New Grower Help! Is this a fungus gnat

[Aktatts]

New grower here found a few of these hanging around my plants any ideas?

 

[CappY]

Doesn't appear to be but I'm not sure. How big is it ? Fungus gnats are only 1-2mm so if it's much bigger than that it's probably not gnats. Are your plants showing any symptoms ?

 

[Aktatts]

Don't really notice any symptoms right now. Here is a pic of it not zoomed in on a potato which is about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.

 

[CappY]

Size looks right but fungus gnats I've seen have long, slender abdomens. All I can suggest is looking for their grubs in the topsoil and wait for someone more knowledgeable.

 

[oldster]

New grower here found a few of these hanging around my plants any ideas?

View attachment 429791

yes, looks like that is what it is. The larva are in the soil so you need to treat it with something containing BT (Bacillus thuringiensis ). Mosquito Dunks or a BT product applied as a soil drench will control them

 

[Anthropolis]

If you want to be a little safer and go the organic non-chemical route, there's a two or three prong attack that works well. Stage 1 is a product called Neem Oil, it sounds scary but it's just the extract from the Indian Neem tree. It's available at garden centers and online. Mix the Neem oil with water and a few drops of soap and soak the soil with it. Stage 2 is getting some of those sticky fly catching strips and putting them down by the soil if possible, to catch some flying adults. Stage 3 is optional but will keep bugs away forever lol. Get two things and mix them into the soil: Neem Meal (aka Neem cake) which is crunchy bits leftover from extracting the Neem Oil, and something called frass, which is organic bug poop basically but it's really good fertilizer and somehow keeps other bugs away. Neem Meal is available at neemresource.com and other places online if you google, and frass is available online at ebay and amazon and some other online places. All these things are organic, don't hurt the plant, and actually plants love the Neem and frass

 

[oldster]

Hey Anthropolis, BT is a biological control and totally safe to people and plants. Was not sure from your post if you were implying that it was a chemical control

 

[gmgeoff]

This looks interesting. On Amazon with good reviews.
Growstone Gnat Nix

• The only scientifically-proven, non-toxic fungus gnat control
• Made from 100% recycled glass
• University trials have proved Gnat Nix! used as a top dressing creates an effective physical barrier against fungus gnats
• Prevents adult emergence from hatching larvae and deters females from laying eggs in the growing media
• Apply 1/2"- 3/4" layer to fully cover the surface in your growing containers, making sure the entire top surfaces of all containers are fully covered

I'm using grow stones, but I still see a few around. I haven't used the gnat control, but I hang one or two of the cheap fly strip catchers ( the ones in the tube )close by. Seems to get the ones hanging around.

 

[Anthropolis]

Ohh yeah sorry Oldster buddy I didn't even see your post as I was writing mine yeah I think BT is safe and non toxic too just throwing out my personal favorite ways of killing those bugs also. BT is probably even faster, the Neem takes a few weeks to totally clear out the gnats.

 

[Aktatts]

I'm going organic but I will try and order the bt. I've been letting my soil dry out a bit in the meantime to see if that will help. There isn't really that many and this morning I couldn't find any. Hoping maybe letting the soil dry was enough.

I'm going to order the products either way though I'm sure this will happen again.