fungus gnats

Brian & Virginia,

I have been VERY succesful with Neem Oil sprayed on seedlings and tc
explants.  While it is not 100% effective, it appears to control about
99% of them.  How do I monitor all this, you ask?  I have a yellow insect
strip that I keep under the lights along with the plants.  If I see
fungus gnats on the soil or plants, I spray them again.  If I notice a
few more adults on the yellow strip, I spray again.  It appears that a
once-a-week spray (which also includes Dyna-Gro's foliar fertilizer and
"ProTeckt" (a soluable silicone product that improves leaf substance and
decreases foliar dehydration) does a great job.

The #$%&*#@ larvae and eggs are in the soils that you use to pot up the
seedlings - or are in the soils in the pots you have brought inside to
start up early.  Again for such pots, I spray them with the Neem Oil
mixture immediately to get ahead of the problem.  While I still have a
few fungus gnats at times, the problem is very minimal.

Of course, Ran's approach is a great one for seedlings.  But if you bring
plants (with soil) in from outside, you will begin the fight to control
or eliminate the buggers.

The Oxamyl approach sounds great - and I intend to give it a try.  Always
seeking a better way.

Charles Tuttle
Columbus  OH

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