Summit 116-12 Quick Kill Mosquito Bits, 8-Ounce

Product Information

Depending on the size of the containers you use, this can make many traps. I’ve made between 9 and 12 from one batch. I use empty baby food jars and place several near areas with plants. It is been very effective!

If you are opposed to harsher treatments, one excellent product to use is Mosquito Bits. Mosquito bits are basically corn cob granules which are coated in BTI bacteria (Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelensis). These eggs hatch into larvae that look like tiny maggots which only live in the top 2-3 inches (5-8 cm) of soil. The fungus gnat larvae are the culprits which cause damage to cannabis roots. If you don’t have pets and are looking for how to kill fungus gnats safely, consider spraying your plants and the surface of their soil with a pyrethrin solution. Pyrethrins are natural insecticides that don’t harm humans, but reportedly can be harmful to pets—cats and fish in particular. The last step that you’ll need to take is to treat the potting mix to kill the larvae so that they don’t turn into flying, adult fungus gnats.

Plant Symptoms

Pyrethrins and the similar pyrethroid compounds are known to have insecticidal properties, including against fungus gnats. [14] Related pyrethroid insectides have also been used. Pyrethrin compounds are known to occur in certain chrysanthemum flowers. You mix it into the top inch of soil for each plant. When the gnats dig into the soil to lay eggs, consume fungus, or emerge, it prevents them from continuing. Option #3 Pumice stones

This video shows you what fungus gnats look like, and also go over how to get rid of them (or just read the rest of the article!) Just before the first frost of the season, we bring all our potted plants indoors. This marks the beginning of our seasonal battle with indoor fungus gnats. They’ve been busy colonizing all our pots all summer, and within two weeks of coming inside they are pretty much everywhere. Some growers will cover their compost pile with items that have a lot of carbon, such as cardboard, shredded paper, or brown leaves. This also disrupts the fungus gnat life cycle, but tarp or plastic sheeting is easier. If you’ve mixed your compost pile properly using a proven cannabis composting recipe, it is unlikely that you will need to add extra carbon to prevent fungus gnats. Fungus gnat adults don’t do much direct damage to plants. It’s the fungus gnat larvae that are most damaging. A fungus gnat infestation involves damaged roots that stunt plant growth, especially in young plants. In houseplants that have too much moisture in their potting soil, high populations of fungus gnat adults and larvae are associated with the death of plant matter. Before that, it’s difficult to tell whether or not the issue is feeding larvae or overwatering infections by fungi, or generally unhealthy roots.

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If you live in a temperate or tropical area, you’ve most likely seen insect pests called fungus gnats before. They’re small flies that infest soil potting soil, any container media, and other organically decomposed sources and materials. Fungus gnat larvae feed on fungi and plant roots in soil and organic matter. They’re a problem in commercial greenhouses, houseplants indoors, and potted plants. Adult fungus gnats tend to emerge from indoor plants when warmer temperatures occur in spring and summer. I’ve personally dealt with the indoor version of fungus gnats, commonly known as fruit flies. While you are controlling your potting mix moisture, you will need to also trap any of the adult fungus gnats. Fungus gnats are weak flyers and you will see them normally flying pretty close to your plants.

Repeat steps 1 to 7 for a fortnight. If the gnats are still not wiped out, or at least heavily curtailed, by this regimen, it would seem you are dealing with “Rambo gnats”. In this case, you’re going to have to invest in the more expensive options and follow these steps: To prepare the trap, mix all ingredients: .5 cup warm water, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar, a few drops of dish soap. NOTE: If you decide to buy the plant anyway, keep it isolated from your other plants until you’ve treated it for fungus gnats. Once the gnats are gone, you can introduce the plant to your other houseplants. There are two stages of a fungus gnat – the larva stage and the flying (adult) stage. The flying gnats don’t pose a problem for houseplants – they are just seriously annoying when they fly in your face! The adult gnats don’t bite, so they are harmless. It’s the fungus gnat larva that causes problems. The larvae live in the soil and feed on plant roots. Despite their small size, fungus gnats can be a big nuisance in your soil cannabis grow, mostly because their tiny maggot/larvae offspring will hurt your plant’s roots (which will cause problems for your plants).One recommendation to soak mosquito bits in water (2 tablespoons of mosquito bits to a half-gallon of water). Then you can water your plants with the mosquito bit-soaked water once per week for three weeks. This creates a hard, rough surface which the adult gnats would need to climb through to lay eggs and dig into the soil. They do not like materials that scratch their bodies and are less likely to lay where pumice is present. Option #4 Vinegar Traps Adult fungus gnats cannot hurt your plants; they just annoy us humans and do a very good job reproducing

Another recommendation is to shake some mosquito bits onto the plant’s soil surface or mix the bits into the plant’s soil, allowing the larva to feast on the bits directly, eventually controlling them. Option #3 Hydrogen Peroxide Don’t water your plants for a few days. You want to begin drying out the soil to kill as many larvae as you can before you apply a treatment (which will involve watering). Fungus gnat larvae need a warm, wet environment near the surface of your soil to grow. Even after you’ve gone through all these steps and believe fungus gnats are gone, make sure to avoid overwatering plants, as this is the most common reason growers get fungus gnats in the first place. Don’t do the next step until the top few inches of soil has dried out The larvae of most species feed on fungi growing on soil, helping in the decomposition of organic matter. However some species are predatory, including those in the genus Arachnocampa of family Keroplatidae – the "glowworms" of Australia and New Zealand. [1] Solarize potting soil and compost to sterilize it. To do so, place soil inside of a sealed plastic bag and pat it flat so that it is no more than 8 inches deep. Lay it on a raised location in the sun for at least a month—or two months or longer in cloudy places.

Mosquito Bits

Fungus gnats are called “fungus” gnats because they feed on fungi growing in your soil or potting mix. Adult fungus gnats are harmless, but the larvae in the potting mix, if present in large numbers, can damage roots, particularly in younger plants. CONTROL CULTURAL CONDITIONS TEMPERATURE Want to avoid itchy rashes this spring? Here’s how to get rid of poison ivy from you garden or yard If the fungus gnat infestation gets out of hand, even adult cannabis plants start looking unhealthy, showing many symptoms such as wilting, yellowing, drooping, spots