Guess we all have our own grow styles. DE does seem to work for me. With repeated dry applications. I did state that it would not work if wet. I actually have a puffer style applicator to use because it really does not take much. It kills in the larval and nymph stage. Works for me! And will always use it in my grows. Been using it for years.
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Jeremy knows his shit, but in this case, heās wrong. The first time I got gnats, Iād top dressed with Buās, so the next grow, I went back to top dressing with EWC. Still got gnats. The following grow, I top dressed with EWC again, I guess because Iām just stubborn, and got gnats.
Yeah, DE is useless. As soon as you water, it just becomes a concrete-like paste. The last time I used it, after Iād chopped my plants, I went to recycle my soil, started to take the mulch off and the whole mulch layer came off in one giant clump, all matted together because of the DE. And it didnāt get rid of the gnats, either.
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Ok, Iām out then. You guys obviously are far better growers than me. I keep doing stuff that donāt work. For years. Sorry I said anything.
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Oh, come on, dude. Weāre all just relaying our own experiences here. Maybe I shouldāve said,āYeah, DE is useless FOR ME,ā or something.
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The 5-6 week period is good to know! I think the package or what I read only recommended 3 applications and then an occasional drench after the fact, which is what I followed, so that could be why Iām still seeing them in my space
Edit: definitely dont mean any disrespect @BigMike55 your reputation speaks for itself and your success is well documented here, only relaying what Iāve read, never used the stuff myself so my opinion in it definitely doesnāt carry the weight yours does. Just shooting the shit
You say you use a puffer thing to apply? Like this one: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/318545-REG/Giottos_AA1910_Rocket_Air_Blower.html/?ap=y&gclid=Cj0KCQiA2NaNBhDvARIsAEw55hgZO1KQOQ_5QH5fPpFT_YDm1jsCT3OwBgO0YTdBmGLFygSo2nmIWtYaAki-EALw_wcB&lsft=BI%3A514&smp=y
Do you scrape the old DE off the surface in between applications at all? Or just water through and then reapply?
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re: fungus gnats
i totally thought it was bs, but watering with a wetting agent really really kills them. i bought some quillalalarljare extract from bas and i use that in every watering and the gnats are gone. not knocked back and managable but d e double d dedd. and i had a biblical infestation of fuguns gnats.
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I think in Jeremyās case he has beneficials in his EWC. Thatās why it works for him. Honestly I find S.F. nematodes to be the most effective solution for me. Iāll never completely get rid of them in my notill beds, but the nematodes make them quite manageable.
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absolutely 100% yes! i use gnatrol with a heavy hand, all the time i donāt even follow the directions i just put it in my water once or twice a week always
in my case, with top dressing amendments, i agree it dosenāt work because it wouldnt make sense to let the top dress dry out, thatās where the feeder roots are at
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Agreed that BTI is an amazing tool for combating fungus gnats. Something worth considering with BTI is shelf life as well as storage and shipping conditions. Iāve noticed a lot of variability in the efficacy of various other BTI products such as Mosquito Dunks, Mosquito Bits, Microbe Lift (liquid) and those BTi pouches and always attributed it to poor storage and or old inventory. Iāve noticed the Mosquito Dunks locally perform much better than the Amazon warehoused stuff. Not sure if that translates to Gnatrol or not.
Just something else to consider if any of these BTI products arenāt working well for fungus gnats.
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Thatās good to know! Just got some of that Q exact stuff on a whim during their BF saleā¦ killing gnats is a big bonus.
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Yeah, when I was using nematodes, they definitely kept the fungus gnats under control. Iād water with them like three times over the course of fifteen days or so, but like a week after I stopped watering with them, theyād be back, big-time. Do you water with them on a regular basis? Just, like, as part of your routine?
