Want to get rid of annoying house plant fungus gnats quickly and cheaply?
How do you know if you have fungus gnats?
Your plant will tell you, you may see stunted growth yellowing leaves or the roots may look damaged (if you can see them). These are all signs of fungus gnat larvae being in the soil. Most commonly though people tend to notice the adult flies. Lots of people put the influx of flies down to fruit flies until they notice them congregating around their houseplants.
What do fungus gnats look like?
They do look very similar to fruit flies but their wings have a creamy translucent look and their bodies are thinner, below are a few images of the adult fungus gnat but remember fungus gnats are very small. Fungus gnats do not tend to fly around the house, they will only hang around the plants.
Fungus gnat larvae live in the soil and eat the root material. They look like thin white maggots. Fungus gnat flies lay eggs which hatch into larvae, see images below.
How to get rid of fungus gnats.
We recommend a combination of 2 products; nematodes and sticky traps. The traps that we recommend are yellow sticky traps, the adult fungus gnats are attracted to the colour and get stuck.
The nematodes come in a mixed species pack to ensure maximum effect. They are watered on. The nematodes are a parasite of the fungus gnat larvae and tend to kill them within 7-10 days.
Why nematodes and traps work for getting rid of fungus gnats
The approach has to be two pronged for it to work, you need to attack both the adult flies and the larvae to be able to break the lifecycle. You need traps for the adults (so they stop laying eggs) and parasitic nematodes for the larvae (to stop them becoming adults). If you do one without the other you will not break the lifecycle and control the fungus gnat infestation.
Fungus Gnats – Frequently asked questions
- Will I need a second treatment?
It depends on 2 things, how bad the infestation is/was and what stage in the lifecycle the majority of the fungus gnat population is/was. This solution relies on controlling the adults and the larvae, if there were very large numbers of either one then a second go might be needed. Another reason would be lots of fungus gnat eggs, there isn’t a control for the eggs so you may need to treat again 2 weeks later to control these hatched eggs.
- Why mixed species nematodes?
This product contains a blend of different species of nematode, this is perfect for controlling the fly larvae and will also control some other pests like thrips larvae.
- What if I only have a couple of houseplants?
You can still use the solution above, just make the nematodes more concentrate and split it amongst your plants.
Want to get on and get rid of fungus gnats in your houseplants? For £15 (including First Class delivery) you can!
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