HALF WAY THROUGH THE WINTER....DUH

I got lucky this year....knock on wood. Only a few of my hold over and late fall rooted cuttings have bitten the dust. There is a war on Fungus Gnats here but we are looking like winners. Pesky little critters they are. I've tried half a dozen approaches to get those gnats on the run. Nothing yet works as well as I would like the kill to work. A new product has just been introduced by Gardens Alive for the Fungus Gnat war. Looks and reads like good. I have it on the way to work with. Only then and only if it is really a good answer will I introduce it here. My best killer yet is one of those critters between my two hands. I'm getting downright good at their demise while computing and reading. My eye hand coordination is improving and they are going down.....one by one. Clap......there goes another one. LOL

How goes it with your winter holds and late fall cuttings?

Clap... clap.. clap...

Applauding your hunting skills, Doc!

I just got back into town and have been pre-occupied with the pepper seed co-op orders. I need to start some seeds for things that take a while (like begonias), asap!

Hi Doc, things are going well here. Had to wage war on some spider mites going after my Tri-color OSPV cuttings, lost 3 of my 6 cuttings. I think I got those little devils under control now.
Coleus cuttings doing well and also the house plants that I brought in for the winter.
Good luck with the Fungus Gnats, slap them good!
When you clap......clap.....clap.... do your lights go on and off too LOL
Chris

Yeah, it feels and looks like midwinter for us sorta near the Bay in MD. Cold this week and no snow, just lots of dull grass, bare trees, gardens full of remnants.
I am battling spider mites I bought Neem concentrate at Lowes and made 'tapla's spray. (recipe in my DG diary)
The gnats come to my computer screen at night, too. I probably shouldn't squish them ON the screen, huh? One of my cats comes to the computer late at night too, if I'm on it. I need to get a see-through cat. He won't just sit in my lap and get petted- has to walk or sit in front of me or rub on my hands or book.

Ha, I found a Stink Bug yesterday. This is the second time I've found one, last time was back in Nov. Nasty bugs! Got to wonder where they come from as he was on my OSP in a group of routing's (water only no dirt in sight) and this group isn't very close to my other plants.

I have no problem killing flying insects. It is their eggs and larva that I am not knocking out with any degree of success. I have tried several commercial horticulture oil base products and a couple of combinations including the use of hydrogen peroxide alone and in combinations. Those little buggers just seem to somehow be better than all the suggestions or ideas I have had. My new product coming from Gardens Alive has promise that may work. We shall see.

I am aware that Merit properly used would likely clean them up.....but then it might clean me up in the process too. How could I use such a product in the house when it has a strict warning to keep employees out of the patch and up wind fifty miles for twenty four hours. LOL I lied about the up wind thing put that does apply to man too with perhaps a few hundred yards being enough distance. Oh yes.....you need a very expensive mask and chemical suit to apply or bathe and wash clothes immediately after use. That Merit is wonderful stuff......don't you think.
Then when it leaches out it is still in the house. Nothing biodegradable in this product.

Doc, I know you've got a new product coming, but if you've got Murphy's Oil Soap in the house, try a drench with 1 capful per gallon of water. I've heard Lysol cleaner works too, but haven't tried it.

doc, hope that works, Method #7 is to make a fresh cup of coffee because every time you do, doesn't a gnat land in it??ha

Hope you enjoy or sympathize with this. Brought home my $11 bottle of neem. Open the safety lid. Theres a liner or something, looked like it might have tiny holes in it. So I thought it did, and tried to carefully pour out my teaspooon, or similar very small amount for a spray bottle of mix. First nothing, then a giant GLOP on the kitchen counter. And some heavy warnings on that too. What do I know?? In one fell swoop, wasted about $2 of stuff and poisoned my kitchen. I wiped it up washed my hands five times, washed the sprayer, washed the neem bottle..Dang stuff bettter work, is all I gotta say after that!

so doc, wise guy smart man that you are, how bad is neem for people?

Well, I hope that Neem isn't too bad. As I pretty much drenched myself and the floor putting it on my plants before I moved them up stairs. Then I scrubbed up the floor really well and after that a shower for myself. It's so hard to say with all these insecticides, the bottle has quite a bit of warnings. I did do some research and saw that Neem is used on people and pets for head lice and fleas. So that made me feel a little safer.

Neem Oil is of little concern with normal clean ups and hand washing. I expect there would be someone that reacts to anything. I know of no one who has had difficulty using Neem Oil including some pretty careless characters. LOL

On the subject of insecticidal soaps......they are oils and Murphys Soap are good. The Fungus Gnats came to lunch where and when I used Murphys Soap. I also tried it with Neem Oil. Got them in the air with both products. As stated eggs and larva did not seem to be controlled very well with anything I have tried to date. I have not and will not use the harsh chemical approach.

I have a couple of those yellow, sticky cards hanging near my plants. One of them is covered with gnats...
I don't seem to have too much an issue with these gnats--maybe because I am negligent in watering my plants, and most of them are always on the dry side.

Never tried this myself--but years ago a woman, who worked for one of those companies that take care of plants in offices and lobbies, told me that watering the plants with 1Tbs. of clear Ammonia in a gallon of water kills them. Maybe, they just don't want to go back into the soil???? I do not know if this method has any merit. Can't hurt to try........

I see them on my monitor also--but am afraid to whack them--as I have a flat-screen. Might damage the screen.....

Gita

Ahh the dreaded fungus knats and spider mites..."if it ain't one it's the other" Really dislike both of em!!!! I really like the mosquito dunks...they're not great if you have a huge problem but seem to, if used from the beginning to keep things at least manageable. Having brought the Brugs in (1st w/them) I've been battling the spider mites...UGH!! Finally mixed a "witches brew" of: neem oil, Murphy's Soap oil, epsom salts, tea tree oil. and peroxide...happy to say I didn't kill anything and the mites seem to be gone from the area treated.

My Neem oil say you can water the plants with the same mixture you spray them with. My mixture is pretty much a touch of liquid soap, neem and water.

Yay- I won't die from neem oil.
tapla's spray is neem, water, alcohol (for knock down)and Murphy's ( to emulsify I believe)

Chilly gray day today. Colder tomorrow. May get white precip tomorow around here n PM.