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Thread: Don't ignore Gnat's, because they might not be?

  1. #1

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    Default Don't ignore Gnat's, because they might not be?

    Fungus Gnats or Fungus Flies or call them what you like, they are actually Sciarid Flies and they are worse than Spider Mites, I got mine in 'Infected Soil'
    Here's how it started for me, I had a few leaves dying off and it sort of looked like a Nute of PH issue, neither of which made sense.
    Then I noticed some Gnats in the tent, I gave the plants a thorough check and didn't find anything, but as I had some Bugicide decided to give them a thorough spray.
    They are Auto's, so I decided to turn off the lights overnight as I had soaked the plants and 12 hours in the dark wouldn't matter much while they dried.
    I decided to give them another inspection when I got up the next day, apart from the dead or dying leaves, I still couldn't identify the problem, so I trimmed them off. One of the leaves fell onto the surface of the soil and as I picked it up, something moved, it looked like a very small midge or a flying Aphid.
    I put a Flystrip up and over the next day, twenty or thirty of them got stuck to it.
    I sort of wrongly guessed they were Blackfly, until I spotted what looked like a small black tipped maggot, poking it's head up from the soil?
    Time for a bit of research, I soon found out they were Scairid Flies and nasty little buggers at that.
    They like damp, so I stopped watering the plants, then I found out the larve feed under the surface and they can eat the fine hairs off the roots and can kill the plants before you even realise whats happening, (Hence the leaves dying!)
    Neem oil seems to be the thing to use and a sprinkling of Diatomaceous Earth to rip their stomachs apart!
    I don't know whether I have caught these in time, I do hope so, but as sure as eggs are eggs they won't catch me again.
    I think most growers have had Spider Mites at some time or another, I know I have, but these were a new one on me, I won't get my soil from this supplier again either, I might look into a pre-treatment of the soil as well.

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  3. Default

    Yeah these fungus gnats can be a pain, a grower recently here had some during his grow and was treated successfully with neem spray and diatomaceous earth, you could also use predator insects to fight nature with nature!

    Definitely not an issue anyone would want to ignore

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  5. #3

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    Disagree, they don't even come anywhere close to spider mites because unlike mites they don't become resilient to treatment...They are piss easy to get rid of all you need to do is break the breeding cycle...I use fly spray to kill the adults (flyers) it's more or less instantaneous that way they can't reproduce very simple...I'm not talking about blitzing the room with a massive cloud and contaminating your weed, all you need is a quick couple of seconds blast round the base of the pots...


    Regards BL

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  7. Default

    Oh and I recently made a thread regarding some 'Home made fungus gnat traps' you may find useful - Linky

    The picture shows an hours results!

    P.S I agree with Bud..if we're talking which is worse?...then spider mites by FAR!

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    Sorry Techead....but a fungus gnat infestation is not worse than a spider mite infestation.
    Spider mites are a growers worst nightmare. They are hard to detect, breed like fuck and can kill a crop in no time. And hard to fully eradicate.

    Fungus gnats are easily detected and have a short life span. Dont do much damage to mature plants. Easily detected and very easy to get rid of.
    As Bud mentioned....kill the flyers before they get chance to lay eggs in the soil. N use gnat off in a feed or two to tackle the larvae in soil.
    Problem will be solved in a few days.



    Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

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    My recent grow was absolutely infested with fungus gnats, must have caught hundreds on my sticky trap(s). Plant didn't seem all that bothered by them to be honest but who knows it might have had a negative effect on the yield.
    What will be a pain is fishing all those dead flies off the buds when I'm trimming them...

    Edit: In the last few weeks they disappeared completely and it could have been due to adding a bit of wood vinegar to my water but I'm not 100% sure.
    Last edited by Cleargreen; 07-08-19 at 12:17 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cleargreen View Post
    My recent grow was absolutely infested with fungus gnats, must have caught hundreds on my sticky trap(s). Plant didn't seem all that bothered by them to be honest but who knows it might have had a negative effect on the yield.
    What will be a pain is fishing all those dead flies off the buds when I'm trimming them...

    Edit: In the last few weeks they disappeared completely and it could have been due to adding a bit of wood vinegar to my water but I'm not 100% sure.
    wood vinegar, wouldnt that not lower the ph of the soil fella?
    skin it roll it lick it twist it.


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    Quote Originally Posted by lipnobody View Post
    wood vinegar, wouldnt that not lower the ph of the soil fella?
    The stuff is quite acidic yes, pH: 2.7-3.1, but I only used a very small amount, couple ml's per liter.
    Funny thing is though the grow before I had quite a bunch of fungus gnats as well, which was the reason I had them this latest grow because I started before the previous one was finished so didn't do any IPM.
    During that first grow I was using a homemade wood vinegar that someone had given me pretty much during the whole grow. With my last grow I had kinda forgot to use it and then almost near the end I used a commercial wood vinegar just a few times and afterwards I realized the fungus gnats had disappeared completely.

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    Wow, I have had spider mites, but I guess not as bad as some by the comments, these critters are insidious thogh, I didn't think they were much of a issue, but my plants are young and when I found out the roots could be attacked by the Larvae, that wasn't on.
    I have some Diatomaceous Earth on the way, so a repeat is very unlikely, it's quite safe and supposed to be good for Spider Mites as well.
    I think they may have been here before and I just thought it was a few gnats enjoying the warmth of the tent, I have had a few leaves affected which looked like a PH issue, but I live and learn.

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    Thanks, that is the route I am going, I was actually looking for a few Ladybirds but none around at present.

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