How to get rid of gnats?

I have 7 houseplant containers, all containing potting mix covered with forest moss to keep the soil wet.

Question: Is there any safe way to prevent knats from living/hatching in the plants? Is it simply the forest moss on top the potting mix that is allowing them to exist?

Thanks!

I don't know how to prevent gnats, but to catch them and other irritating bugs you can use a yellow sticky card.
This is just a piece of yellow cardboard or plastic coated with a sticky glue. I like using them because there's no toxins involved, and they're very efficient.

Mosquito pellets or other product that have BT in it will help get rid of gnats. It takes a few days & has to be reapplied about every 90 days or so. Gnatrol or Bayer Advanced Garden Power Force Mosquito Killer~ granules is what I use on my African Violets & other houseplants.

First, you can start by letting the top soil dry out just a bit & stir up the first layer of soil .
2nd, If you can safely spray a "flying insect" killer in the air that will take care of the adults the granules will take care of the larva in the soil.
Of course, NEVER spray it if you have pets birds & remove other pets to a safe area for a hour or so.

You can always take the plant outside in the shade to spray it too.

Enjoy,
MsC

Thanks!!!

I would also doublecheck the moisture level of your plants and make sure you're not overwatering--if these are fungus gnats, I usually only see them around when the soil's too wet and things are starting to rot.

Awww come on, lizards need to eat too...

pheitmeyer,
You are so welcomed! I hate those pesky lil things too!


LOL, podster... they can catch their bugs outside.:)

I did have a nice lizard living on my AV shelf last summer ....until the cat found him. No more lizard! No more AV either..:(

MsC

I have been using ScanMask for two years now. I really love it. If I should see any gnats I put a tsp. of ScanMask on top of the soil water it in, and it is a natural biological insecticide, beneficial nemetodes to control insects, scanmask hunts for pest as no other chemical can. Kills the larvae eggs in the soil. Safe to use around people, pets & plants. Then I use a yellow sticky card to catch the ones that have already hatched.

When I put all my plants in the greenhouse for the winter I give each one a treatment. They say it will be active in the soil for up to 2 years, but they recommend a yearly application.

Ecrane3: Thx. The soil is moist but not overly so. It's pretty dry here, and I make my containers have good drainage (drilling more holes if needed).

2pugdogs: ScanMask. cool. where did you buy?

Here is the web site for the ScanMask.

http://www.planetnatural.com/site/beneficial-nematodes.html

thx 2pugdogs!

I combined a few ideas and seems to be working.

1. Ordered Beneficial Nematodes (scanmask type) to put into water. This will arrive this week.
2. Took plants into garage
3. Removed forest moss
4. Sprayed forest moss with bug spray
5. Sprayed top of dirt with bug spray
6. Let soil dry
7. Brought back into house

So far so good. Thx again! I'll update after watering with the scanmask.

What about using Diatomaceous Earth? It is composed primarily of silica and consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. The gnats eat it and it rips their bodies to shreads. Just remove the moss and sprinkle the DE all over the top of the soil. You can probably even put the moss back. I have used it many times to get rid of those pesky fungus gnats.

Jesse

Update: Used the scanmask in the dirt and has helped immensely! My pool filter uses DE so I have a ton of it. I will add some into the dirt as well!

Thanks 2pugdogs. I love this site. I bought a lot of good stuff from there today. I am still trying to get the hang of my new found love for gardening. I went to local nursery before I logged on and bought some Shulz houseplant killer. They laughed at me at the “plant doctor” room. They said I was over watering. I think it was the fountain mister. I have tropicals and a friend suggested it. He says his plants love the mist. He forgot to say how soothing the lights and mist are. I fell asleep with darn thing on. Woke and found a gnat floating in the water. They were also all over my gardenias. My luck!! Maybe my friends are right. I am over doing it with the care of the plants.

Anyway thanks again for posting the link.

I just thought I would let you all know that I just ordered ScanMask and for some reason they are giving free shipping on this product. When I tried to order another product, I was going to have to pay for shipping. So I guess it is on ScanMask only but I thought that was a great deal. Make sure you get it from www.planetnatural.com

Jesse

That's were I got my ScanMask also.

Since it doesn't dissolve well I made a solution of ScanMask using an emulsion blender and cool water, strained out the few big chunks of some kind of organic, then mixed in DE. Then I shook it, and added it the the plant water, then watered all 7 of them. Then I put the fly paper next to each pot to kill the live knats. So far so good.

I just sprinkle the scanmask on top of the soil and water it in. I never dissolve the scanmask in the water first. This works excellent.

Get some "mosquito dunks" and put about a quarter of one in your watering can. I contains BT which kills the Gnat larva in the soil. That and sticky card is what I use, I have a bad cas this year...

Tom

I had a water glass with some Thunder Blast in it (about 1"). I got up the next morning and it was filled with little black gnats. I had a WOW! moment. (I think Thunder Blast is the name of the cleaner. It comes in a spray bottle.)