Monstera: Houseplant Expert Details How To Remove Pests
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
Fungus gnats can be identified as small flies that live in the soil of your indoor plant and fly around your houseplant. The unfortunate nature is these tiny insects feed on plants outside in gardens so finding plants inside our homes will attract them. The type of pests you have can depend on the houseplant you grow. However, the good news is you can get rid of them. According to the plant Pros at Happy Houseplants, owners must first identify what type of pest they are having trouble with.
How To Make ‘mozzie Tea’ For Fungus Gnats Using Mozzie Dunks
I prefer mozzie bits as they are faster acting and faster to make into ‘mozzie tea’ , but if you can’t get Mozzie Bits, you can use Mozzie Dunksinstead. Dunks are made for larger bodies of water outdoors, and designed to slowly release BTI over time, so the directions on the pack won’t be much help for indoor plants. One dunk is like a flat donut. Here’s the indoor plant directions.
For indoor plants: Break up one dunk into quarters. Soak one quarter of a dunk in 4 litres of water overnight. What doesn’t dissolve you can put aside to dry and use next time . Using warm to hot water , helps the dunk break up and ‘brew’ better. Remove the dunk after about 12 hours , give the ‘mozzie tea’ a good mix, and water as usual. Top watering is more effective as the larvae often concentrate near the top few inches of the potting mix.
The Damage They Cause
In most cases, especially indoors, fungus gnats are harmless. They’re extremely annoying but won’t harm you or your plants in normal numbers. If you allow them to thrive inside to grow a large enough colony to harm your plants, you’ve got bigger problems than gnats.
In extremely large numbers, the fungus gnat larvae can eat enough of the roots of your plants to cause significant stress and hurt their ability to thrive and grow. This is particularly important if you’re dealing with seedlings, cuttings, and young plants.
They also carry a pathogen caused by fungi that they like, such as Phtophtora and Pythium.
When spread to your plants, this causes a condition called “damping-off,” which causes a thinner, constricted stem that causes the plant to be too top-heavy. It will fall over eventually and die. Please note that damping-off can’t be cured, only prevented.
Compost and peat moss as a potting mix is particularly easy to be affected by the damping-off fungus, so consider moving to a perlite or vermiculite mix instead.
Plants that are more easily harmed by fungus gnats are spider plants, wandering jew, types of geraniums, african violets, and peace lilies, so take extra care if you’re growing these. You’ll know there’s a problem if you start seeing poor growth, yellowing, and sudden wilting.
Also Check: Hand Nail Fungus Laser Treatment
Plant Grass That Grows Well In Your Region
Also Check: How Do You Take Off Acrylic Nails At Home
Drench The Diluted Hydrogen Peroxide
To get rid of fungus gnats, fill your garden sprayer with three parts water and 1 part diluted hydrogen peroxide.
Ensure that you wear protective gear when handling this mixture because its mighty! Hose off any nearby plants before applying the solution, or theyll absorb all its goodness too soon into their roots . Amounts of peroxide can be increased or decreased according to your needs.
Note: Always use safety gear when handling this solution because its very powerful!
Spray with room temperature water. Use a sprayer to drench the soil around your houseplants with room temperature water until they become completely saturated. The fungus gnats will die from lack of oxygen because the ground will become waterlogged, and theyll drown in it.
Also Check: What Is The Best Treatment For Brittle Nails
Taking Care Of The Soil At Your Home
One major no-no that can attract fungus gnats starts with the best of intentions. You want to make sure your plant or garden gets plenty of water, so you go a little crazy ensuring it does.
This tendency to oversaturate creates the very conditions that welcome fungus gnats in large numbers. Your best bet is to not over-water and to allow such areas the chance to dry out before proceeding with a healthier watering pattern.
Scale back your watering for a day or two. In conjunction with this, consider adding an option like No. 1 or No. 3. A combination of efforts may accelerate the removal of fungus gnats.
If Mother Nature isnt giving you any relief with wet-weather conditions? Stay off the soil and learn about proper plant selection to help relieve the problem.
As A Last Resort Use An Insecticide
‘If these approaches arent successful, indoor gardeners can spray the infested plant with a commercially available product like Gnatrol,’ says Brody Hall. ‘ , is a natural insecticide made from bacteria that is very effective at killing gnats.’
There are homemade solutions that will do the job too. ‘To successfully get rid of gnats, use four parts waters with one part hydrogen peroxide and spray down your soil,’ says Craig Wilson, founder of Gardener’s Dream.
Don’t Miss: Pacific Beach Nails And Spa
How Do You Make ‘mozzie Tea’ For Fungus Gnats Using Mozzie Bits
For indoor plants, you can use a mixture of 4 tablespoons of Mozzie Bits per 4.5 litres of water. The hotter the water the shorter the time it needs to soak. In very warm water soak for at least 30 minutes so the BTI infuses into the water, but allow time for the water to cool before watering. Once soaked, scoop out the used granules , give the ‘tea’ a bit of a stir or shake as the BTI can settle, and top water as usual. If using mozzie dunks the dilution rate and process is different .
