Infestation

[ganjapedia]

I'm about a month into my very first grow (PC Case Grow) and I've got a bug problem. It started out with just a few of these guys for the first couple of weeks, now they number in the hundreds. They don't seem to be harming the plants and live mostly in the soil. I've sprayed the plants and soil with a soap solution, but the bugs just laughed at me. Then I put a dish of soapy water in the box that drowns about 30-40 per day, but it won't get rid of all of them. I've thought of using a sticky strip, but these little bastards don't do a whole lot of flying.

What are they?
Are they harmful?
How do I get rid of them without hurting my plants?

[Hempfester]

Those are fungus gnats. I got those fuckers too. They came with some bagged soil I bought last year and won't leave. I think it was a bag of Shultz, but I might be mistaken....It came from Canadian Tire anyway.

They don't seem to harm plants, but I still don't like them living in there.

I bought some sticky traps and that seems to have them under control but they won't be gone completely.

These are bright yellow sticky strips that you are supposed to attach to these plastic sticks that come in the package. You put the little stick with the sticky strip at the base of your plants.

But I instead cut the strips into smaller pieces to spread them out more and just lay it on the soil in the pot. On these strips, only 1 side is sticky.

I also put a few pieces on the floor beside the pots to catch the little fuckers running around on the ground.

Don't step on one...it's really gross getting the gummy dead bugs off your foot.

[dejayou30]

Those look different than any fungus gnat I've seen, but if they are, they will eat your roots and cause them to rot. You can get mosquito dunks for like $5 at Lowe's or any garden store. I think even if you are in soil, if you get the dunk wet it will still eat the gnat eggs. You have to break the life cycle or you will be plagued with them forever. You could also try No Pest Strips, but I am not sure if they are a reliable method of treating fungus gnat infestations.