Fungus Gnat Prevention and Other Important Facts
Even though you don't overwater your indoor plants to prevent fungus gnats from thriving, there's still other ways these pesky insects may move in and harm your plants.
Fungus gnats need slime and moisture to reproduce, They love damp locations with decaying vegetation.
Their larvae grow and develop in moist soil in greenhouse or flower pots, feasting on your plants' roots.
Fungal Gnats Adult fungus gnats are a lot like mosquitoes but they're not good in flying.
They are tiny (between 1/16-1/8 long), dark and delicate in appearance, with antennae longer than their heads.
Larvae Female fungus gnats lay eggs on potting soil or other moist and decaying matter.
Their larvae do not have legs or wings, just white bodies and black heads.
They feed on anything organic and soft, such as grass clippings and leaf mold.
But their favourite food is root hairs and soft root.
Damage When fungus gnats eat the roots of your plants, they will suffer stunted growth.
This type of damage often happens indoors, in fertile and moist soil of potted plants and thoe growing in greenhouse.
You could alleviate the damage by reducing the water you provide for your plants and making sure that the potting soil drains well.
Fungus Gnat Prevention * Allow your potting soil to dry out completely between watering.
But do not wait until your plant starts to wilt before you water it again.
This is probably the most common and easiest fungus gnat prevention measure.
* Repot your plant.
Remove the infected plant from its pot or container.
Wash the roots to remove all the compost and then repot it into fresh garden soil.
For this procedure to work, make sure you get rid of all larvae from the root system * Add a generous layer of sand to the surface of your potting soil, until the top is no longer visible.
This is best done right after repotting.
The sand will make it hard for the gnats to get their way back into the soil and at the same time, newborns will be unable to escape from the compost.
* Water your plants from the bottom.
With some plants, you can water them by adding water to a tray or insert a tube into the soil and place a cap on top of it, and then water by pouring water into the tube.
Make sure you put the cap back on after watering to prevent the gnats from getting in and out.
Fungus gnats need slime and moisture to reproduce, They love damp locations with decaying vegetation.
Their larvae grow and develop in moist soil in greenhouse or flower pots, feasting on your plants' roots.
Fungal Gnats Adult fungus gnats are a lot like mosquitoes but they're not good in flying.
They are tiny (between 1/16-1/8 long), dark and delicate in appearance, with antennae longer than their heads.
Larvae Female fungus gnats lay eggs on potting soil or other moist and decaying matter.
Their larvae do not have legs or wings, just white bodies and black heads.
They feed on anything organic and soft, such as grass clippings and leaf mold.
But their favourite food is root hairs and soft root.
Damage When fungus gnats eat the roots of your plants, they will suffer stunted growth.
This type of damage often happens indoors, in fertile and moist soil of potted plants and thoe growing in greenhouse.
You could alleviate the damage by reducing the water you provide for your plants and making sure that the potting soil drains well.
Fungus Gnat Prevention * Allow your potting soil to dry out completely between watering.
But do not wait until your plant starts to wilt before you water it again.
This is probably the most common and easiest fungus gnat prevention measure.
* Repot your plant.
Remove the infected plant from its pot or container.
Wash the roots to remove all the compost and then repot it into fresh garden soil.
For this procedure to work, make sure you get rid of all larvae from the root system * Add a generous layer of sand to the surface of your potting soil, until the top is no longer visible.
This is best done right after repotting.
The sand will make it hard for the gnats to get their way back into the soil and at the same time, newborns will be unable to escape from the compost.
* Water your plants from the bottom.
With some plants, you can water them by adding water to a tray or insert a tube into the soil and place a cap on top of it, and then water by pouring water into the tube.
Make sure you put the cap back on after watering to prevent the gnats from getting in and out.