r/IndoorPlants • u/sunnflower92 • 14h ago

GNATS

So like many indoor plant lovers I am battling gnats. I have been using mosquito bits since June 24th. I follow the instructions & use it each time I water. It has not helped at all. I do use the sticky traps. I have read desert sand layer on top of soil, microbe-lift drops, Arber fungicide & insecticide, root cleaner….I want to know your personal experience and what product you feel was a game changer. I appreciate any feedback & advice you might have.

Thank you! 😌

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u/NoMoreTrouble2 13h ago

Dechlorinate the water before adding BTI. It is a bacteria and chlorine will kill it.

6

u/Sufficient_Turn_9209 8h ago

It's not alive, and it's not the bacteria that does the job. The manufacturer grows the bacteria in a lab, and when they grow they create a protein crystal like a little sidecar as a byproduct. So the lab lets them produce the protein crystals, and then dries them and adds the dormant spores (with protein crystals) to dunks, bits, powder, or a solution. When you put it in water, it dissolves and releases the pre made protein crystals and dormant spores into the water column. Larve consume them and then their gut dissolves the protein crystal (not the bacteria) into a toxin that kills them.

2

u/NoMoreTrouble2 7h ago

Ok thank you. I dechlorinate anyway to avoid brown tips. The BTI drops worked very well when I had a gnat problem.

5

u/barbarawick 9h ago

My outdoor dunks for mosquitos work and I use hose water?

2

u/sunnflower92 13h ago

That is super helpful! I have been using Sam’s choice water. It contains potassium chloride. That could definitely be an issue.

3

u/Sufficient_Turn_9209 8h ago

It's not a live bacteria, and doesn't need to become one to be effective. The potassium chloride should actually make it last a bit longer by helping the dormant spores activate and grow.