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I lost a lot of my temperate collection to fungus gnat larvae and root rot this last winter. One plant I lost was a Oreophila with 26" pitchers. I've never experienced such decimation before, and I don't want to experience it again. I've cleaned my grow area, removed all the old pots full of rotten bulbs and rhizomes, and I've thoroughly washed everything in preparation for some new plants I ordered. I have my old plants that are still alive (and still infected with fungus gnats) isolated in my unheated greenhouse.
Right now I am repotting my S. Purpurea, I plan to give it new soil, but even after I had thoroughly washed the soil off the roots, I spotted an adult fungus gnat. Sure replacing the soil will help. But I am concerned I need to disinfect the entire plant. Is there some safe way to do this, perhaps submerging the plant in water to drown the larvae and adults?
Also, how do you guys treat plants with fungus gnats, and in what ways can I prevent them.

Has anyone successfully used Azamax? Supposedly it effectively controls spider mites, thrips, fungus gnats, aphids, whiteflies, leaf miners, worms, beetles, leafhoppers, scales, mealy bugs, nematodes and other soil borne pests.
 
i've used imidacloprid on my gnat infested pepper seedling trays, one dose at recommended strength got rid of them.
 
I use Azamax at 10ml per gallon in a pump sprayer. Took care of any problems I had with spider mites. First application every time.

Make sure you also do a soil soak treatment with Azamax as well as spraying the undersides of the leaves.
 
You could always try preditor nematodes. They will consume anything that has a larval stag in the soil. They can be bought at most nurseries.

If you have already applied any insectacide I would not as it will also kill the nematodes.
 
So far
Azamax
Predatory nematodes
imidacloprid (not tested on cp's)
What about discarding the old soil, submerging the rhizomes in water for 15 minutes, and then potting in fresh soil?
 
imidacloprid is all i use on helis/cephs/pings/neps/sarrs/vfts (does tend to piss sarrs off but they recover easily, ive never seen any adverse effect on any of the others...dunno bout Drosera, aways avoided them, just seemed like bad mojo)

great stuff, systemic and long lasting

Do a TF search for bayer rose and flower and you will find many, many cp users.... merit is another product with imidacloprid

used it for years....

caveat, broad spectrum products may cure one problem but lead to another... not only do you kill the bad insects but also the good.. which can leave the door open to spider mites, phytopathogens (in the case of fungicides) etc.... its always best to be prudent with chems, it you need it then use it.... but dont abuse it, save it for only when it is really needed..... they should be a last option IMHO

Many times the pest or fungus is a symptom of a larger problem, so do a root cause analysis (excuse the pun LOL) ;)

Av
 
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I think the easiest thing to use would be mosquito dunks
I saw them on home depot's website, they come in a pack of six
How long would one pack last approx?
 
They are time/sustained release so they last quite a while. I break mine up and just put a pinch in a quart of water and let it sit over night and just top water with that. So I don't know how long a complete cake lasts.

I don't know how large your trays are but an eighth of a cake is probably plenty for a standard size seed tray for at least six months.

A 1/4 inch or so thick mulch of sand on the top of the pots will pretty much prevent the adults from sensing and reaching the moist peat moss. I've found this to be very effective in keeping fungus gnats out. Mulch is best applied to uninfested medium. Four to six weeks of BTi treatment (Mosquito Dunks) should wipe out all generations present in medium.
 
I think the easiest thing to use would be mosquito dunks
I saw them on home depot's website, they come in a pack of six
While fungus gnats aren't desirable, I seriously doubt that they are the primary cause of your problems. If you decide to reduce their population, some version of BT application is much better than the other pesticide approaches mentioned... (imho)
 
  • #10
While fungus gnats aren't desirable, I seriously doubt that they are the primary cause of your problems. If you decide to reduce their population, some version of BT application is much better than the other pesticide approaches mentioned... (imho)

that is the active ingredient in mosquito dunks, BTI
Apparently you break off a piece of this dry tablet thingy, place it in a jug of water, and water your plants the next day.
 
  • #11
Fungus gnats have been known to vector the Fusarium fungus. Fusarium has been identified in rotting rhizomes. Of course the presence of either could be a symptom and not the cause. However Fusarium is responsible for many plant diseases.
 
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