Nats on indoor trees

[remist17]

Gnats on indoor trees

I noticed I have what seems to be small gnats flying around the trees. I thought I had two house plants that were planted with standard dirt with my Bonsai to be the issue. Iremoved them but still have the nats.

Is there anything out there I can spray or put down to kill these pesky gnats? I have ficus, brazilian rain trees.

Thanks

 

[Kevster]

I have the same issue. I took my tropicals from outside and put them directly into a sealed tank. I have no clue what they are but they seem harmless. Plus my tank is sealed so they aren't a house pest for me but I wouldn't mind getting rid of them.

 

[rockm]

I wondered where the Washington Nationals went for the winter...sorry, inside baseball joke--"nats"--get it? oh well...

the bugs buzzing around your trees are fungus gnats. They breed and feed on the decaying stuff on the soil's surface of your trees. They love high humidity and warm conditions indoors--welcome to the real world of indoor bonsai. They're harmless to the tree, but could point to some soil issues.

 

[Kevster]

I guess I might have them due to the organic fertilizer I used on my plants?

 

[remist17]

I thought it was due to the house plant not bonsai being to wet.

My wife had her plants in standard soil.
NEver had the issue before those plants came.

 

[jk_lewis]

Fungus Gnats thrive when a person's bonsai soil is too wet -- either because of watering too often or because of soil that holds too much water -- which end up, of course, as being the same thing. You don't say what trees you have, but try not to water until the soil in the pot is dry throughout.

 

[RogerWilco]

Good ol sticky fly paper. A one inch square on soil surface or if you like a litte rolled on a toothpick. It can be found at your local livstock feed stores in a roll or in paper forum at your hardware store. Gets other criters also.

 

[FrankP999]

There is a biological control GNATROL that kills the larvae.

 

[Thomas J.]

Those darn things are driving me crazy. They fly up my nose, fall in my cereal while I'm eating, and just generally making life indoors miserable. We had a few last year and they didn't seem to last too long, but this year is really something. I'm sure it's from my wifes houseplants. I know she doesn't keep them too wet so they must be coming from the recent repotting she done in early fall.

 

[Ang3lfir3]

Those darn things are driving me crazy. They fly up my nose, fall in my cereal while I'm eating, and just generally making life indoors miserable. We had a few last year and they didn't seem to last too long, but this year is really something. I'm sure it's from my wifes houseplants. I know she doesn't keep them too wet so they must be coming from the recent repotting she done in early fall.

they will also come from the trap in a drain... the pooled water there is a great breeding ground for them...

 

[jk_lewis]

Good ol sticky fly paper. A one inch square on soil surface or if you like a litte rolled on a toothpick. It can be found at your local livstock feed stores in a roll or in paper forum at your hardware store. Gets other criters also.

The problem with fly paper and other kinds of traps for insects is that they do nothing about the cause of the problem; some even attract more insects to the growing area -- including the flypaper.

 

[remist17]

I went back and redid all the bonsai soil to make them drain faster. I took all the house plants and put them down stairs. Has anyone ever used vinager? Still have the gnats in the bonsai room.

 

[Bill S]

You repotted all your trees to get rid of harmless gnats????????????????? adjusting watering may have been enough. Remember you need to wait for other work now that you have disturbed the roots. I have to assume that you mean you aided drainage by adding a soil component and repotting.

Use Vinigar for what???

Napalm should take care of the stragglers, if the room and soil aren't wet the issue should go away after a bit, a shot of raid will make it quicker.

 

[remist17]

I repotted the house plants that were not in bonsai soil. Apple Cidar Vinigar atracks the gnats and they drown in the vinagar. Its a old trick.

 

[Bill S]

Gotcha, makes sense. They can be around for a bit, but should disappear once things have dried a bit and they don't have a ready lunch.