Natural Methods For Getting Rid Of Gnats In The Kitchen
For those looking for natural alternatives on how to get rid of gnats in kitchen spaces, use the following methods:
Apple Cider Vinegar and Water Solution:
Wine:
Neem Oil:
Diatomaceous Earth Powder
Traps:
Make An Apple Cider Vinegar Trap
To make an apple cider vinegar trap, fill a small, shallow container with an equal amount of water and apple cider vinegar. The liquid should be at least ¼ of an inch deep. Stir in a few drops of liquid dish soap and place the trap near the base of the affected plant or on top of the soil.
You will need to refresh these traps every few days as they attract and kill the adult fungus gnats. These traps work as the gnats are attracted to the smell of the vinegar and the soap prevents the insects from landing safely on the surface, instead, the bugs are pulled in and drowned.
Apply Organic Pest Control Products
Pour or spray an organic insecticidal soap or a neem oil mixture into the top of the soil to kill gnats in potted plants.
I make my own insecticidal soap by mixing using 1 tsp mild liquid soap to one liter of water.
Neem oil works great to kill houseplant pests, and has a residual effect that helps with prevention. You can buy neem oil here.
These natural gnat pesticide treatments should be effective after a few applications, just take care not to overwater your plants.
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What Are Fungus Gnats And How Do They Get In The House
Fungus gnats, also known as soil gnats, are small dark insects that look similar to fruit flies and live in the soil of houseplants. When you have them, you will notice them when you water your plants or disturb the soil in other ways.
One way to get fungus gnats is to leave your houseplants outside. Most often, though, they come straight from the nursery. You dont realize it because they hide in the soil until you bring them home unknowingly.
Their larvae eat plant roots and fungi in the soil. Then they suddenly appear in houseplants after the larvae hatch.
Hydrogen Peroxide Spray To Control Flying Fungus Gnats
Adult fungus gnats may be observed flying around the plant after the initial treatment. They will need to be disposed of before they can lay more eggs in the growing medium.
Step 1: Mix one part of hydrogen peroxide and four parts of water in a spray bottle.
Step 2: Lightly spray the plant leaves and stems where the adult fungus gnats are visible.
Step 3: Repeat as needed until the adults are no longer visible.
TIP: Hold a newspaper or similar item on the opposite side of the plant while applying the spray treatment to prevent it from landing on furniture or flooring.
In addition to this treatment, you can put Fungus Gnat traps near the base of the plant to trap the flying adult fungus gnats.
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What To Do When Fungus Gnats Start Attacking Your Plant
While theyre harmless, fungus gnats can be indicative of a more serious problem. The number-one culprit behind fungus gnats is drumroll please overwatering! True to their name, fungus gnats often feed on fungus in the soil that can grow from overwatering and root rot. When you see them hovering around a specific plant, this may be a sign that you need to cut back on watering that plant.
Step 1: Isolate the affected plant from the rest of your collection to prevent the gnats from laying eggs elsewhere.
Step 2: Repot the affected plant into fresh soil, removing as much of the infected potting mix as possible. Replace it with a sterile, soilless mix if you can organic amendments often attract these flying bugs.
Step 3: When you water your plants, use a method such as bottom watering to ensure you never let your plant sit in water.
What Do Fungus Gnats Look Like
Fungus gnats are so small you may not even notice they are present unless they swarm. Because of their tiny size, they are sometimes confused with fruit flies. Heres how to identify fungus gnats:
- Adult gnats are about 1/8″ long
- Grayish to black in color
- Long legs, antennae, and one pair of wings
- Larvae are each 1/4-inch long with a whitish or transparent body and shiny black head
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Getting Rid Of Fruit Flies#
The first thing to do is figure out where the fruit flies are coming from, and eliminate their food source. Be sure to check the garbage, disposal, pantry, or any other place where there may be food for them.
Once you remove their main sources of food, the best way to get rid of fruit flies is to trap them. I recommend using my DIY fruit fly trap to capture and kill them quickly .
In the future, try putting your fruit in the fridge rather than on the counter. Also, be sure to empty your garbage often to help prevent them from coming back.
Natural Pest Fungus Gnat Control With Hypoaspis Miles
Predatory mites, like hypoaspis miles and hypoaspis mites, feed on small, insects that inhabit moist soil, primarily the fungus gnat larvae. If you are into organic gardening, you can release the hyposaspis miles into the soil of your plants before the fungus gnats become well-established.
