The sticky traps work well to catch adults, but these gnats breed so quickly that some of them tend to be able to lay eggs before getting caught on a trap.
The nuclear option with houseplants is imidacloprid granules. You add the granules to the soil, water the plant, and it gets absorbed by the plant's tissues. Provides protection for a few months and will kill any bugs (gnats, aphids, or otherwise) that feed on or live on the plant.
Do not use this on plants that will be going outside. Imidacloprid is almost too effective for its own good, and will also kill bees and other pollinators. This should be used as a last resort, and for indoor houseplants only!
You can get gnatrol instead of mosquito dunks which is BTI concentrate too but designed for use on plants for gnats instead of in bodies of water for mosquitoes. https://www.organicbti.com/product-page/gnatrol-bti-omri-organic-fungus-gnat-larvicide
Although for houseplants honestly I recommend using imidacloprid systemic pesticide in granular form. You can get it from Bonide on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Systemic-Granules-22-4-lb/dp/B000BWZ9U8
Not only will imidacloprid kill all your fungus gnats and any other soil borne pest it will kill every single thing else besides armored scale & spider mites. I seriously can't recommend it high enough. It lasts 90 days and kills everything from aphids, thrips, whiteflies, you name it. I use it on all my indoor plants as a preventative and it works extremely well. It actually works too well for its own good & will kill bees too so do not use it on outdoor flowering plants.
Use bonide systemic geanules. This was life-changing and the only thing that worked for me. Bonide Systemic House Plant Insect Control Granules 8 oz., 0.22% Imidacloprid Insecticide https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BX1HKI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_0JK5438Y1J575YKZYKWB?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
I don't know how you feel about insecticides but I've had great success with integrating these in the soil.
Every time my outdoor succulent garden gets pot upgrades I refresh the fertilizers and granules. Seems to keep the ants from being able to re colonize in my plants.
Get Advion gel for ants from Amazon. Put a 3 inch line on pieces of aluminum foil (to allow it to be cleaned up) near where you see the ants. They will cluster on it for about 2 days, then disappear.
https://www.amazon.com/Argentine-Carpenter-Cornfield-Harvester-Pavement/dp/B00TXFE4RI
Advion from Amazon will fix their wagon. Put a two inch strip on pieces of aluminum foil and leave those around. They will cluster on it for two days, and then be gone.
https://www.amazon.com/Argentine-Carpenter-Cornfield-Harvester-Pavement/dp/B00TXFE4RI
Floridian that lives in hurricane ally reporting in. Critters inside the home are common after hurricanes. The ground gets so saturated that all the insects seek high ground. I even had a snake in my home after one hurricane!
Spray the house for bugs and put bait traps out. I don't think your baby should be in the house for a few days after spraying for bugs. I use the below product for yearly treatment and after hurricane flooding.
https://www.amazon.com/Ortho-Defense-Insect-Perimeter2-Comfort/dp/B01N7KSXHX
I personally know of a little baby that ended up in the emergency room after becoming sick from bug spray exposure.
I don’t know what your living situation is or how feasible this is-but my go to thrip solution in warm weather is to always to take the plant outside and douse it with soapy water/insecticidal soap and then hit the plant with the hose or douse it with water then leave it in the shade outside for a few days. I’ll keep checking on the plant and will re-do the process until I see the fuckers are all gone.
I’ve also treated some worse off philos with bonide and had good results.
Good luck! Can’t imagine how frustrating this is!
Edit: fixed link!
If they keep coming right back, it's not working. It's probably just sending them into hiding for a day or two. I tried some home-mixed remedies with varying success, but the best thing I've found and the only thing that I can confirm works is 1) physically wiping every leaf off with a wet washcloth. You can get like 90% of the adult mites that way 2) follow up with an aggressive coat of insecticidal soap. I bought this stuff on Amazon, but presumably any similar product would work. remember that mites like to hang out on the underside of leaves and in nooks and crotches of the stems for protection, so make sure you're getting right in there from several angles. 3) Alternate between a spray down of the soap one day and cold water the next making sure the soap gets down onto/into the surface level of the soil too, that's where the babies are. After about a week of that, you should be just about clear. That worked well for me, at least! That soap spray is awesome, it makes short work of fungus gnats as well, and doesn't seem to hurt the plants other than leaving a slight waxy residue on the leaves after a few coats of it.
After trying a gazillion products on the market, this is my favorite. It’s a systemic so not for use on ur herbs and veggies etc. It works Amazing 🤩
Bonide (BND951) - Systemic House Plant Insect Control, 0.22% Imidacloprid Insecticide (8 oz.), white https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BX1HKI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_5HB4ZPKH6812XK3WP30H?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
I actually ordered it on Amazon a couple of months ago! Here you go! Any variation of this stuff works as long as it’s labeled to kill all the bad shit. Never seen a roach in my life it leads me to hardcore judging anyone anytime I visit their place and see one
Ortho Home Defense Insect Killer for Indoor & Perimeter2 with Comfort Wand https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N7KSXHX?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf
I don't dilute the alcohol, I just pour some in a small glass, dip my q-tips and go on a mealie murder spree. This is the systemic I use, but the prices on Amazon are ridiculous right now, I get it from a local nursery for less than 10$. Any granular systemic with imidacloprid should work. I'm sure there are other products out there but I'm most familiar with bonide.
