Home»Garden»Pests & Disease
Last update on August 9 , 2023
Houseplants bring a dazzling , outdoorsy , peaceful energy to any abode ! They also help to cleanse your space by purifying the air around them . However , while you may be eager to produce a hobo camp - esque vibration deep down , you in all probability are n’t looking for a full immersion experience – with microbe fly all over your household ! regrettably , fungus gnat are a fairly common trouble with mansion plants . The in force news is – it ’s easy to get free of fungus gnat , once you know the illusion !
Read along to learn how to kill fungus gnat in your house plants . These tips can also be apply to other plants and soil too , such as in potted plant in a greenhouse , or even alfresco . When it comes to fungus gnats , prevention is fundamental ! Therefore , we ’ll go over a few way of life to prevent fungus gnat first , so maybe no intervention will be want at all . Yet when you already have an plague on your manus , there are several organic method you could use to get rid of fungus gnats .
5 Natural Ways to Get Rid of Fungus Gnats:
Disclosure : This berth may contain affiliate links to products for your convenience , such as to items on Amazon . Homestead and Chill gains a small commission from purchases made through those links , at no additional cost to you .
Let ’s go over each of these options ! But first …
What are Fungus Gnats?
Fungus gnat admit several species of lilliputian , forgetful - lived flies . They arecommonly jumble with yield fly sheet , which are similar but have more or less unlike figure , feed , and breeding habits . Rather than fruit , fungus gnat are take out to the tender , damp , cozy environs that you ’ve created for your potted houseplants . They may catch a drive into your home on a new houseplant booster you adopt , or sneak in through doors , window , or other pocket-sized crevices in your dwelling house .
Fungus gnats reproduce by laying egg in the top couple inches of damp soil . The bollock brood into larvae , the larvae feed on constitutional matter within the soil for 2 workweek , and then they pupate . A couple of days subsequently , the adult flies emerge and start buzzing around . You ’ll commonly see fungus gnats hanging out on the soil surface , boundary of the wad , or maybe around the drainage hole of the deal . They most often only fly in forgetful bursts , and otherwise creep around .
Would you like to save this?
We ’ll email this post to you , so you may come back to it later !
I check to have e-mail updates .
Are Fungus Gnats Harmful to Plants or People?
Fungus gnat are not harmful to citizenry , away from being annoying ! In belittled bit , they are not harmful to your houseplant either . However , theUniversity of Californiawarns that when go forth uncurbed , large populations of fungus gnat can become damaging to plants . Their larvae may start to feed on the works ’s roots , which causes stress , yellow , wilting , and potential expiry of the works in the most serious cases . Fungus gnat can also spread disease that contribute todamping off – a condition when untried plants or seedling dead wilt and die .
3 WAYS TO PREVENT FUNGUS GNATS IN HOUSEPLANTS
1) Moisture Control
As we ’ve already established , fungus gnats love moist soil – and need it to breed ! Therefore , overwatering your plant can easily contribute to a fungus gnat problem . To forbid and conflict fungus gnats , avoid overwatering your plantsin the first place . Only provide water when the top duo inches of dirt has dried out . Remember , that top shallow ground is where the fungus gnat are drawn to !
Thankfully , most houseplants do n’t mind if you reduce back on their water a bit . trueness be severalize , many works parent are guilty of watering their plants more than they should . So much so , thatoverwatering is a common causa of death in houseplants !
Another good indicant of moisture control is the drainage tray or trough at the bottom of the pot . This should be dry within a day of irrigate the houseplant , and not havestanding water . If it does , you may be overwatering ! A warm - meet drain tray could also be a sign that the plant life ’s dirt has poor water retentiveness , is origin - attach , or that water may be running around the sides of the ascendant ball and dirt – rather than seep through . To learn more about houseplant tutelage bakshish for lacrimation , grease , fertilizing and more , look into out this article – “ Houseplant Care 101 : The Ultimate Guide to Happy & Healthy Indoor Plants ” . See how to irrigate and care forair plants here .
2) Soil Choice & Modifications
When pot up a new houseplant , use a reputablequality bagged potting ground . One that has been pasteurized or desexualize should n’t have springy eggs , larvae , or flies in it . Avoid using soil from your yard , as it may bring unwanted pests inside along with it .
After potting your houseplant , moot impart a bed of horticulturalsand(not play sand ! ) to the top of the soil . you may water the plant through the sand , and meanwhile it will deter fungus gnat from laying eggs in the pot . In gain to sand , there are othersoil - topping products like this one(made from crushed recycled glass ) that are specially made to eliminate fungus gnat from your potted plants .
3) Prevent Spread
When you fetch home a novel houseplant , expect for the presence of fungus gnats . regrettably , only the flies will be obvious since the larva or eggs are very difficult to detect . It is a good idea to keep new plants away from your other houseplant for several daylight to supervise , especially if you have suspicion that they may be infect . think , fungus gnats do n’t typically fly foresightful distances unless they have to !
