Fungus Gnats

[dejayou30]

I have a fungus gnat infestation starting. I need to end it ASAP. I've searched for Bacillus Thuringiensis Var. Israelensis and products that contain it and haven't found much. Can anyone hook me up with some experience here? What product should I use and where can I get it? My hydro store is pretty small so I don't know if they would carry it or not.

Also I am using a No Pest Strip currently.

[gainesvillegreen]

My buddy had the same problem in a DWC reservoir. He used hydrogen peroxide dosing with sticky traps to get tid of a large problem in about a week and a half.

[PharmaCan]

Another problem most likely related to your tub not draining all the way... You need to do something about that for your next go-round.

You might want to get some of those yellow sticky traps from Lowe's or Home dePot. They won't cure your problem, but they sure nab a lot of gnats.

PC :smokin:

[dejayou30]

Yeah, my plan is to drill several holes in the bottom of the 1/4" exposed nozzle so the bins will drain all the way when I take everything apart to clean before final flush in 3 days. Until then, I don't want these things getting out of hand. I read that they stick to buds like fly paper, so I'll have to get some real fly paper tomorrow to give them a better option to stick to. In the mean time, I'll continue with the H2O2. Thanks guys.

[Mr. Clandestine]

The adult gnats are clumsy fliers, and will usually land on foliage pretty quickly after being disturbed. They're easy to catch, so mash those little bastards when you see them. It won't go a long way towards eradicating the infestation, but it'll make you feel a lot better about the whole issue!

[hybridlove420]

You might want to get some of those yellow sticky traps from Lowe's or Home dePot. They won't cure your problem, but they sure nab a lot of gnats.

PC :smokin:

i went to homedepot the weekend, and the woman had sticky traps, but told me to get some green earth spray stuff instead. was that a better choice?

[BobBong]

Larvicide - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larvicide)

Check your local hydro shop for VectoBac. Make sure it's stored in a cooler place.. preferably dark.

It's a live bacteria... keep it in a cool dark place..

Generally the bottle doesn't come with proper applications for a Hydro or soil setup as it's used more for agriculture in controlling mosquito and black fly populations.

5-8 mL per Litre of H2o Apply once a week until infestation is gone. This shouldn't take more than 2 or 3 applications...

It's a naturally occurring larvicide... It's damn thick consistance and may make a grower question whether they should be putting something so thick into their Res. But it's a sure fire way to rid yourself of any soil based bug.

Hope this helps.
Bob.

[stinkyattic]

If there's a way to prop up the end of your catch-tray and tilt it so that it drains fully, without cracking the tray, do it. And if you can get in there and manually run a fishtank cleaning brush around the crevices to dislodge any eggs or larvae, that would be a good idea too. You might have to support the underside with a sheet of plywood if it is not strong enough, but most commercial plastic should be.

[Weedhound]

I'm just seeing these little bastards myself.....what about bug spray on the soil or I just read something by Zandor about neem oil mixed with water into your soil. My seedling is only a week old.....are either one of those safe to do and/or would they work?

[stinkyattic]

I would really hold off on soil drenches of any sort until the seedling is into its veg stage and not so vulnerable to stressors.
Fungus gnats are luckily not one of the more damaging pests that you will find in your garden- an annoyance for sure, and a vector for disease, but not as damaging directly as mites or thrips.
They like it wet, and depend upon standing water or sodden soil (mud) to breed, so eliminating these from your grow area is the place to start treating them. This includes any trays underneath pots- lift and clean these regularly. Scrub them down with a stiff brush to get caked dirt off, and then spray with foaming bathroom cleanser, allow to sit ~15 minutes, and rinse before returning to the grow area.
Gnat infestation comes with poor attention to growroom cleanliness or leaks... no standing water! No mud! No buckets of used dirt in the corner just sitting there waiting for bugs! It's like a neon sign outside a cheap motel off the Strip that says 'hourly rates! king size beds!'

[Weedhound]

Thanks Stinky.....I mean Brittanica....:)

[stinkyattic]

Anytime Weedhound! :D
What's the significance of the new sig?

[Weedhound]

I just think it's a great and true statement.....read it on another post you had written in so did my deed......STOLE IT!!! :D

[stinkyattic]

Ahh! I see, said the blind carpenter as he picked up his hammer and saw!

[Weedhound]

Yes I believe that's the guy I used to fix my roofing.....:D

Glad to "see" your name again....know you've been around but its good to see the "evidence." :)

[stinkyattic]

Glad to "see" your name again....know you've been around but its good to see the "evidence." Awwwwww man. OUCH. The dozens of troubleshooting posts aren't enough 'evidence'? :( So sad!

[dejayou30]

So I decided to start flushing tonight, 11 days before 8 full weeks. I cleaned all the bins and tubing and drilled some holes in the nozzle so the bins now drain pretty much completely, but there is a small rim of water around the inside of the bins. I couldn't find a mosquito dip and didn't have time to run across town to the hydro store, so I added some H2O2 to try and curb it. I also have a sticky trap hanging by the majorly affected bin, so hopefully it will take care of them.

This harvest is going to be exponentially better than my first grow. First grow I harvested 2 plants and yielded a whopping 42.7 grams, and this time I have 8 plants that made it so far, although three of them are pretty bad looking. Hopefully the third time will be the charm now that my bins drain completely and I won't have to make any more threads in the Plant Problems section. Thanks for the help everyone!

[PharmaCan]

...I won't have to make any more threads in the Plant Problems section.

:S2:

Yeah, right. :thumbsup:

PC :smokin:

[Weedhound]

I'd have been happier if we could have slapped the problem down the second it reared its ugly head. :wtf:

Deja, do me a favor when you do harvest....take apart the netpots and check everything inside...is there crud, old roots and fert buildup? Compare it to the roots of the plants that look pretty good when you finally do take everything apart if you could.
If you are REALLY feeling kindly some photos would be heaven.

When you start to flush you might add 2ml/gallon of your 35% H202 (according to the bottle you should add it to the water, let the mixture sit for 20 min, then add nutes, etc...) and really try to help flush some of the old and sludgy stuff along and out of the system.

[dejayou30]

Yeah I added H202 and I took the entire system apart and cleaned EVERYTHING so there was no more sludge, so its relatively clean in there now. Of course there was still a little bit of who knows what on the roots but I have been fishing that out of the main res with my fish tank skimmer.