Gnats!??

[BigBuick]

Ok guys, need your help. First time grower here. Using a 3x3x6 Vivosun indoor tent setup in a spare bedroom. Two 3 gallon pots, 2 cobs for lighting. I sprouted the seeds in a shot glass of water and planted the germinated seeds directly in Happy Frog soil. I've been very careful to keep it damp but not wet. The first set of leaves is out on day 6, but the whole plant is small (about the size of a dime).

Here's my question. While checking on them tonight, I noticed some very, very small gnats crawling in the dirt and a few flying around. What do I do about the bugs?


Thanks!

 

[Proph]

Ok guys, need your help. First time grower here. Using a 3x3x6 Vivosun indoor tent setup in a spare bedroom. Two 3 gallon pots, 2 cobs for lighting. I sprouted the seeds in a shot glass of water and planted the germinated seeds directly in Happy Frog soil. I've been very careful to keep it damp but not wet. The first set of leaves is out on day 6, but the whole plant is small (about the size of a dime).

Here's my question. While checking on them tonight, I noticed some very, very small gnats crawling in the dirt and a few flying around. What do I do about the bugs?


Thanks!

Get yellow sticky traps for the adults that are flying around.. Then get some gnatrol wdg for the larvae in the soil. The adults only live for a day or two, but the females lay hundreds of eggs at once. It's the eggs you want to kill off to break the chain.

 

[redxber]

Watering with beneficial nematodes will help break the egg cycle but make sure you do a 2nd watering 7-10 days after that as well to get any eggs left over that might have been missed.

 

[orde]

Use some different soil next time. Some soil comes full of insect eggs as you have found out here.

 

[BigBuick]

Orde, thanks..I am certainly going to try something different next time...probably coco

 

[orde]

I like to use soil so have experimented with different soils. Some of it is nice and clean/sterile, some of it - I open my grow tent and it's full of flies and shit.

I've put nothing in there except seeds, soil and water. So the bugs must be from the soil.

 

[Proph]

I like to use soil so have experimented with different soils. Some of it is nice and clean/sterile, some of it - I open my grow tent and it's full of flies and shit.

I've put nothing in there except seeds, soil and water. So the bugs must be from the soil.

Soil and bugs go hand in hand. If you grow in soil, you should expect a few bugs.. Some will be beneficial, some won't be. But any medium with organic matter will attract or have bugs... Even coco.

 

[Little Brother]

I've had good results with both sand and diatomaceous earth.
Maybe an inch or so of sand on top of the soil really limits adults from getting in and young from getting out.
I'll dust with DE around the plant and places they might land.

 

[automan2]

We all have been forced to deal with gnats. Dem buggers can be destructive. if theyre seen in newly germed plants, they're feeding on new roots and ya plants just don't have a foundation.... I keep a hot shot no pest strip in my germ/veg area and DE sprinkled in all the pots...after moving to my present home, I have had one infestation of spidermites that got me trained to deal with buggers. oh yes, gnats are common and comes in most bags of soil..... HotShot NPS and DE are all I use and seldom have issues. Simple to deal with but ya gotta get on it when seen.....