I’m thinking of setting up a drip system (coco/perlite) but am worried that I’ll end up with a gnat infestation. I can find tons of info on getting rid of them once you have them, but not alot on preventing them in the first place, as far as hydro.
I’ll def get some gnats in there. Running soil, between sticky traps and letting soil dry, I’m able to keep them well controlled.
But what are some good prevention methods when it comes to a drip system. Is there a safe additive that I can keep in my rez, keep mosquito dunks in there, a thick layer of sand on top of my coco, somehow trying to completely seal the system?
Anyway, any tips on it will be appreciated. Honestly if there’s no fairly reliable way to prevent them from moving in, I’ll prob go another route.
Howdy @This1guy, one of the benefits of utilizing coco coir and perlite I think comes from being able to maintain more continuous water availability that’s adequately oxygenated. If you let the media dry out more than needed it may come at the expense of efficiency.
There’s a product called Microbe Lift BMC made for ponds and such, it has the active ingredient of bacillus thuringiensis and the product claims to be non toxic to fish and non targeted invertebrates. I wouldn’t recommend using unless needed and it’s concentration strength can be more idealized by using a drop in a separate vessel with water mixed with I’ve drop, then using a portion of that water to better “split up the drop.”
Good morning @This1guy… IMO I believe some of the coco manufacturers have nat eggs in the mix. I’m not sure if this happens after manufacturing during storage and transit or if they are ever present during manufacturing. I have heard drying out coco in an oven or a very dry place for an extended period of time to kill anything in the coco before you bring it into your garden. I think some of the better coco like Canna Coco seems to have less chances for Nats preexisting. I would do a little homework on the manufacture you plan on using to evaluate their risk factor. I know alot of the cheaper coco products typically hatch the bastard’s fairly quickly but if your environmental condition’s don’t allow then the outbreak could be halted after the first outbreak cycle. Covering pots and drain hole’s can greatly reduce access to substrate aswell. Final thought would be high-quality manufacture to help prevent avoidable outbreaks. Cheers !!!
This will cut down on contamination by having minimal entry paths. Sourcing the correct cococoir is the only issue and you should never get gnats. If you do then you can spray some small concentration of hydrogen peroxide on the top layer of coco and that will kill the eggs and you can also put sticky traps if you want to get the flying ones.
Mosquito dunks / mosquito bits have fungus gnat instructions. I’m sure other brands of BTI products will have similar. You should be able to add them to your reservoir / water source and have some protection. I believe this should only work if you’re not running a ‘sterile’ res system, as it’s a bacteria.
I do have to say since someone mentioned Bt, I did read in teaming with fungi that Bt is harmful to mycorrhizae and suppress its full effect, not sure if anyone here is growing organic or in soil though but it’s worth mentioning.
Tkanks all. Im gonna look into tips you provided. I have a big bag of mosquito bit that I got just incase I needed for my soil grows, fortunately, I havent.
I hear gnatrol might be a more rez friendly way of BTI, so Ill look into that too, but hate to waste too many ppms on it. Prob gonna run it to waste, so it might be a thing where I can just hit with a flush of it when I change or refilll rez. And alond with other tips metioned, I might be able to prevent them from getting a foothold.
Maybe so, maybe not. Haven’t seen comparisons of the two like that. Being that they seem to have different mechanisms though I’d imagine having both provides the best overall results. Then again I always put my money on more diversity = better so I’m probably biased
Diversity is key but you want everything working together in tandem, the Bt suppresses the fungus so it’s not really beneficial other than the elimination of gnats which could be prevented with a top dressing.
Sorry, caught myself thinking this was about living soil - went back to @This1guy ’s post and saw he’s considering coco. In that setup specifically, you could wait 4-6 weeks after inoculating with mycorrhizal spores if you’re worried about negatively impacting inoculation or competition. That way the roots get colonized by the fungi, you get gnat prevention in in the res and coco, and additional suppressive & nutrient availability benefits Bt provides through colonization of the root, medium, and the rest of the plant.
If wanting to keep the BT out of the system plants are being grown in, a bait planter or planters can be used where a specific container is full of media and watered with BT active ingredients but that container isn’t part of the main system. It’s just a bait trap with BT for the gnats to go lay their larvae in and such. Hope this helps. Many blessings and much love
Cover the top of your coco with weed control fabric
And line the inside of any lower access points in pots ( the cheap thin fabric type with the dots , not the heavier one )
Weed barrier definitely sounds like a fantastic idea. I was thinking sand, but it, or posiibly both. would prob go a long way toward keeping them out, or if they some how got in, keeping them from getting out, where they could breed.
Yeah, that along with many of the other tips posted, def eases my mind about it, so gonna go ahead an start gearing towards it.
Just my experience but if you have a good coco product such as canna coco, flora flex and many other too brands, gnats shouldn’t be a problem. I’m sure some brands don’t take proper care but gnats like soil for the most part. I’ve had crazy gnat infestations with organics but in coco they were really easy to control. I use sticky traps for gnats and have only gotten them from my organic grows. Some prevention wise for me is keep them away from outside plants and don’t grow soil based mediums near them. Even when i grew my organic plants next to my coco. The organic is always the gnats primary home. The coco is in the area but is not their desired medium.
I have used this stuff, when my entire a couple of totes of mixed up medium, fertilized, was resting, a few weeks before I use it.
When I removed the lid, it was an alive cloud of the wee phuckers.
I closed it up, and ordered a 5 mil sized package.
mixed up 2 gallons, of Nem, drenched that tote, and closed it up.
I then started drenching everything with medium in it.
It was very very good at ridding me, of them.
I have nothing to do with this company, nor do I mean to discredit anyones way to rid themselves of this pest.
is frustrating 