The mites, like the nematodes, will feed on the fungus gnat larvae, eliminating the problem before you even see an adult fungus gnat take to the skies.
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When Are You Most Likely To Find Fungus Gnats
Nuisance problems with fungus gnat adults tend to be most noticeable during late fall and winter, for a couple of reasons:
What Causes Fungus Gnats
Fungus gnats tend to remain near their source of foodthe organic matter and fungus in the soil. The adults lay their eggs in the soil, and the emerging larvae feed on the soil’s organic material and the plant’s root hairs. The larvae are 1/4 inch-long, translucent white or gray worms with shiny black heads. They may go unnoticed at this stage unless you have a crop of them then, you could see slime trails similar to those of snails and slugs.
Since the larvae do the bulk of the damage, it helps to be aware of the fungus gnat’s life cycle. The tiny eggs can hatch into larvae in a warm house in only three days. They remain in the larval stage for another 10 days before developing into pupae. Approximately four days later, the adults emerge and start the cycle again. They can produce a new generation of fungus gnats in less than three weeks, so catch them early to make it easier to eliminate them.
The Spruce / Phoebe Cheong
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The Venus flytraps were simply not up to the task. At one point there was a fungus gnat corpse in every single one of their sticky little mouths. Theyre so overworked and exhausted that they cant even close their tiny teeth anymore. The dead bugs have to wait their turn to be consumed. At the height of the issue, I estimate that I would have needed a carnivorous plant on par with Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors to adequately address this. I did get to watch the flytraps bloom, though.
Jones, the beekeeper, recommended I try cinnamon or cedar shavings on the soil. She said the gnats dont like those scents, so they act as a deterrent. It did not seem that many were deterred.
The Katchy is a device with a little light that attracts gnats and mosquitoes and a window vortex that sucks them down onto a big sticker. It has captured a satisfying number of victims but does not fully address the problem.
Mosquito bits are little pellets that contain a bacteria thats toxic to fungus gnat and mosquito larvae. You scatter them on top of your soil or let them sit in your full watering can for a few hours or overnight to marinate. I tried both with limited results.
Life Cycle Of Fungus Gnat
Fungus gnat life cycle has four stages -egg, larvae, pupa, and adult. The majority of its life is spent in the larvae and pupa stages. In 17 days, the eggs are laid in the growing medium, and the adults emerge ready to lay more eggs. Fungus gnats can reproduce multiple times throughout the course of one year. The vast number of these destructive garden pests produce and reproduce if left uncontrolled. Their innumerable and destructive capabilities to plants are irreparable.
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How To Get Rid Of Fungus Gnats A Common Houseplant Pest
If youve been spending more time at home lately because of the coronavirus pandemic, you may have noticed some unwelcome houseguests hanging aroundtiny black insects that hover around your houseplants. Those, dear friend, are fungus gnats.
But what exactly are fungus gnats, and how do you get rid of them? Whether you have a full-blown infestation or just a few houseplant pests, heres everything you need to know.
Can Fungus Gnats Cause Damage
Adult fungus gnats dont bite or feed, so they arent a threat to people or plants. However, they can become an annoyance if they arent controlled and are left to reproduce in large numbers. The larvae of fungus gnats pose a small threat to young plants. Larvae feed on organic matter in the soil and will sometimes feed on the roots of indoor plants. Seedlings and other less-established houseplants are most at risk for damage since their roots are delicate.
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How To Identify A Fungus Gnat
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Size: Adult fungus gnats are tiny. Their size ranges from about 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch in length , which is about the same size as a fruit fly. Fungus gnat larvae may be up to 1/8 of an inch in length.
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Appearance: Adult fungus gnats are a grayish-black color and have gray or see-through wings. Their long legs and long antennae give them a mosquito-like appearance, though they are much, much smaller in size. Compared to a fruit fly, fungus gnats have a thinner body with longer legs and antennae.Larvae have a small, black head and a thin, white or see-through body.
