My indoor houseplant has gnats, how do I get rid of them?

Question

I don't know what kind of plant it is...my son planted it at school. But it seems to attract gnats. I don't really know much about plants.

Answer 1

Ahh... nothing like summer and beautiful plants, inside and out. Oh wait, gnats inside and out as well. Not to mention fungus flies and fruit flies. Ugh... been there done that, several times.

First of all, don't put eggshells, coffee grounds, or other food waste into your soil. That will attract pesky little insects like gnats, flies, etc. Also, when treating one plant for insects, you should treat them all, just in case they decide to migrate instead of die off.

Secondly, soapy water should do the trick. I never use soap with bleach in it, just because I don't like how harsh and drying it is. You can use a small spray bottle filled with water and a tablespoon of dish soap. Shake it up, let it sit for a few minutes, and then spray your plants.

If that doesn't get rid of them, you can use a very light misting of lemon scented spray, such as Lysol, etc. Look for one with ammonia. Furniture polish, Pine Sol, etc. Use a very light misting of this and the gnats should go away.

A plain ol' bottle of white vinegar and water also works.

Another alternative you can use - if there are no small kids in the home, and no super-curious pets - is to take a small disposable plate and pour in some apple cider vinegar and put in approx. 1-2 Tbsp vegetable oil, and a slice or two of apple, banana, etc. Use large enough slices so that they are not poking a lot out of the cider, but are not submerged either. Just a few millimeters out of the cider should do the trick. Try 3 or 4 plates like this if the gnats are a real problem.

You can also re-pot the plants and leave them outside for a few days. Your problem may be the soil itself. Get the plant out of the soil - gently - and mist the plant until the soil is off. Use new/other uninfected soil to re-pot the plant.

Do you have cats? I don't, but friends say their cat litter boxes attract gnats and they breed there.

Sliced garlic at the base of plants and on top of the soil seems to keep gnats and other pesky pests at bay. Mothballs usually work as well.

Good luck & hope I helped!

Answer 2

Put it outside for a bit if you can, it may help, also sometimes plants left under glass attract whitefly which will kill it so ask someone to look at it for you.

Answer 3

The following website came up with this answer. http://www.cahe.nmsu.edu/ces/yard/2000/0...

House plants are especially prone to pest problems because their indoor location isolates them from many natural controls for pests. The insect infesting your plants would be somewhat controlled by the rapid drying of the soil outside. We will talk about that means of controlling them later.

I'm glad you have tried the glueboards because they are a useful tool but not a means of eliminating the problem. The glueboards help remove the gnats, reducing their numbers in your home environment. The glueboards catch many but not all of these small insects. By the time they are caught, they have already deposited eggs in the potting soil, so the next generation is already on its way to your home.

There are other measures you can also employ. First, let the soil dry more between waterings. The key is to dry the upper inch or more of the soil where the larvae reside. The larvae are feeding on the fungus in the soil (they are fungus gnats) and reduced moisture should reduce the fungus and food supply for the gnats. This should dcrease the number of gnats after a while. Of course, don't dry the soil so much that the plants are injured.

If, after a couple of weeks, the number of gnats being trapped on the glueboards remains the same, then you may have to go to more drastic measures. There is an organic insecticide based on Bacillus thuringiensis that should be helpful. If this doesn't work, temporarily moving the plants outdoors and using a stronger insecticide may be necessary. After that, the reduced watering schedule should help slow the increase in gnat numbers.

Do not move houseplants outdoors into full sunlight or to a bright location, even if they are in a sunny window indoors. In the drier air outside, they will not tolerate the brighter light outside. Put them in a place protected from the wind so that they will not dry too rapidly. Since the potting soil will dry more rapidly outdoors, be careful that they do not dry excessively.

Apply any pesticide labeled for the purpose of controlling gnats to the soil, and allow the plants to remain outside until the chemical has dried or until the odor of the pesticide is not objectionable. The best time to apply the pesticide is after watering in the early morning. By evening you will probably be able to return the plant to its location inside.

Answer 4

spray bug spray that wont hurt a plant so look at differenet brfands and suff.