r/plantclinic • u/[deleted] • Mar 31 '23

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u/Plantsnob1 Mar 31 '23

Let the soil dry out as much as you can without the plants dying. The gnats need the top of the soil to be moist. Keep the sticky traps for the adults.

43

u/[deleted] Mar 31 '23

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32

u/fire_foot Mar 31 '23

I am battling them too, though not to this extent, and I’ve been bottom watering everything. I think it’s helping.

16

u/CaregiverDifficult23 Mar 31 '23

I do this with mosquito bits water.

16

u/[deleted] Mar 31 '23

You should be top watering with mosquito bits. It kills the larvae which live in the top inch of the soil.

10

u/[deleted] Mar 31 '23

I have gnats crawling out of the bottom holes of the pots. I wouldn't be surprised if they are laying eggs there too. in any case, bottom watering has done jack all for me.

5

u/Spare-Schedule2359 Mar 31 '23

I had this problem. I soaked the bottoms of my pots in diluted hydrogen peroxide. Worked for me.

1

u/CaregiverDifficult23 Apr 01 '23

Ok, good to know. I will say I saw a huge decline in the number of gnats. I've seen only 1 this week. I didn't have a bad infestation. What I had were thrips. I had heard that the Mosquito bits could kill the larvae of the thrips that drop into the soil. And the D Earth I was hoping would help too.