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Activity: Fungus gnats tend to spend most of their time on the soil surface of potted plants, but they may be seen flying around the outer edge of the pot or near drainage holes as well. They are not strong fliers, so they have a tendency to walk along the soil and fly only in short bursts. Their flight is erratic and they are much slower than fruit flies, acting more like mosquitoes while flying.Annoyingly, fungus gnats have a tendency to fly into peoples faces and drinks, though they are completely harmless and a few well-placed swats will show them whats what.
How To Identify Fungus Gnat Damage
Houseplants growing in soil infested with fungus gnat larvae can exhibit a range of symptoms, from wilting or yellowing foliage to stunted growth. Because fungus gnats dont feed directly on a plants leaves, these symptoms are sometimes attributed to other factors, such as over or underwatering, instead of root damage caused by undetected fungus gnat larvae. Both the larvae and adult fungus gnats can also spread plant pathogens that cause damping off, a soil-borne fungal disease that will quickly kill seedlings and fragile, young plants.
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Essential Oils To Kill Fungus Gnats
Essential oils have long been used to repeal all kinds of insects, including fungus gnats effectively. At the first sign of a gnat infestation, you can add one of the essential oils that has proven to be effective against fungus gnats to your diffuser.
If you want to keep them away while you are outside working in your garden, you can apply a small amount of the recommended essential oils to your skin. Before you do this, however, make sure that you test for allergies by using a small amount to your forearm or wrist.
How To Get Rid Of Fungus Gnats
This article was co-authored by Lauren Kurtz. Lauren Kurtz is a Naturalist and Horticultural Specialist. Lauren has worked for Aurora, Colorado managing the Water-Wise Garden at Aurora Municipal Center for the Water Conservation Department. She earned a BA in Environmental and Sustainability Studies from Western Michigan University in 2014. This article has been viewed 40,269 times.
Fungus gnats are an annoying pest that thrive in damp conditions. If your potted plants or garden beds are infested with small black flies, you may be facing this problem. Keeping soil dry is the number one way to get rid of fungus gnats. If the problem is severe, you can also use a variety of traps, insecticides, and other controls to reduce the gnats. Be persistent, and you can soon be rid of this pest.
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What Does Fungus Gnat Damage Look Like
The most common plant damage caused by gnats includes:
- Yellow or prematurely dropping leaves
- Slow plant growth
When the number of gnats is small, they are simply an annoyance, not causing any harm to plants. Once there is an infestation, the plant roots serve as a source of food for the larvae, leaving severe damage behind. The damage is much worse for seedlings due to the delicacy of the roots. A fungus gnat can also spread plant pathogens eventually causing the seedlings and plants to die.
The damage looks a lot like typical root issues including root rot. The lower leaves often turn yellow, before falling off prematurely. The growth of the plant will either slow or completely stop. If there is a major infestation, the entire plant will wilt, then start to die due to the excessive damage to the roots.
Christopher Elliott
- Remove and discard the surface layer of the soil
- Target pests in the immature stages as opposed to adults
As persistent as fungus gnats can be, we have had tremendous success in wiping them out completely. An application of Trifecta Crop Control at 2oz per gallon to the top 3/8 of soil is recommended and found to be effective. Apply by spraying, making sure the top 3/8 of growing medium is saturated. .
Controlling mobile adults during their short life cycle is much more difficult. The best way to eliminate issues with gnats is through the consistent decrease of organic debris and moisture.
Chamomile Tea & Cinnamon
Chamomile and cinnamon are powerful natural fungicides, which kill off the gnats primary food source, therefore making the soil inhospitable.
Method
Brew a litre of strong chamomile tea with boiling water, allow it to cool and mix the tea with 4 parts water. Use tea mix to water plants as usual.
Sprinkle cinnamon all over the surface of the soil for a fungicidal double whammy.
Repeat for 3 weeks, or until gnats are gone
Did It Work?
Within days the chamomile/cinnamon dousing had dramatically reduced the gnat populations, however, over the next few weeks it couldnt quite kill off the remaining population.
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Slices Of Fresh Potato
Dont have any apple cider vinegar handy? A fresh potato from your pantry will actually help trap the larvae before they turn into buzzing adults. Insert a couple of 1/4-inch slices or wedges of potato, flesh side down, into the soil. Within a few days, larvae will make their way to the potato and start feeding. Every couple of days, check under the wedges and remove any feeding larvae. Then replace the potato with fresh slices or wedges.
