

Gnats are drawn to apple cider vinegar, which makes it the perfect bait in this handy trap. Because many plants can’t be chronically under-watered for a long time, it means that once you resume normal watering, the gnats will just multiply again. It did reduce the number of larvae wriggling about underneath the soil, but it didn’t come close to eliminating the problem completely.

This exposes the larvae and eggs and helps dry out the soil more quickly Use an old fork to turn up around 2cms of soil in the plant.So, by waiting longer between watering, the theory goes you can make your plant soil inhospitable to gnats.

Most infestations happen as a result of keeping plants a little overwatered. Quick Fixes Drying Out SoilĪs their name suggests, fungus gnats feed predominantly on fungus and other organic matter, and are therefore totally reliant on moist conditions. I’ve decided to put my recent gnat infestation to good use by experimenting with the most common gnat solutions to find out what the most effective gnat-killing remedy is. There are no-end of folk remedies floating around online forums, but with so many different purported solutions, it is hard to know which is the best one to use. However, while adult gnats can’t directly damage plants, larval gnats feed on plant roots, over time impeding plant growth and even killing younger plants. Wriggling around just below the surface of the plant soil.įor the most part, fungus gnats are totally harmless as they lack the apparatus to bite humans or animals, but this doesn’t stop them from being a major annoyance and fairly unhygienic. In their larval form they are white or translucent with a distinctive black head and can be found They are one of the most common indoor plant pests, affecting thousands of households around the UK each year, and, as anyone who has had a major infestation can attest to, fungus gnats are as hardy and tenacious as they are annoying!įungus gnats are drawn to moist conditions and organic matter in plant soil and can be identified in their adult form as they resemble tiny mosquitos, with long legs and a smaller, squat body.
