Gnat Problems

So I've begun to see gnat larvae in several pots, and mature ones like to crawl in the LFS of some Neps. I plan on putting down a thin layer of sand to keep any more larvae from spawning on wet peat, but was wondering what might be done to keep existing ones away. Will better air circulation keep em from landing?
Thanks,
Kyle

Pings do well to keep my population under control, i dont want them gone totally, they feed my cp's

pings and dews! pings and dews!

This has been discussed many times before.

A sand mulch layer of at least 1/4 of an inch will prevent the adult fungus gnats from sensing or reaching the wet layers they need to lay the eggs on and for the larvae to live in. It is usually best to apply the mulch before the media is infested.


Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) treatment can virtually eliminate fungus gnats from you media. Since it only affects the larvae you have to treat long enough to kill several generations. Bti is readily available in the US in cake form sold as "Mosquito Dunks".

Fungus gnat larvae can damage roots and seedlings and the adult gnats can be annoying indoors. Besides the slime trails the larvae leave on the media surface is nasty looking. I prefer springtails as a natural source of food since they are basically harmless to the plants and don't have the annoying habit of buzzing around lights at night.

Well it's more fun to get a Drosera to eat the gnats, my D. adelae completely wiped out my gnat population.

i had 2 pots of seedlings planted at the same time, one had the gnats one didnt, the dews with the gnats are twice if not 3 times the size of the others, def plant some dews or pings.

Can anybody post a picture of fungus gnats?

the gnats

aren't that bad, but their larvae chew on the small roots and damage them severely.
I use a BT product called Gnatrol. It can be found in smaller quantities at most local grow shops.
To help control the adults, I smear "tanglefoot" onto wood shims and stand them near the pots, the adults like to land vertically above the media. I suppose they like to keep an eye on their prodigy.

Sundews got rid of gnats quickly for me. My apartment complex was having a big problem with them this summer, but I had none in my room because of a single D. adelae.