Killing Gnats On Houseplants: 57 Shocking Facts

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57 Shocking Facts About Killing Gnats On Houseplants | Houseplant Pests: Common Critters and How to Get Rid of ‘Em

• If you’re wondering how to kill fungus gnats, neem oil is a natural insecticide that can get the job done. When the soil is dry, liberally spray down the entire plant to polish off any insects, eggs, and larvae. You can pick up ready-made neem oil sprays or neem oil concentrates that you mix yourself. - Source: Internet
• ‘Fungus gnats love moist soil because that’s where fungus grows,’ says Erin Marino of The Sill (opens in new tab). ‘If you have fungus gnats, you may be overwatering or not allowing your soil to dry out properly between waterings. Remember, moist soil means more fungus and more food for fungus gnats.’ - Source: Internet
• If you don’t have sticky traps, but have apple cider vinegar lying around, you can create your own DYI fungus gnat trap. Grab a jar or a saucer and fill it with a few drops of liquid dish soap and a cup of apple cider vinegar (other kinds of vinegar also work) and place the bowl near your plant. Gnats will be attracted to the solution and fall into the trap. This will only capture adult gnats, not the larvae. We recommend using neem or insecticidal soap to water your plant to kill the larvae at the same time. - Source: Internet
• “Bottom-watering” is when you put your parched plant in a bucket of water and let it soak up what it needs through the drainage hole. (It’s very fun. “Like a magic trick,” said Adams.) This keeps the top of your soil dry and therefore gnat-egg-proof. But if the water leaks back out into the tray, or if the hole is accessible to the gnats, you could just end up with the problem at the bottom of your plant instead of the top. - Source: Internet
• However, keep in mind that fungus gnats spend the majority of their lifecycle as eggs and larvae, so sticky traps will only help a portion of the problem right away. If the adult flies have already laid more eggs, the cycle will continue. Yet reducing the adult fly population with sticky traps does help put a dent in the problem overall! Continue to use sticky traps for several weeks to fully break the cycle and get rid of fungus gnats. - Source: Internet
• “You don’t want dead soil,” Jones told me. Healthy soil is a vibrant ecosystem with beneficial bacteria and microorganisms that help your plants grow. Murdering them is bad. Jones said this is really acceptable only as an “all-out, last-case, last-ditch effort” when you’ve tried everything else in this article. If you do this and you go about five weeks without seeing any new gnats, you have to repot your plant or aggressively feed the soil with things like compost tea or worm castings. - Source: Internet
• If the simple combination of drying out the soil and hanging a few sticky traps doesn’t get the job done, there are several natural and non-toxic products used to kill fungus gnats as well. One option is to use something you probably already have around your house – hydrogen peroxide! The good news? It is readily available, easy to work with, and won’t harm your house plants. The best news? Hydrogen peroxide reportedly kills fungus gnat eggs, larvae, pupae, and adult flies on contact. Sayonara, suckers. - Source: Internet
• The main thing that causes fungus gnat infestation is moisture which is likely caused by overwatering or poorly draining soil. You will want to grow in a well-draining soil mix. Usually, most commercial houseplant mixes work, however, you will want to supplement with perlite, sand, vermiculite, or other gritty substances to encourage draining. If possible, decrease peat moss which tends to attract female fungus gnats. - Source: Internet
• When you bring home a new houseplant, look for the presence of fungus gnats. Unfortunately, only the flies will be obvious since the larvae or eggs are very difficult to detect. It is a good idea to keep new plants away from your other houseplants for several days to monitor, especially if you have suspicions that they may be infected. Remember, fungus gnats don’t typically fly long distances unless they have to! - Source: Internet
• Getting rid of fungus gnats is easier than you might think. Simply by watering less often and using a gravel mulch you can break the fungus gnat lifecycle and stop them breeding in your house plant compost. But there are other ways, too. We list four ways to get rid of fungus gnats, below. - Source: Internet