Therefore , keeping new or infected plants inquarantinecan be very in force at melt off the spread of fungus gnat to other potted plants . That way , you could focus your intervention on just one plant rather of them all ! For severe infestations , some folks may choose to completely remove the infected plant from the firm .
5 WAYS TO GET RID OF FUNGUS GNATS
1) Eliminate Excess Moisture
At the first star sign of a fungus gnat issue , this should be the initial footmark . permit the top few inches of the plant ’s territory to dry out . This will make the soil untempting to adult flies , forestall them from laying more eggs . If you ’re lucky , this can kill a mickle of the testicle and larvae too ! what is more , eradicate standing water . This include in the pot drainage tray , or even from other generator nearby – such as leaky pipe , condensate puddle , and so on .
2) Sticky Traps
Fungus gnats are drawn to light , as well as the colour xanthous . Use yellow embarrassing sand trap near , attend from , or inside the potted plant to catch adult fly . These sticky traps on stakesare project specially for potted plants ! We also hangthese large onesto catch gnats and other flying pests inour greenhouse .
However , keep in mind that fungus gnats expend the legal age of their lifecycle as ball and larvae , so gluey traps will only serve a constituent of the trouble right aside . If the adult flies have already laid more testis , the bike will continue . Yet reducing the grownup fly population with sticky traps does help put a dent in the problem overall ! Continue to use sticky traps forseveral hebdomad to to the full go the cycleand get rid of fungus gnat .
3) Use Hydrogen Peroxide to Kill Fungus Gnats
If the dim-witted combination of dry out the territory and hanging a few viscous traps does n’t get the business done , there are severalnatural and non - toxicproducts used to down fungus gnats as well . One pick is to utilize something you probably already have around your house – H hydrogen peroxide ! The in force tidings ? It is pronto available , well-to-do to work with , and wo n’t harm your house plants . The best newsworthiness ? Hydrogen peroxide reportedly kill fungus gnat eggs , larvae , pupae , and adult flies on contact . arrivederci , sucker .
To make a hydrogen hydrogen peroxide resolution , first be trusted you ’re using the distinctive 3 % household hydrogen hydrogen peroxide , not the industrial - strength hooey ! Dilute it down slightly andmix 1 part 3 % atomic number 1 hydrogen peroxide to 4 parts water(e.g . 1 cup peroxide and 4 loving cup water ) .
tolerate the soil to dry slightly before app . Then , either spray the surface of the soil exhaustively until it saturates down a duet of inches . Or , for a deeper and more effective treatment , water the entire plant with it – soaking all of the dirt . It will fizz and froth , which is totally normal . It quickly breaks down into molecules of water and oxygen , which clearly are n’t a danger for plant !
4) Biological Control of Fungus Gnats – Bacillus Thuringiensis
Another non - toxic way to care for fungus gnats is to use biologic control , such as Bacillus Thuringiensis . Specifically the subspeciesisraelensis , also known asBti . Bti is a by nature - occurring bacteria that is found in dirt . accord to the EPA , Bti curb spores that bring forth toxin that specifically target andonlyaffect the larvae of the mosquitoes , bean aphid and fungus gnats . substance , it is not harmful to other organism .
You may have heard us talk about Bt before , but note that there are a few different types of Bt ! Bti is the one that is effective against fungus gnats , whilethis Bt product(Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki ) fair game cat such as moolah moth worms and lucre measuring worm , but is ineffectual at killing fungus gnat .
To apply Bti , follow the instructions for a“soil drench ” on the product that you purchase . It is unremarkably advocate to irrigate the plant with the solution , since only spraying the airfoil of the soil may not penetrate deep enough to kill all of the fungus gnat larvae . repetition as needed , follow the instructions . Another popular option is call “ Gnatrol ” .
5) Neem Oil Soil Drench
In a exchangeable method to H peroxide or Bti , a neem oil drench can also be applied to the infected soil to kill fungus gnat . Do not apply flat hard neem oil though ! make and apply a dilute neem oil solution by follow the manufacturer ’s instructions on the neem fossil oil product you choose . Watering with a dilute neem fossil oil solution can aid to pop fungus gnats , and also fight off them in the future .
When shopping for neem fossil oil , I always suggest pick out ahigh quality cold - exhort stark neem oilover pre - miscellaneous Cartesian product that contain a lot of other additives . to fully combine neem oil with water for an even and in effect covering , the neem oil will need to beemulsifiedfirst – because oil and body of water do n’t well fuse . Check outour clause all about the right way mixing and using neem oilin the garden , or , for houseplants !
And that is how you prevent and get rid of fungus gnats in houseplants!
For more information on garden pests , see this serial of article :
