Insect invasion "HELP"

[digitS']

Yellow sticky traps. Your pots of indoor plants will not be very attractive but, maybe, you can turn the pot so that the plant mostly hides the trap ... that soon will be covered with dozens of flies .

This year, DW took plants out of the soil that they had been in through the summer, outdoors. She rinsed off the roots and repotted the plants in fresh, bagged potting soil. Or, she took cuttings and tossed the old plants.

It's helped, a lot. It's not 100% but close to it. There are very few fungus gnats.

I tried the Bt granules especially for fungus gnats last winter. That might have been 50-80% effective. DW was willing to put some effort into repotting, instead.

Cinnamon sprinkled on the soil surface is supposed to work but I haven't tried it. Sounds like cinnamon would be a pleasant fragrance at this time of year .

Best of Luck!

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

Yellow sticky traps. Your pots of indoor plants will not be very attractive but, maybe, you can turn the pot so that the plant mostly hides the trap ... that soon will be covered with dozens of flies .

This year, DW took plants out of the soil that they had been in through the summer, outdoors. She rinsed off the roots and repotted the plants in fresh, bagged potting soil. Or, she took cuttings and tossed the old plants.

It's helped, a lot. It's not 100% but close to it. There are very few fungus gnats.

I tried the Bt granules especially for fungus gnats last winter. That might have been 50-80% effective. DW was willing to put some effort into repotting, instead.

Cinnamon sprinkled on the soil surface is supposed to work but I haven't tried it. Sounds like cinnamon would be a pleasant fragrance at this time of year .

Best of Luck!

Steve

g'neggnog for the g'nats!

 

[Dirtmechanic]

Indoor Plant Pests: Bug Identification & Control | Planet Natural

Have a bug problem on your indoor potted plants? Click on the categories below for pictures, descriptions and a complete list of proven, organic remedies.

www.planetnatural.com

Indoor Pest Control: Bug Spray and Insect Killer | Planet Natural

Here are the best natural and organic products — insect killers, bug sprays, fungicides — to use if indoor plant pests find their way inside your grow room.

www.planetnatural.com

Hope his helps!! A lot of times, tipping over the pot and spraying with water from the hose will get rid of most of them, BUT, if you are like ME, you run outside at 10PM realizing your lovely potted plant will freeze and die, and THEN bring it first in the kitchen/entrance way, and then, like 2 days later it makes it to the winter time window!

4am and I am asking B if the bromeliads are in! So true!

 

[so lucky]

This is only slightly off-topic here, but still in the general category. One of the articles that was mentioned suggested Botanigard, the trade name for Beauveria Bassiana. It is a botanical insecticide that is a symbiotic fungus that kills off the insects like whiteflies, grasshoppers, potato bugs, many garden pests.
Boy it sure is expensive, but it sounds like the miracle we have been looking for, to gird up the resistance and vitality of garden plants.
At $80 a whack, you have to really want some fresh veggies, but if it works and helps build up the former natural beneficial soil life that is now depleted by fertilizers and fungicides, I may have to spring for it.
There was some for about $12 on E-bay, but it has a June 2020 exp. date, and is also a powder. Perhaps a seed coating?
@bobm , this stuff is also recommended for bedbugs, so you may want to check it out if you are still plagued by those things.

 

[Dirtmechanic]

Try looking up Spinosad too. I never have understood putting alcohol on a plant. And a fungus? Thats like using a tortiose as a guard dog. Yeah they might bite - when they get there. Boitoxins are far more fun. Here is a snippet about fungus gnats from garden answers about spinosad:

"The larvae in the soil are killed by putting Spinosad in the watering can. Spinosad is the active bacteria, an organic treatment so fine for edible herbs, and it's available in a variety of products at your local garden center. The combination of yellow sticky cards and Spinosad is very effective.Jan 4, 2016"

 

[so lucky]

I don't know if the spinosad I have has gotten too old or if I have resistant bugs in my garden, but the last couple of years it doesn't seem to have made much of a dent in the bug population. I need to check the shelf life info. And I have probably had it a couple years longer than I think.

 

[digitS']

S. spinosa may be the microbe but ...

"... it is the chemical spinosad, and not the microbe, that is packaged and sold as an insecticide." MSU Extension pdf

So, it's a little different than Bt. And, if you are putting it in the soil, the soil must be diluting the toxin. There might be information on some .edu website about what concentration could be used.

Steve

 

[Dirtmechanic]

S. spinosa may be the microbe but ...

"... it is the chemical spinosad, and not the microbe, that is packaged and sold as an insecticide." MSU Extension pdf

So, it's a little different than Bt. And, if you are putting it in the soil, the soil must be diluting the toxin. There might be information on some .edu website about what concentration could be used.

Steve

We put it on our cats when we go to the vet and buy their feline insect prevention oils. I forget the name because I am so shocked at the prices. Same biotoxin though. And yes, Bt is mainly for caterpillars and sucking or chewing type criminals. I believe that I recall reading that they have to eat Bt but the toxin spinosad need only brush them. But I read a lot and retain less each year.

 

[YourRabbitGirl]

I am not sure what they are. I do think DH brought them in the house when he brought in the outdoor pots for the winter. They seem to multiplying. They look like tiny flies. He hung a fly strip in basement where most of them are. Says some have gotten stuck on it. I put one in kitchen , only thing it has caught is me! Any idea what they might be and how to get rid of them? THANKS

I guess they are fungus gnats, Sometimes they can cause root damage if the infestation is heavy, but normally only eats rotting roots.

 

[Carol Dee]

I guess they are fungus gnats, Sometimes they can cause root damage if the infestation is heavy, but normally only eats rotting roots.

We seem to have the upper hand now, very few seen lately.