Yea, Yea, we've read all these tips on how to get rid of them and most help, but they just don't get rid of all of them. Well, I'm here to tell you a good way of getting rid of them for good and I mean all of them. We had them in our bathroom, kitchen, and everywhere. They were driving us crazy!
If you go read about them you'll find out they breed and live in your drains and houseplants. I put all my plants outside too, just in case they were in them too.
Now when you thinking about these flies and how they breed and live, I had to tell myself to cut off how they breed and it might help. So I went and bought plugs for every drain in my house, even for the bathtub. If you get them at the Dollar Store there pretty cheap.
I also taped an old cut up sock around the washing machine drain to keep them out of there too. Be sure not to block off all the air to this drain as it will not drain without air being able to go in. That's why I used the old sock, it still lets air in for it to drain right.
I plugged up all the drains and kept them plugged all the time. If you look at the picture, I always leave water in the sink with the plug in to make sure they can't go around the plugs too. If I needed the sink for something, I always put about 4-5 inches of hot tap water in the sink before I unplugged the sink for use. This will wash down the drain any flies that hatched while the sink drain was plugged. Then I always remembered to plug it back up.
I did this for around 3 months or so, because most of the ones flying around died after a month or so. But I kept the drain plugs in, and still do today, just in case. They couldn't breed so they all went away after that.
So think about it. If they can't breed they can't come back. This worked for me, hope it helps you guys too. Thanks for reading this.
If fungus gnats are a problem with your houseplants here is an easy solution that has worked for me every time. Fungus gnats lay their eggs and develop into adults in the top 1/2 inch of the soil and they need moisture to survive.
Gnats are a nuisance, especially when your house plants are covered in them. Get tips on getting rid of gnats on houseplants in this page.
Fungus gnats are in my closed top terrariums. I have tried every method that I have found on line (yellow paper with fly strips, and I have killed a lot, but not all). I found out that plants brought inside can have them so I took them all out on the front porch and put sand in the top. I discontinued watering on top and put a tray under them to water. (Someone suggested vinegar and that works.) I also put my potting soil in the freezer. I haven't put it in bake yet but will try.
I have reworked four, washing the soil completely off roots, and cleansing the jars and rocks. After reworking two recently, one of them I discovered has a few gnats. I haven't tried insecticides because I had planned to sell them, but until I solve the problem completely, that's out. Help! I am working hard and everything works but not completely. If insecticides are used, do I spray the soil or all the plants?By Barbara
Is there any way to get rid of gnats and larva in my new terrarium or do I have to dump all of the soil, rinse the plant roots and start over?
By Patsy A
How do I get rid of little flying black bugs that seem to be in my potting soil? Where are they coming from?
I put a layer of sand on top of my potted plants to get rid of gnats, but have been seeing a decline in the health of my plants. Could it be from the sand?
I have gnats in my home, I think they are coming from my plants in the house. How can I get rid of them?
How do I get rid of gnats living in the soil of my houseplant?
I have to do my herbal garden in my apartment. I have fungus gnats, ugh. I got the little yellow flags that are sticky traps.
I have at least 50 houseplants. I re-potted many over the years and have never had a problem with gnats, now I do. I try to let the soil dry out as much as I can without harming the plants.
Has anyone ever had problems with gnats in their potting soil?
I have had my fiddle leaf plant for several years. How do I get rid of the tiny bugs everywhere?
By Geraldine
It sounds like you have fungus gnats. They live on the top soil of your house plants. You need to let the top soil dry out to kill the gnats. You can do this a couple of ways. One is to water your plant from the bottom only.
Another nice method is to get some sand and put a half to maybe an inch of sand on top of your soil. It will kill the larvae and they cannot emerge from the sand. It looks nice too!
What can we use to rid ourselves of these gnats? I sprayed throughout the house with HotShot and it worked a little. I don't know if they were all asleep or just hiding away. They're everywhere. Thanks for your help. God bless.
By Sam
If you do have fungus gnats in your home, the management method you used, spraying in the air, is not effective. The main problem is that fungus gnats spend most of their lives as larvae buried in indoor plant soil and the ones you see are a few very short lived adults. The immature gnats live in plant soil for months so you must improve the soil to kill the immature gnats before they fly.
Please see the suggestions below to try to control your problem.
Management
Fungus gnats are typically harmless to healthy plants - and humans - but can inflict extensive damage to seedlings; their presence can be indicative of more serious problems. In houseplants, the presence of fungus gnats may indicate overwatering; they may be feeding on roots that have sat in drain water too long and are thus rotting, or the gnats may be attracted to fungus growing in saturated topsoil. Consequently, allowing the soil to dry may reduce their numbers. They are sometimes also managed by placing a layer of sterile sand or indoor mulch on top of the soil around plants; by introducing Hypoaspis miles mites or applying the biological larvicide Bacillus thuringiensis (subspecies israelensis) to kill gnat larve; by drenching the soil annually in an insecticidal soap; or by applying detergents and nicotine from tobacco brewed into a toxic tea.
Insecticides are considered an important control option in some commercial plant production but generally aren't recommended for fungus gnat management in and around the home.
University of California Davis
www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/
What are the little gnats in my potting soil?
The harmless tiny flies, gnats, etc., are fungus gnats (over 100 species of this type gnat alone) that live in the potting soil. Adults lay eggs in the potting soil, the eggs become larvae which then become adult fungus gnats. You can use a pesticide to kill them, however, the potting soil will just attract other fungus gnats in the area. A losing battle!