You can bottom water if you prefer, but the larvae tend to hang out near the top, so it won’t be as effective. If you do bottom water you’ll need to leave the plant to soak long enough for the top surface of the soil to be wet. You can also bottom water and just keep a little of the mozzie tea aside to spray the top layer of the soil with.
PRO TIP: Get yourself a cheap mesh bag and put the granules in a mesh bag to soak, which makes it much easier to remove the used granules .
One 200gram Mozzie Bits works out to just over 33 tablespoons, , so one pack makes over 37 litres of ‘Mozzie Tea’.
How To Kill Fungus Gnats
Fungus gnats are slow, erratic flyers, so killing them is not hard. Here are some of the most effective ways to get rid of adults:
1. Sticky TrapsFlypaper or more modern decorative sticky traps are popular options to catch any fungus gnats buzzing around houseplants and windows. Small yellow sticky traps can be cut and placed on wooden stakes and inserted into pots close to the soil, where adults tend to crawl and fly.
2. Apple Cider VinegarFill a shallow container with 1/4 inch of apple cider vinegar and a few drops of dish soap, and cover with plastic wrap. Poke a few holes in the top of the plastic wrap, making them large enough to allow fungus gnats to crawl through. The gnats are attracted to the vinegar, and soap breaks the surface tension of the water, which causes flies to fall into the solution and drown.
3. Flying Insect SprayIf you dont want to wait for a trap to kill the fungus gnats, take them out quickly with a spray formulated with essential oils, like Ortho® Home Defense® Flying Bug Killer with Essential Oils. It kills quickly and is safe to use around kids and pets when used as directed.
4. Fly BaitKill fungus gnats with Ortho® Home Defense® Fly Bait Decal For Windows. Fungus gnats and other flying insects are attracted to the bait, eat a tiny dose, and then die minutes later.
You May Like: Lavish Nail Spa Suffolk Va
How To Get Rid Of Fungus Gnats With Tea Tree Oil
Many people use tea tree oil on the skin. However, it is also a great solution for a gnat infestation. Combine 20 drops of tea tree oil with a litre of water. Water the infested plants with this mix, and you should help remove any larvae in the soil. For the adults, use some adhesive traps around the plant.
Use Bacillus Thuringiensis To Control Larvae
Bacillus Thuringiensis is a bacterium that can kill many types of small creatures like worm, larvae, and insects. For killing fungus gnats, you need to find BT variant called israelensis or Bt-i. Israelensis BT is also called H-14. You may found that this variant is also sold under various brands such as Gnatrol or Knock-out Gnats. You can tell that this Bt-i variant is special to combat gnats. All you need to do is apply it to the gnats infestation. Bt-i will kill all of the gnats effectively. However, it is quite pricey, but worth it. You can buy them online.
Recommended Reading: Does Nail Psoriasis Go Away
Do Plants Actually Clean The Air Yes But Youll Need A Lot Of Them
How many plants would it take to noticeably improve the air quality in your house? Way more than you think.
I have read just about every article on the internet about eradicating fungus gnat infestations. I have ordered 48-packs of yellow sticky traps from Amazon three times. I have done toxic soaks and let poison pellets bloom in water overnight. I have top-dressed. I have bottom-watered. I have gone as long as possible without watering my plants before I start to feel dehydrated on their behalf. I have repotted. I have purchased strange devices, like the Katchy, a robotic insect vacuum that lures its victims with UV light and sucks them to their doom with a fan.
Ive even done the unthinkable: Ive had to toss some of my beloved plants. Some wilted and died as the gnat larvae chewed up their roots. Others were so profoundly infected that even multiple attempts at solving the problem failed, and I was forced to make a horticultural Sophies choice to save the rest.
I am still subject to the scourge.
At The Times, we have an internal Slack channel for plant lovers where I have posted about my plight. Heres what I have spent trying to combat the problem:
Three 48-packs of sticky traps: $44 Landscaping sand: $15 Bag of cedar shavings: $10 Three Venus flytraps and specialty potting mix: $66 Mosquito bits: $19 Hydrogen peroxide: $5 Bonide Systemic Houseplant Insect Control granules: $22
Its time to bring in some experts. Heres whom I spoke to:
Fungus Gnats As Disease Vectors
Yes, fungus gnats damage plants, but its important to kill fungus gnat larvae and adults because they can carry diseases. Those recovering from fungus gnat problems still face the risk of infections. Fungus gnat larvae can spread fungus spores that are dropped by adult gnats to your plants roots, possibly causing a number of common plant diseases. The most commonly transferred diseases include black root rot, Pythium blight, Verticillium wilt, Botrytis blight, and Fusarium wilt.
