This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

Re: Fungus Gnats in Seedlings

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

Yes, I found that I was majorly overwatering my first batch of seedlings
a couple of months ago, but ever since then I've never been able to get
rid of them completely and they just keep multiplying.  I'm watering
much less now.  I never realized potting soil held moisture for so
long.  Since I live in a warm climate, I'm used to having to water
container plants a lot.  Thanks for the help, to Frank too!  I'll look
for Gnatrol.

Kim, zone 9, so cal

margaret lauterbach wrote:
> 
> At 03:31 PM 7/8/99 +0000, you wrote:
> >Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html
> >
> >Anyone out there know how to kill fungus gnats in my seedlings growing
> >under flourescent lights?  I have put out 6 yellow sticky traps and that
> >has caught a TON of them, but there are still plenty flying around and
> >laying eggs in the soil of the seedlings.  THerefore, I keep getting new
> >generations of them.  I saw a product in Gardens Alive that was for this
> >as a soil drench; it was a special strain of BT.  I've never used BT.
> >Does anyone know if there are special strains of BT.  This one says it
> >is BT/H-14.  Or can I just use regular BT or something else.  I've never
> >had so many of these darn gnats before and my seedlings are really
> >struggling because of them.  Preferably I'd like to get something that
> >is just generally available at a nursery or Home Depot or something
> >rather than having to mail order.
> >
> >Thanks, as usual.
> >
> >Kim, zone 9, so cal
> >
> Kim, it is a special strain of BT that works on fungus gnat larvae. One
> commercial product is called "Gnatrol." It is expensive for nurseries to
> use, so they watch their watering (overwatering contributes to fungus gnat
> population explosion) and for some crops they add about 1/2 inch of coarse
> sand to the tops of the pots. The gnats want to lay their eggs in soil, and
> sand puts them off to an extent that they don't lay their eggs there
> evidently. Good luck, Margaret L


______________________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe, write to sqft-unsubscribe@listbot.com
Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index