Gnats in container garden--HELP!

[DeniseNJ]

My container garden on my balconies have about a billion gnats. I've tried these crumbly donuts things of BTI mixed with water but it didn't work.  How can I get rid of them without hurting my tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, eggplants, strawberries and raspberries?

It makes me sick to look at the soil and see a billion moving bugs. I used the sticky yellow things, and that caught a bunch but didn't get rid of the problem. I'm afraid that hydrogen peroxide will hurt my plants and/or not work. I've seen mixed reviews. And I don't want the whole balcony smelling of cinnamon. What's a good product/method to get rid of these forever?

[Poeirenta]

We've been using neem oil for the gnats in our indoor lime and lemongrass pots...seems to be working well, with no smell. I believe it is safe for garden veggies too but you'll want to double check that.

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[AccidentialMustache]

Sounds like fungus gnats. Your soil you planted in was probably infested, although if your container garden is outside I suppose you could get infested "naturally."

No useful advice, sorry. Indoor potted plants are causing this problem for us. I smash the stupid things because they like to fly in my eyes when I'm gaming.

[DeniseNJ]

Sounds like fungus gnats. Your soil you planted in was probably infested, although if your container garden is outside I suppose you could get infested "naturally."

No useful advice, sorry. Indoor potted plants are causing this problem for us. I smash the stupid things because they like to fly in my eyes when I'm gaming.

I just ordered Steinernema feltiae from here-- https://www.arbico-organics.com/product/nemattack-beneficial-nematodes-sf-steinernema-feltiae

I'll let you know how it goes. Bc every time I look at them I wanna throw up. Ug.

[Green_Tea]

Hello Denise,

I don't have specific advice but if they are common in your area and as you're gardening outside - is there a chance that predators will find them and solve the problem for you?
E.g. we get aphid infestations every year and this always sorts itself out after a couple of days or weeks with ladybugs, larvae of those, of lacewings and a lot of other insects eating the aphids and though there are always loads of them, in the end they don't leave a lot of damage at all. (Slugs on the other side are native as well but they can eat A LOT in a night and don't seem to be eaten as effectively in my garden.)

[DeniseNJ]

My Steinernema feltiae nematodes that I ordered did not work at all.  I guess I just have to live with a colony of fungus gnats. They're outdoor containers so it's not awful but it does make me sick to look at.  I guess it could be worse since they don't hurt the plants.

[tygertygertyger]

I also have this problem, and also use the yellow sticky things. It works if you keep doing it, and know which pot has the largest concentration of them, but it takes a long time and there's always some that get away. (Is cutting their numbers success? The way I curse every time one flies in my eyes suggests it's not good enough.) No tips here, just a lot of commiseration.

[DeniseNJ]

I bought more bti dunks, a lot this time, and put them in the coffee grinder and mixed the powder into the top of the soil and watered.  I also bought the yellow sticky things, a lot this time, and put 2 or 3 in each container. Trapped a billion gnats, yuk. It's been almost 2 weeks. I guess it seems to be working a little maybe but there are still gnats. So I bought this gnat spray.

Will update if the spray works.

[DeniseNJ]

Whelp, it's official.  Nothing works. Not nematodes, not bti, not yellow stickies, not "kills on contact" spray.  Nothing.  sure you can get rid of a few for a time but not really.

I now have 5 million new pets.  Who wants to help me name them?

[Poeirenta]

Did you try the neem oil? It hasn't killed off all of the ones in our potted plants but it has made a huge dent in the population. We're only getting a couple of adult gnats flying around the house every few weeks. We've done a soil drench application about once a month for the past few months. I know how annoying those little f*ckers are, so I'm hoping there's one more option for you to try!