Battle of the Fungus Gnats

lakelady · November 1, 2011

And a grueling battle it has been, but I think I'm finally winning. I had no idea what these things were until several members here told me and they were constantly hovering around my indoor tomatoes this Fall. When I finally realized what they were, obviously, it was out of control.

I got the sticky yellow traps at first which were suggested by Ray, and boy did I get a ton of gnats with those. Yet, every morning, I would inspect the plants and lots of little guys were crawling around the soil. It was pretty gross to me. I needed more. I tried neem oil, safer soap, nothing was working.

Having used a lot of essential oils in the past 10 years, I researched and found that Cedarwood (it must be virginiana species) Essential Oil is insecticidal. So, off I went to the basement to dig out my oils. Got a 1 quart spray bottle and in it, in this exact order, I put 1 tbsp liquid soap (I used dishwashing soap), and then 1 tbsp. Cedarwood Essential Oil (It must be Virginiana, not Texas or any of the others). Swirl it around, and then filled the bottle with water. You must first combine the soap and oil to obtain a true emulsion, otherwise they will not mix with the water and you will constantly be shaking it. Actually, my first go around had more cedarwood in it, but the plants didn't like that, it was way too strong, so I settled on 1 tbsp which seems to do the job, and is less upsetting to any drift on the leaves. Spray the top of the soil very well, it KILLS ON CONTACT. Within 5 seconds. Seriously, I even sprayed the few stragglers sitting on top of the pots themselves, and voila, dead. I became a woman on a mission, going so far to spray the air, the window, you name it if there was a gnat on it

Still, every morning, there they were waiting for me. Fewer and fewer, but I wanted them all gone. So I picked up a jar of Gnatrol which Heritage suggested on the other thread, and mixed with water and watered the plants. I can't do a second dose because they are still too wet for more watering, but it is helping. This morning there were far fewer of the devils on top of the soil and I sprayed away whichever one's I saw. I try to check several times daily because it got so very bad, and spray as needed.

By the way, Cedarwood oil is very inexpensive and you can pick it up at any healthfood store for a few dollars; the tomato leaves do not like it, so I gently move them aside when I spray.

Oh, and it also kills aphids too

November 1, 2011	#1
lakelady Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: northern NJ zone 6b Posts: 1,862	Battle of the Fungus Gnats And a grueling battle it has been, but I think I'm finally winning. I had no idea what these things were until several members here told me and they were constantly hovering around my indoor tomatoes this Fall. When I finally realized what they were, obviously, it was out of control. I got the sticky yellow traps at first which were suggested by Ray, and boy did I get a ton of gnats with those. Yet, every morning, I would inspect the plants and lots of little guys were crawling around the soil. It was pretty gross to me. I needed more. I tried neem oil, safer soap, nothing was working. Having used a lot of essential oils in the past 10 years, I researched and found that Cedarwood (it must be virginiana species) Essential Oil is insecticidal. So, off I went to the basement to dig out my oils. Got a 1 quart spray bottle and in it, in this exact order, I put 1 tbsp liquid soap (I used dishwashing soap), and then 1 tbsp. Cedarwood Essential Oil (It must be Virginiana, not Texas or any of the others). Swirl it around, and then filled the bottle with water. You must first combine the soap and oil to obtain a true emulsion, otherwise they will not mix with the water and you will constantly be shaking it. Actually, my first go around had more cedarwood in it, but the plants didn't like that, it was way too strong, so I settled on 1 tbsp which seems to do the job, and is less upsetting to any drift on the leaves. Spray the top of the soil very well, it KILLS ON CONTACT. Within 5 seconds. Seriously, I even sprayed the few stragglers sitting on top of the pots themselves, and voila, dead. I became a woman on a mission, going so far to spray the air, the window, you name it if there was a gnat on it Still, every morning, there they were waiting for me. Fewer and fewer, but I wanted them all gone. So I picked up a jar of Gnatrol which Heritage suggested on the other thread, and mixed with water and watered the plants. I can't do a second dose because they are still too wet for more watering, but it is helping. This morning there were far fewer of the devils on top of the soil and I sprayed away whichever one's I saw. I try to check several times daily because it got so very bad, and spray as needed. By the way, Cedarwood oil is very inexpensive and you can pick it up at any healthfood store for a few dollars; the tomato leaves do not like it, so I gently move them aside when I spray. Oh, and it also kills aphids too __________________ Antoniette