As a precaution, treat any affected plant and those in the area with a copper fungicide a day or two after pesticide application. This ensures that if your plant had contact with potentially dangerous disease fungi spores, they wont contract the disease. A root drench is more effective than spraying the plants foliage, as thats where damage would be done.
Read Also: Pet Food Express Nail Trim
What Can I Do To Prevent Fungus Gnats
There are a few things you can do to help prevent fungus gnats in your houseplants. Some might work better than others depending on the plant, so try them out and see what works best.
1. Let the top few inches of soil dry out
Letting the top few inches of soil dry out helps to keep things healthy and to prevent the moist environment necessary for fungus gnat breeding. Watering in planters without drainage holes can also lead to soil retaining too much moisture, so its best to avoid that too.
2. Aerate the soil
I like to occasionally aerate the soil in my potted plants to help promote air flow. This not only helps with moisture issues in the top few inches of the soilit also helps prevent the soil from caking together too much and shrinking from the sides of the pots.
I like to use a fork or a chopstick for this. Or, if Im being honest, my fingers. You dont have to wait until youve overwatered a plant to do this, either. It can help soil and plant health all the time as long as you dont disturb the roots.
3. Bottom watering your plants
Bottom watering your plants is one way to help prevent fungus gnats. Some plants like to keep their soil moist, so its not a great idea to let them dry out too much between waterings.
Bottom watering is when you set a planter with a drainage hole into water and let the plant soak the water up through the hole. This helps to prevent fungus gnats because the top layer of soil is never really wet.
5. Isolating infested plants
Set Out Yellow Sticky Traps
You can find these sticky traps in the garden center of your local home improvement store or online at various websites. To get rid of adult fungus gnats, place the yellow sticky paper anywhere that you have a gnat problem.
The egg-laying female gnats are attracted to the yellow paper and will land on the traps, becoming stuck. Once the traps are filled with gnats, remove the sticky trap, leaving them unable to get to the moist soil to lay their eggs.
The sticky traps are one of the best ways for how to get rid of fungus gnats in houseplants.
Also Check: How Can I Hang Things On The Wall Without Nails
Replace The Houseplant Soil
To get rid of fungus gnats, simply buy a new bag of houseplant soil. However, if the problem is bad enough to do this, it is best to be safe and use your entire houseplant soil bag in the trash. This will ensure that no fungus gnat eggs are in the soil and stop the infestation from spreading to your indoor plants.
What Are Fungus Gnats And Their Life Cycle
Fungus gnats, also known as Mycetophilidae, are small flies attracted to fungi. They often land on the stalks of mushrooms and gnaw at them.
Fungus gnats look like tiny black flies with black hind legs. The size of the adults is similar to a fruit fly or mosquitoes, but they are slightly larger. Their wings are transparent, and their bodies are dark brown.
Fungus gnats have a very short lifespan of about three weeks, which is the perfect environment to multiply.
Fungus gnat eggs are laid in soil with high organic matter or decaying plant matter in very humid areas. They are small and brown. It only takes a few days for the larvae to grow after hatches from the egg. The first two larval stages are the only fungus gnats that have legs. The last larval stage will become a pupa and develop wings, turning into an adult fungus gnat.
Read Also: Luxury Men’s Manicure Set
Where Do Fungus Gnats Come From
Fungus gnats feed on decaying plant matter and fungi and thrive in moist conditions, such as soil, which is where they lay their eggs, says Derek Gaughan, founder of the DIY pest control website Bug Lord. If you own a lot of houseplants, you are more susceptible to having a problem as this is their ideal habitat.
With so many of us working from home these daysand at risk of overwatering our plantsits no surprise that these critters are out in full force. How many times a day have you walked by your favorite houseplant and decided to water it?
The best thing you can do is avoid overwatering your plants and to let the soil dry out between waterings, says Gaughan.
You might also notice an infestation of fungus gnats shortly after repotting your houseplants or after bringing new plants into your home. This is because bugs sometimes hitch a ride inside bags of potting soil or plants from home improvement stores. They can also make their way indoors if you set your houseplants outside to get some sunlight then bring them back in.
Easy Methods To Get Rid Of Fungus Gnats
Outdoors, fungus gnats are an important part of the ecosystem, says the RHS. As the experts at the Missouri Botanical Garden explain, they are important pollinators as well as food for small animals, and they help to convert dead vegetation into nutrients for plants. Numbers are kept under control by natural predators and other environmental factors, which means any root damage the larvae do is minor.
However, if they are proving to be a pain around your indoor plants or in your greenhouse, these tips will come in handy.
Read Also: Does White Vinegar Kill Nail Fungus