Quick and Easy Fungus Gnat Prevention Tips

Fungus Gnat Prevention

It is the larvae of those pesky fungus gnats that can do the most damage to your plants. The adult gnats live about one week, but during that period they lay many eggs in moist soil of potted plants. They're attracted to damp soil rich in decomposing materials.

The eggs hatch within four to six days, and for the following 14 days, the larvae eat root hairs and plant roots in the soil. This can make your plants feel weak, disturb their growth and development, and can make their leaves wilt and turn yellow. If the infestation is serious, the leaves will drop and new growth will be disfigured. Here are some helpful fungus gnat prevention procedures:

1. Allow the compost to dry out completely in between watering. The development of fungus gnats is sometimes due to over-watering. Find out if the plant can tolerate a longer time without receiving water. If it can, try not to supply water until it starts wither. Allowing the compost to dry out will help control these pests in some situations.

2. Re-pot your plant. Take it outside, remove the soil, wash the roots well, and re-pot the plant into new,uninfected compost. This fungus gnat prevention step unfortunate does not work every time. The key is washing away all gnat larvae from the root system of the plant and ensuring that no fungus gnats go into the fresh soil while you're performing this procedure.

3. Add a relatively thick layer of sand on top of the compost. Do so immediately after re-potting it. You can also do this with|perform this with|perform this step with|do this step with} other plants that aren't being re-potted. All you have to do is add a layer of sand on top of the soil until no compost is not seen. The sand makes it hard for the gnats to penetrate the compost, serving as a protective layer. Adult gnats will be prevented to get back into the soil to lay eggs and the newborn gnats would not be able to escape from the potting soil. But if the pot you used has drains holes at the bottom, these tiny insects could squeeze in and out of those holes.

4. Another effective fungus gnat prevention procedure is by using raw potato slices. Cut raw potato into 1.5-inch square pieces and put them on the surface of the soil. The larvae will be attracted to the potato slices and will begin feasting on them. Leave the potato slices on top of the soil for a couple of days and then lift each one up. You'll see a number of larvae trapped on the potato slices. Then throw them away.

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