I dunno if thatās necessary. One, it seems like a waste of Gnatrol haha. And two, it might be throwing your microbe populations or whatever all outta whack. Have you ever stopped using it and noticed that the gnats came back? Whenever Iāve had a really bad infestation, I watered with it three times, per the instructions (I think itās three tablespoons per gallon?), spaced like eight days apart, and they never came back for the whole grow. Now I just use it once, about a week after I transplant into the seven-gallon pots, at one tablespoon per gallon of water and really havenāt had any issues at all. Iāve found literally one gnat on one of the sticky traps this grow. I was all,āOh, wow! Look at that! A gnat!ā haha.
I also always add a little OG Biowar Foliar pack underneath the root ball (along with the Biowar Root and Nute packs), not sure if that helps or not.
I just ordered mine directly from Gnatrol. Any time I can avoid ordering from Amazon (which is every time, just gotta look around a little bit), I do it. Had the same bag for over a year, seems like it works fine. I donāt have any gnats, anyway.
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When I first built my beds, I added the S.F. nematodes, Strateo. S. mites, and rove beetles. I have never seen more than a couple fliers since then.
My veg room had a breakout, so I re-applied the S.F. nematodes once in the veg room and the flower room. No further applications have been done. I still have a few gnats in the veg room, but they are manageable.
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iām a amazon seller, if you buy stuff from amazon, just always assume itās fake. for example mammoth P on amazon is super-probably fake. even soilā¦
eBay is where i get budget grow supplies, you buy directly from the source (or close to it) and they really really check on whoās allowed to sell on there
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@BigMike55 @nube @LegsMahoney @minitiger @ReikoX @supershitfuck sorry if I missed anyone.
Thank you all for chiming in, Iām hoping the nematodes will do the trick along with a ton of new sticky traps.
As Iām over 4 weeks into flower now already, and the gnatrol wonāt arrive here for another week yet, it may be absolutely pointless trying to apply itā¦
Iāll make a decision when it arrives.
The plants donāt seem to be suffering to be honest, but it is a pain knowing every time I water, Iām creating a perfect environment for them lol.
Regardless, itās all part of a learning experience, such is the life of the grower!
Again, thank you all for the advice and encouragement, it really is appreciated 
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Iām right here with you on this. First time running a 3x3 bed and my gnats numbers are going up. Keep us updated!!
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@imstinky will do.
I feel like part of the problem that im having is with the fabric pots that Iām growing in.
They donāt have the plastic lining so the sides do dry out a little, this creates a bit if a gap in places which just gives more surface area for the gnats to get to
With it drying out around the edges the biology isnāt as active, so the predator of the gnat larvae wonāt be as abundant there.
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i knowā¦ iām stuck with this brain that dosenāt have the ability to read and follow instructionsā¦ or obey anything, i always had gnats, since i been using gnatrol i donāt, so i just keep putting it in my water here and there, just in case a larva might had survived or something, but yeah iām probably wasting it and other things but i donāt have gnats lol
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Just put some sticky traps in your pots. And if you see a bunch of gnats on them, water with some Gnatrol. Save your money haha.
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When I grew in dirt, I always had gnats flying up my nose! They never did cause any problems, other than being annoyingā¦ but I did read something, somewhere, Bodhi wrote about gnats from bagged soil wiping out a bunch of his seedlings. So I figure, better be safe than sorryā¦ eliminate them!
Iām not saying I used any of them in the right way, but Iāve tried Bt, DE, Gnatrol (another Bt), vinegar & soap yellow funnel traps and yellow sticky traps, and the only thing thatās really worked was the sticky traps.
Apologies if Iāve already said this, Iām a geezer. The fliers lay the eggs. Get rid of them, no more eggs. I think that life cycle chart gets a little faster indoors, so the traps take me about 3 weeks to be totally gnat free. A week to keep them out of my nose.
I used to hang the traps above the medium, and that worked, just slowly. One trap fell off, and was kind of leaning against the bottom of the stem, facing down. It was almost in the dirt. That thing was cover in fliers. Accidental homicide!
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I love this contraption you have for scrogging an individual plant!
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