• Fungus gnats are completely harmless to humans, since they can’t bite and don’t spread diseases. They can be a problem for houseplants, however, when their population explodes and their larvae starts to feed on plants’ thin roots. Fungus gnats may also spread Pythium, a group of plant pathogens that causes “damping off” in seedlings. - Source: Internet
• Thankfully, most houseplants don’t mind if you cut back on their water a bit. Truth be told, many plant parents are guilty of watering their plants more than they should. So much so, that overwatering is a common cause of death in houseplants! - Source: Internet
• Fungus gnats are drawn to light, as well as the color yellow. Use yellow sticky traps near, hanging from, or inside the potted plant to catch adult flies. These sticky traps on stakes are designed especially for potted plants! We also hang these larger ones to catch gnats and other flying pests in our greenhouse. - Source: Internet
• Those tiny, annoying gnats in your house plants are attracted to excess soil moisture, so overwatering is typically why you have the pests . When plants stay too wet for too long, the soil can start to develop a fungus that attracts the gnats (hence the name). Once they’ve chosen their host plant, they lay eggs in the damp soil and hover around it like a cloud of furious, annoying, and ever-moving black dots. - Source: Internet
• But when I got the bug-trafficking calathea, the soil was very damp. Brown, the entomologist, said it almost definitely came from an infested greenhouse. Greenhouses are humid and full of plants that get watered frequently, he said, and thus are a somewhat intractable scene of fungus gnat issues. Similarly, anywhere in your house that has moisture is keeping the gnats interested. - Source: Internet
• Do you have small black flies living in your house plant compost? Or hovering around your house plants ? These are fungus gnats, also known as house plant flies and sciarid flies. They’re mostly harmless – adult gnats cause little or no harm to plants, but they can become a nuisance in the home. Their tiny worm-like larvae live in the top 5-8cm of compost, where they feed on algae, fungi and plant roots. Healthy house plants usually tolerate this minor root damage, but the larvae can harm seedlings or weak plants. - Source: Internet
• Sub-irrigated planters (opens in new tab) – available on Amazon – are containers where there’s a built-in device to enable you to water the plant’s roots directly, as opposed to watering the top of the planter. Because the top layer of soil dries out completely using this method, there is no place for the fungus gnats to be able to breed. These planters are often more suitable to the long term health of most indoor plants, too. - Source: Internet
• The sweetness of apple cider vinegar attracts gnats, plus the tantalizing amber tint adds an extra come-hither. Place a small, shallow dish of vinegar next to the plant. Add a few drops of dish soap to the mix—this will decrease the surface tension of the water, causing the gnats to sink and drown more easily. - Source: Internet
• “We definitely need them for something,” he told me. “They’re all part of the ecosystem. They do various things that are necessary to provide us with clean air, clean water, foods, medicine; all these things work together to do that. All the fungus gnats may be obscure and at times inexplicable to humans, but they’re all part of what keeps the world going.” - Source: Internet
• Adult gnats don’t do any major harm (apart from being annoying, that is). But fungus gnat larvae can chew their way down to the plant’s roots and lower stem tissue. Once they start munching holes, this can lead to yellowing foliage, stunted growth, wilted blooms, and even plant death. - Source: Internet
• Fungus gnats reproduce by laying eggs in the top couple inches of damp soil. The eggs hatch into larvae, the larvae feed on organic matter within the soil for 2 weeks, and then they pupate. A couple of days later, the adult flies emerge and start buzzing around. You’ll commonly see fungus gnats hanging out on the soil surface, edge of the pot, or maybe around the drainage holes of the pot. They most often only fly in short bursts, and otherwise crawl around. - Source: Internet
• If you wanted to go all-natural, you can use carnivorous plants like venus fly trap. We don’t recommend this method unless you have a light infestation. It’ll take you a long time to rid of any moderate or severe infestation using one or two carnivorous plants. Fungus gnats can lay up to 200-300 eggs in their lifetime, so they are harder to manage with this method. - Source: Internet