I used to have seasonal ant issues, I tried a few baits and stuff I could find at Rural King and Lowe’s and nothing worked that well. so let me tell you a little bit about what I did. I decided to use Orkin pest control and a guy would show up for 5 minutes and lay some bait that worked very well then charge me 90$. I had tried baits before and they never worked. I looked at my service report 1 day because I had gotten tired of feeling over charged. Orkin and some other pest control experts use a bait called Advion and it’s very good. I was able to get 4 containers of it for 28$ cancelled their services and have never had serious ant issues again. This stuff is like crack for ants, they will swarm the gel you lay out like a horde then take it to their nest and by the next day, no more ants.
https://www.amazon.com/Argentine-Carpenter-Cornfield-Harvester-Pavement/dp/B00TXFE4RI
I use Natria 706230A Insecticidal Soap Organic Miticide, 24 oz, Ready-to-Use https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00364PEFS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_-FK9FbENTBX81?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 for my pest problems, I love it, the only thing it doesn’t really work on is fungus gnats, but I had a Alocasia Polly with some kind of fungus on the soil and I sprayed it with that and it went away. It even grew a beautiful new leaf from that same soil.
Thinking about spraying Ortho home defense around my house tomorrow.
0.05% Bifenthrin, 0.0125% Zeta-Cypermethrin
Since they are indoor safe supposedly I guess I could use it now too
Ortho 0220910 Home Defense Insect Killer for Indoor & Perimeter2 with Comfort Wand Bonus Size, 1.1 GAL https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N7KSXHX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_Eo1TFbHAJKNVE
Ugh, root mealies are the worst! I used to really struggle with them. Now I put a little bit of Bonide Systemic Granules in every pot.
Oo I've been dealing with this!
Here's what I've been doing:
systemic pest treatment. I use this. Super easy to apply and protect new growth from pests for awhile.
Spray bottle with rubbing alcohol. It's damn infuriating to try and go through and individually wipe off every bug in big bushy plants. So I use an old spray bottle with 70% isopropyl alcohol and just spritz as I find them/into nooks and crannies. I use an old body spray spritzer thing rather than a true spray bottle. I do this everyday or every two days.
Neem! Finally I spray with neem every few days (all plants) to help prevent it from spreading
Another tip for you, I buy this stuff from Amazon and mix into my soil, it definitely works! Bonide systemic house plant insect control
I found this on Amazon and it's great to have around. I use a different one but this is what I'll buy when I run out.
Natria 706230A Insecticidal Soap Organic Miticide, 24 oz, Ready-to-Use https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00364PEFS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_QcoQDbBA7FXB8
Beautiful Micans! I love them so much!
Examine her in a location with bright lighting or a flashlight. Grab a bottle of neem oil, rubbing alcohol, and a bunch of q-tips. When you spot a mealy bug, wet it with a q-tip dipped in alcohol and wipe it away. Any section of the plant that has residue from the mealy bugs should also have alcohol applied to it. Spray the whole thing down with neem oil, including the undersides of the leaves. Repeat procedure every 3-5 days, until you no longer see any more mealies.
Additionally, you can invest in some kind of systemic granules (like this one) to put in the soil that will help prevent future infestations.
Those are aphids, you should spray them with insecticidal soap, and you do have to get it on them for it to work, as it has no residual effect. https://www.amazon.com/Natria-706230A-Insecticidal-Organic-Miticide/dp/B00364PEFS/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=insectidal+soap&qid=1601168523&sr=8-1
It looks like you have aphids, you should spray them with insecticidal soap, and you do have to get it on them for it to work, as it has no residual effect. insecticidal soap: https://www.amazon.com/Natria-706230A-Miticida-org%C3%A1nico-insecticida/dp/B00364PEFS/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1PJJION8DZDJ0&dchild=1&keywords=insecticidal+soap&qid=1594674928&sprefix=incect%2Caps%2C198&sr=8-2
yea u got spider mites and im assuming the others aswell
i'd use garden safe 3-1
I tried several things before getting this stuff...cleared it up in a few days.
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This sounds like a good option. Would something like this work?
If you wash it in hot, soapy water, I'd imagine that would take care of any leftover eggs.
I use this to take care of gnats in my plants, but I'm not sure how well it would align with your beliefs (so I don't mean to offend if it doesn't!) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BX1HKI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I also use this on my plants because I keep having pests pop up. It’s not heavy duty, but I have noticed since I started spraying it this past month I haven’t seen a single gnat and haven’t needed to do the mosquito dunks at all.
Garden Safe Brand Fungicide3,... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HHO110?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
I didn't have any luck with gnat traps, DE earth, hydrogen peroxide, or changing out the top layer of soil. Eventually went nuclear and used this stuff and it fucking murdered every last bastard in one application.