You can still use the solution above, just make the nematodes more concentrate and split it amongst your plants. Neem oil is great, especially for aphids and lantana lace bugs. However, Neem oil doesn’t directly kill bugs. It is used as a drench, which the plant absorbs into its vascular system. After an insect eats a portion of the treated plant, it disrupts the insect’s eating and mating signals. It can cause insects to stop feeding, stop growing, and reduce sending out pheromone mating signals. Other likely targets are cucumbers and cultivated mushrooms. When conditions are favourable – in houses or warm greenhouses – breeding can take place all year round. Soak a mosquito dunk containing Bti in a gallon of water overnight. The next day, use that water as a continuing drench into the potting soil. STEP 2: Mix azadirachtin pesticide with water (optional). Cornell University also states that the optimal temperatures for fungus gnat development is about 70-75F. I found this really interesting because I seemed to validate this in my own home!

Sticky Traps Plant Trap for Fungus Gnat, Fruit Fly 36 Pack Sticky Traps Plant Trap for Fungus Gnat, Fruit Fly

This really should fall in the “killing two birds with one stone” category. Drying out the top half of a plant’s soil will most likely kill quite a few larvae, but it could also likely kill your plant because you would have to do this several times to completely get rid of the larvae that burrowed a little deeper into the soil. Potato slices might be helpful if your soil doesn’t have a high organic content, if you only have a few plants to treat, and are combining this with other methods. Because larvae feed on organic matter, they might be drawn to the potato slices that are sitting on the soil’s surface. You would just toss out each potato slice every other day, and hopefully a few dozen feeding larvae along with it. If you do all 3 of these things, you will have gone a long way to minimize huge infestations. Be diligent for 3-4 weeks, and you can be successful! If you have an infestation of tiny bugs buzzing around your home, they may be fungus gnats. Harmless to humans but none the less annoying, you’ll no doubt want to get rid of fungus gnats. There are several methods of fungus gnat control, some more successful than others. Read on to learn about trapping fungus gnats in the home. What is a Fungus Gnat? Insecticides are rarely warranted to control these flies in and around homes. However, if you do apply an insecticide for fungus gnats, consider using Bti or Steinernema feltiae nematodes to control the larvae; see the section Biological Control for more information.Just before the first frost of the season, we bring all our potted plants indoors. This marks the beginning of our seasonal battle with indoor fungus gnats. They’ve been busy colonizing all our pots all summer, and within two weeks of coming inside they are pretty much everywhere.

Fungus Gnats: 3 Easy Steps for Your Houseplants Eliminating Fungus Gnats: 3 Easy Steps for Your Houseplants

Fungus gnats are small flies that infest soil, potting mix, other container media, and other sources of organic decomposition. Their larvae primarily feed on fungi and organic matter in soil, but also chew roots and can be a problem in greenhouses, nurseries, potted plants and interior plantscapes. Adult fungus gnats may emerge from houseplants indoors and become a nuisance. IDENTIFICATION 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. Eliminate Fungus Gnats with Diatomaceous Earth Lastly, cover the soil with a layer of coarse sand of fine gravel which will not only help to keep the soil dry but make it less palatable for the gnats to lay eggs. Be patient. It may take 3-4 weeks of reduced watering combined with amended surface soil to get a handle on fungus gnats. How to Control Adult Fungus Gnats

Household Ingredient Gnat Trap

What you can control that will have a huge impact on fungus gnats is the degree to which you let the potting mix dry out. Fungus gnats thrive in moist potting mix, especially in the top inch or so of your pot. Fungus gnats only become a problem when they find soil that is permanently wet. Therefore, the best way to prevent fungus gnats is a good watering regime. Always allow the soil surface to dry slightly before watering again. Fungus gnats lay their eggs directly onto the soil surface and the fungus gnat larvae need moist soil to live. So, if the substrate is too dry, the larvae die immediately after hatching. Pretreat all your potted plants with either a Mosquito Bits or Mosquito Dunks solution one week before you bring your plants indoors. For treating an existing fungus gnat infestation problem: The theory is to water your plants from the bottom so that the soil’s surface is drier. This may help somewhat along with other measures, especially for larger planters (1 gallon size) where the soil depth is greater than 10 inches if you can control how much water the plants receive so that the surface soil stays fairly dry.