• I hope that these tips will help you and your houseplants happily thrive, pest-free and healthy. If you are having issues with other houseplant pests such as aphids or mealybugs, check out our simple soap spray recipe to battle those buggers! Please feel free to ask questions in the comments below, or share this article with your friends. Thanks for tuning in! - Source: Internet
• Killer mites may sound fierce, but they’re actually beneficial garden insects that will prey on fungus gnats, thrips, and other soil-dwelling pests. Since traps and insecticides can harm other insects, they’re a great alternative for killing fungus gnats in your outdoor plants. You can order these mites online and introduce them directly to your garden. - Source: Internet
• Fungus gnats are about one-eighth of an inch long and are dark grey or black with thin wings, long legs and long antennae. Although they have a very short life span, they wreak havoc by feeding on algae, fungi and decaying plant matter, as well as plant roots and leaves. They don’t fly very far and tend to cluster around the plant that they are infesting. Fungus gnats are usually most noticeable in the late fall and winter, hovering around indoor plants [source: Cransaw, Cloyd]. Read here for some ideas of how to get rid of this nuisance. - Source: Internet
• A few sheets of sticky gnat traps placed near plant soil will catch and kill adult gnats, thus preventing further breeding. Fungus gnats have a particular fondness for the color yellow, so be sure to pick the yellow traps. Pre-made plant stakes are available, or you can cut up larger sheets of yellow fly paper and create stakes out of toothpicks, popsicle sticks, or anything else pointy. - Source: Internet
• When shopping for neem oil, I always suggest choosing a high quality cold-pressed pure neem oil over pre-mixed products that contain a lot of other additives. In order to fully mix neem oil with water for an even and effective application, the neem oil will need to be emulsified first – because oil and water don’t easily mix. Check out our article all about properly mixing and using neem oil in the garden, or, for houseplants! - Source: Internet
• The calathea started to struggle right away. I fretted over it, brought in a humidifier, moved the plant closer to and then farther from the window. Then the ‘Marble Queen’ pothos hanging in the window started struggling. The philodendron ‘Brasil’ began to droop. I took them down to get a look at the soil and was met with a face full of fungus gnats. - Source: Internet
• Cinnamon is a natural fungicide that can help eliminate what’s attracting the gnats. Sprinkle a generous layer onto dry soil before watering. Be sure to use 100% Ceylon cinnamon for maximum effectiveness. - Source: Internet
• Houseplants bring a dazzling, outdoorsy, peaceful energy to any home! They also help to cleanse your space by purifying the air around them. However, while you may be eager to create a jungle-esque vibe inside, you probably aren’t looking for a full immersion experience – with bugs flying all over your house! Unfortunately, fungus gnats are a fairly common problem with house plants. The good news is – it’s easy to get rid of fungus gnats, once you know the tricks! - Source: Internet
• Erin Marino of The Sill (opens in new tab)explains: ‘Fungus gnats are 1/8 inch gray-ish adult flies with delicate wings and long legs. They are often found around the growing season (spring through summer), during favorable conditions, flying around the soil. Fungus gnat larvae, however, feed on organic matter within the soil.’ - Source: Internet
• Fungus gnats include several species of tiny, short-lived flies. They are commonly confused with fruit flies, which are similar but have slightly different anatomy, feeding, and breeding habits. Rather than fruit, fungus gnats are drawn to the warm, moist, cozy environment that you’ve created for your potted houseplants. They may hitch a ride into your home on a new houseplant friend you adopt, or sneak in through doors, windows, or other small crevices in your home. - Source: Internet
• Once your plant is growing in a well-drianing potting mix and container, you’ll want to follow its proper watering schedule. For most houseplants, you’ll want the topsoil to dry in between waterings. However, we recommend you follow the water requirements for your specific houseplant. - Source: Internet
• Did you know you can actually use potato to attract these pests? If you’re using a fresh potato, cut it into 1/2-1 inch thick pieces and stick the potatoes into the soil. The moisture and sugar contents of the potato will attract the larvae and fungus gnats to these potatoes. Potatoes are like sticky traps, but they work well for larvae vs. sticky traps working well for flying fungus gnats. Often times you can combine this method with Apple Cider VInegar and sticky traps to help move the process faster. - Source: Internet
