Fungus Gnats - can't get rid of them

[Mystic]

Hi,
I've read several articles and watch a lot of videos about this topic. Maybe you got some more ideas or can help me with it.

I got swarms of fungus gnats on my pepper plants and nothing seems to work properly. Nematodes were the best so far but the flies managed to come back. Neemoil isn't working properly - I spray the soil where the flies are and it looks like nothing happens to them.
Someone suggested cinnamon - these thing shouldn't like the scent....well they don't care.

Some flies are at the top of the plant and 1 or 2 plant have the worms and flies on the bottom. I try my best to get the plants as dry as possible but the solutions like nematodes should be put into wet soil but on the other hand how can I get dry soil when I need to water it all the time with different solutions?

Not sure what do to next, so it would be nice if you got any suggestions.

 

[Chuck]

Spinosad, both as a drench and a spray @ 1oz/gal is death on them.

 

[Tetters]

Oh dear.... we sympathise. We had a problem on the cacti recently. Our problem is now solved.

We changed the compost first on each pot to get rid of eggs and worms, and washed all the roots off on the plants. We then used small yellow sticky pads on sticks (bought on eBay) to trap any flies we may have missed - there were just a few. Then we put all the plants under a net. Some seeds that were sown were also covered with fine net.
It was a long drawn out job, but there are now no fungus gnats. A relief because the worms were previously chewing through the roots of the plants and they don`t do too well with no roots
Good luck !

 

[Tetters]

........OR, of course, you could use spinosad

 

[Chuck]

........OR, of course, you could use spinosad

It may not be available but it is, by far, the best insecticide on the market anywhere and I have tried them all at one time or another.

 

[Tetters]

Spinosad is not an insecticide we know of, and have never used it before, but will most certainly seek it out here. Thanks for the tip @Chuck - will let you know if we can get it.

 

[Chuck]

Spinosad is not an insecticide we know of, and have never used it before, but will most certainly seek it out here. Thanks for the tip @Chuck - will let you know if we can get it.

I don't think it is imported. I am surprised that it isn't manufactured there. From what I have heard it is a fairly simple process where a soil bacteria is distilled from the living bacteria. I know one person on this forum somehow obtained a quart of concentrate but I don't know how he did it. It really is an amazing product. The only thing wrong with it is that it is not selective in what it kills. Perhaps you could get it online from another country like Canada.

 

[Sheal]

Ebay sells it @Tetters. I'll keep it in mind for the future too but get very few pests here.

 

[Tetters]

After a search I found a seller who sold this on Amazon - but there is none in stock and they don`t know if there will be in the future. There was a joker on eBay (just read your message @Sheal ) who was selling a tiny 30ml bottle of spinosad that he took from a big package that must have come from USA for £12.99 plus postage - I reckon he was making a bundle out of that. It had a warning on the bottle '' beware this kills bees too''
I have been remembering why I have never used any of these insecticides on my land - and by leaving the insects alone generally the whole lot takes care of itself.
At the present time we are using a bottle of methylated spirit with a cotton bud to sort out any stray bug on the cactus - that`s about all the poison we have.

 

[Chuck]

After a search I found a seller who sold this on Amazon - but there is none in stock and they don`t know if there will be in the future. There was a joker on eBay (just read your message @Sheal ) who was selling a tiny 30ml bottle of spinosad that he took from a big package that must have come from USA for £12.99 plus postage - I reckon he was making a bundle out of that. It had a warning on the bottle '' beware this kills bees too''
I have been remembering why I have never used any of these insecticides on my land - and by leaving the insects alone generally the whole lot takes care of itself.
At the present time we are using a bottle of methylated spirit with a cotton bud to sort out any stray bug on the cactus - that`s about all the poison we have.

It is a strange thing. Folks on this forum are always moaning about having this bug or that bug eating or doing something to their plants. Once I started being 100% organic I rarely see any harmful insects and not many caterpillars. 30 years ago, before organic gardening started to gain in popularity, it was a fight to see who would eat my vegetables first, me or the bugs. But once organic fertilizers were introduced and I started using them I started to see fewer and fewer of them. I am convinced that using synthetic anything on a garden leads to all kinds of problems

 

[Tetters]

I couldn`t agree more Chuck. Some years ago I had a visit from ''Cropwatch'' a good local firm with high credentials for advice and general observations. The report was .... any obvious problems were being adequately dealt with by friendly insects who were doing all the 'housekeeping' for me. I call that perfection.
Organic is undoubtedly best.

 

[Sheal]

I try to buy as little as possible from both Ebay and Amazon @Tetters , I don't trust either of them. ,Plus. they've hiked their prices and postage since the arrival of the virus knowing that we're shopping more online because of lockdown. Surely that chap is selling illegally having taken the bottle from a multi-pack?

My climate is such that I get very few pests here and prefer to garden organically wherever possible.

@Chuck I think us Brits are very lucky regarding pest problems in comparison to other countries, and what we have here are manageable without using chemicals. As you say, leave it alone and nature will take care of itself.

 

[Chuck]

I try to buy as little as possible from both Ebay and Amazon @Tetters , I don't trust either of them. ,Plus. they've hiked their prices and postage since the arrival of the virus knowing that we're shopping more online because of lockdown. Surely that chap is selling illegally having taken the bottle from a multi-pack?

My climate is such that I get very few pests here and prefer to garden organically wherever possible.

@Chuck I think us Brits are very lucky regarding pest problems in comparison to other countries, and what we have here are manageable without using chemicals. As you say, leave it alone and nature will take care of itself.

It is not only as you say but I believe that using synthetics actually weakens a plants immune system for such things as fungus and possibly even some virus. I know for a fact that synthetic fertilizers actually weakens a plants ability to withstand insect damage and actually "invites" harmful insects. As an example, the Harlequin bug. This insect is Mother Natures garbage man. It supposedly comes in after harvest when plants are in the first stage of dying, speeds things up drastically and actually helps with cleanup. But, by using synthetic fertilizers they come in before harvest and do great damage to production. And this only happens when the soil is depleted by using synthetics. There is no other answer. And the Harlequin bug is only one example. Take stink bugs. They will fly into an organic garden and do minor damage and leave. Most of the time they won't even lay eggs. They fly into a synthetic garden and stay. There is something about an organic garden that they just don't like. I have been observing insects and what they do for a long long time. Both as a synthetic gardener and an organic gardener I can say with upmost confidence that organic gardening and mimicking Mother Nature as close as possible increases production and greatly decreases harm from insects and pathogens.

 

[Sheal]

Yes, using synthetics must weaken plants. We only have to look at ourselves as humans. The more medicine we swallow the more our immune system is weakened. It then gets to the point where medicines don't work anymore and our immune system is shot. This has to follow throughout nature - plant, animal or human.

You are very knowledgeable when it comes to plant pests and diseases, no doubt from years of study. A feather in your cap!

 

[Mystic]

Thank you very much, it think I got the problem solved more or less with some casualties, but the might also be duento overwatering.
I let the plants go as dry as possible and put a cover on top of some of the more infected plants. Now there are some gnats here and there. Also I plastered everything with yellow stickers.....and they are packed, really unpleasant to look at, but it helped.