïvely underestimated those beasts.
From one plant, they spread over the entire house and I still haven’t gotten rid of them to this day.
The stem looks like it could survive just in water for a while, so you might be able to save the plant.
Propagate the plant and throw out the soil could be a nice compromise if you don’t want to try it extermination
Mosquito Bits are a miracle worker
Ok, so fungus gnats are mild nuisance pests. They dont spread diseases, only their larvae does very mild and usually unnoticeable damage to very young weak plants. Unless you are a plant nursery doing delicate science with baby plants, fungus gnats are just a visual nuisance.
What OP posted is a very mild infestation. Just leave them alone, water properly and their population will stabilize (lets pretend the pop. is exploding which doesnt look like it)
What i mentioned damage wise is mostly a technicality. Just pretend they arent even there, and you eliminate the problem you have fabricated in your head.
Fungus gnats eat fungus in overwatered plants.
Your pot size looks huge for the size of the plant, it’s remaining wet for too long you need more wet/dry cycling happening to kill the fungus.
Repot in fresh soil, make sure that it can drain excess water somewhere freely.
Perhaps entertaining diatomaceous earth powder sprinkled on top of the soil after you change it may help too.
Im a firm believer in what I like to call “Planty Hose.” Cover that sucker with panty hose and kill them off. It’s a longer game though.