• Make sure the flies you see are really fungus gnats by trying the raw potato test. Place a piece of raw potato on the soil near an infested a plant. If these are fungus gnats, you will see them migrating to the potato within a few hours. If you lift the piece of potato, you should see the larvae. - Source: Internet
• Fungus gnats are a fruit fly–sized insect pest that primarily affects indoor houseplants. Attracted to the moisture of potting soil, adult gnats lay their eggs (up to about 200) on organic matter near the soil surface. After about three days, the eggs hatch into larvae, which burrow into the soil to feed on fungi and decaying plant material. Two weeks after that, adult gnats emerge from the soil to repeat the process. Adults live for about one week. - Source: Internet
• Even worse? The gnats came for the dwarf Meyer lemon tree and the burro’s tail on the balcony. They got into my big dracaena, my fiddle-leaf fig, my bird of paradise. They unleashed their foul spawn on my pride and joy: my two big monstera plants. I’m so paranoid that I’ve caught myself aggressively swatting specks of dust out of the air. At this point, I am legitimately concerned that I have somehow bred a mutant strain that is immune to every treatment out there. - Source: Internet
• I asked Brown, the entomologist, whether I had bred a new and unkillable mutant species of fungus gnat. He said no. He’s a bug guy, and I’m a plant girl, which put us somewhat at odds in our conversation. I asked why fungus gnats exist at all. What purpose do they serve? - Source: Internet
• Another non-toxic way to treat fungus gnats is to use biological controls, such as Bacillus Thuringiensis. Specifically the subspecies israelensis, also known as Bti. Bti is a naturally-occurring bacterium that is found in soil. According to the EPA, Bti contains spores that produce toxins that specifically target and only affect the larvae of the mosquitoes, blackfly and fungus gnats. Meaning, it is not harmful to other organisms. - Source: Internet
• Fungus gnats are most common in indoor plants, as their soil takes longer to dry out. However, if there’s a similar moisture issue outdoors, they might orbit around your in-ground garden plants as well. For the latter, it’s important to be vigilant following the winter thaw, as many pests are attracted to springtime moisture . - Source: Internet
• In a similar method to hydrogen peroxide or Bti, a neem oil drench can also be applied to the infected soil to kill fungus gnats. Do not use straight concentrated neem oil though! Create and apply a dilute neem oil solution by following the manufacturer’s instructions on the neem oil product you select. Watering with a dilute neem oil solution can help to kill fungus gnats, and also repel them in the future. - Source: Internet
• Unfortunately, if all you see are brown, mushy roots, this is grim news for the plant. Plants don’t bounce back once root rot has fully taken over. This is why it’s crucial to adjust your watering to the plant’s needs, especially when a gang of fungus gnats tips you off to a moisture problem. - Source: Internet
• The nonchemical means listed above — picking off bugs, spraying them with a mild detergent solution or using pest predators — are the best ways to kill bugs without killing plants. If the plant can tolerate it, you can also make alterations to the plant’s environment, transforming its home into one that isn’t well-tolerated by the pests. Many people find that they are able to keep their houseplants in top condition without the use of any artificial chemicals, bug sprays or other potentially toxic options. - Source: Internet
• Place yellow sticky traps near the infested plant. These 3-by-5-inch (7.6-by-12.7-centimeter) adhesive-based traps attract and kill many, though not all. fungus gnats [source: UCDavis ]. - Source: Internet
• As we’ve already established, fungus gnats love moist soil – and need it to breed! Therefore, overwatering your plants can easily lead to a fungus gnat problem. To prevent and battle fungus gnats, avoid overwatering your plants in the first place. Only provide water when the top couple inches of soil has dried out. Remember, that top shallow soil is where the fungus gnats are drawn to! - Source: Internet
• Fungus gnats are not harmful to people, aside from being annoying! In small numbers, they are not harmful to your houseplants either. However, the University of California warns that when left unchecked, large populations of fungus gnats can become damaging to plants. Their larvae may begin to feed on the plant’s roots, which causes stress, yellowing, wilting, and potential death of the plant in the most serious cases. Fungus gnats can also spread disease that leads to damping off – a condition when young plants or seedlings suddenly wilt and die. - Source: Internet
• After potting your houseplant, consider adding a layer of horticultural sand (not play sand!) to the top of the soil. You can water the plant through the sand, and meanwhile it will deter fungus gnats from laying eggs in the pot. In addition to sand, there are other soil-topping products like this one (made from crushed recycled glass) that are specially made to eliminate fungus gnats from your potted plants. - Source: Internet
• The yellow sticky traps “work” in that they capture a disgusting amount of twitching flying insects. But they capture only adult fungus gnats and not necessarily before the bugs have had a chance to lay eggs. If you catch the problem early, a strong line of sticky trap defenses might be enough to stop it in its tracks, but I was too far gone for this to be sufficient. - Source: Internet
• ‘To rid a plant of fungus gnats, both the larvae in the soil as well as the adult flies need to be targeted,’ says Greenery Unlimited. ‘This is in order to interrupt the life cycle. Simply dealing with the adults will not stop the eggs from hatching or the nymphs from growing into adults, and dealing with the eggs and nymphs in the soil will not stop the adults from laying more eggs.’ - Source: Internet
• Beneficial nematodes are often used for organic pest control of gnats, fleas, grubs, and other pests. You can purchase beneficial nematodes and add them to your watering can. Nematodes are teeny tiny worm-like bugs, often so small that you can’t even see them with your naked eye. They work to penetrate fungus gnats and other insects in their larval stage, releasing bacteria that ends up consuming the pest from the inside out. It’s grim and gross when you think about it, but not as gross as letting gnats kill your precious houseplants! - Source: Internet
• Read along to learn how to kill fungus gnats in your house plants. These tips can also be applied to other plants and soil too, such as in potted plants in a greenhouse, or even outdoors. When it comes to fungus gnats, prevention is key! Therefore, we’ll go over a few ways to prevent fungus gnats first, so maybe no intervention will be needed at all. Yet when you already have an infestation on your hands, there are several organic methods you can use to get rid of fungus gnats. - Source: Internet
• According to the Mississippi State University Extension Service, there are potentially dozens of pests that can affect houseplants. The appearance and habits of the bugs on your plant help you determine what type of bug you’re dealing with. These are some of the most common ones: - Source: Internet
• You realize you have bugs in the soil of your houseplants when you water the plants and it causes the bugs to come to the surface of the soil. There are methods to rid your plants of these soil bugs that do not require you to re-pot the plant in new soil. Avoid potentially harmful, chemical insecticides by using an organic method of insect control. - Source: Internet
• In almost all cases, tepid water with a small amount of mild detergent can be safely sprayed on houseplants that have evidence of bugs. Spray the leaves and stem of the plant, then leave it for five minutes or so before rinsing. Repeat every few days until the pests are gone. - Source: Internet
• Fungus gnats pack a whole lot of obnoxiousness for their tiny size, so it’s understandable that you’re wondering how to get rid of gnats in plants ASAP. Luckily, there’s a simple reason why they gravitate towards your greenery, plus an array of effective, natural methods that can deal swift justice. Here’s what causes fungus gnats and how you can get them to stop bothering your plants. - Source: Internet
• Jones, the beekeeper, recommended I try cinnamon or cedar shavings on the soil. She said the gnats don’t like those scents, so they act as a deterrent. It did not seem that many were deterred. - Source: Internet
• Once you’ve spotted fungus gnats, it’s important to quarantine the affected plants if possible. Since these buggers are a telltale symptom of overwatering, you’ll also want to check for root rot, especially if you’re wondering how to save dead or dying plants . For container plants, this is a relatively simple process: - Source: Internet

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