Yeah you got that right! I dont live in US and I have to import it. Those bits are just a bit to expensive when importing. So i get the dunks instead. 
1 Like
Yeah but it dissolves to fast. This is my point. The dunks and bits we are talking about are hard and dissolve slowly. so it last throughout the whole grow and prevents you having to worry about them at any stage. Where I live they are relentless. So products work and it blasts them but they return without a constant treatment. Dunks and bits is a complete problem solver without any effort.
2 Likes
I am not so sure about that, but at this point it is just speculation and conjecture on both of our parts either way. It would be interesting to do a side-by-side comparison of the two products (used in the soil) but until then we can go on doing whatever works best for each of us. Dunks are awesome, so is gnatrol, and fungus gnats definitely are not on the awesome list, so whatever gets rid of them is all good.
2 Likes
No speculation etc as you say. I have tried both. I also just added some more info to my message above. As you say, everyone has different products that work so whatever works for each individual as everyones environments and situations are different.
I have used both also, just not side-by side, and haven’t seen any difference between the products, except for the fact I have to use less of the gnatrol and it costs less overall. Using either product helps me keep them at bay so they both work in my book. I tend to use dunks more often because they are easily found at most hardware stores, and gnatrol is a bit harder to track down and it is usually only available in large quantities, so I have to go on eBay to buy it, which is more of a drag.
1 Like
Oh I must add. I am a minimal effort kind of guy. Some might say slack. 
So often my decision making is heavily weighted to what is easiest 
1 Like
Thats funny. you might have seen my post above. I am the opposite. I have to go to ebay to import the dunks.
1 Like
hey whatever works to keep those gnats at bay, I hate those suckers more than I hate mites or thrips
1 Like
Yeah, I would put them nearly on par with spider mites.
BTI worked in a couple of days for me this fall, but i had also used H202 foliar and drench. They were in the maters in the garden outside. So I really dont know how much either did, but there dead, oh wait i still hear one screaming better get my a salt rifle out.
1 Like
Lol! Dont shoot in face or eyes. -
Leave your soil outside, amend with Diatamaceous Earth before bringing in.
1 Like
i always aim for there eyes they have so many
Gnatrol works awesome… Problem is, most bag soil will have these little buggars in them… I just picked up a bag of Strawberry Fields from a local feed supply store. Infested with them, have already had to switch my sticky traps out once as they were full of dead and squirming gnats… muwhahaha. Gnatrol and sticky traps for the organic gardner…
ps… also, get a spray like Neem Oil that kills bugs on contact. Have it ready when you go to water, soon as you pour water in soil your gonna see massive activity. You can spray them then and kill them, or get this, suck them up with a vacuum cleaner tip… don’t have to get it to close for them to get caught in the vacuum either so be careful, but this works great at lights on for lots of bugs…
1 Like
I myself, over the years, learned to read the bar code on each bag/bale of Pro Mix I before I buy it. If it is last years batch, it will be way more buggy. If I need it, I’ll haggle for a better price, as I now got to treat it, to work it.
It is however just another part of the indoor growing hassles, IMHO. We do not need to set our head on fire over it, just your due diligence.
2 Likes
I wish we could buy this in Canada …
1 Like
I’m afraid they’re forbidden but you can always grind some Mosquito dunks and mix them in your upper soil inches, they have the same BTI ingredient, larvae will eat them and die, hopefully … 
Gnatrol and some Hypoaspis miles - Stratiolaelaps scimitus - Predatory Mites – NaturesGoodGuys
Once the predators get established there will be no more gnats coming from that soil unless you kill off the predators. They don’t work for mites though. I got them established in my bonsai mom pots and just scraped off a few spoonfuls of soil to add to new moms pots and in a few weeks I could see them using a cheap usb microscope doing their thing. I did same for my last couple grows and hadn’t seen more than an occasional single gnat in a couple years.
if your in Canada stepwell soil sells a Biolarvicide with is Bacillus Thuringiensis var Israelensis (BTI)
1 Like
I use Nematodes on established plants. Alternatively I steam infested soil for half an hour and then reintroduce beneficial microbes, bactos and mycos.
1 Like
Thanks for sharing, thought BTI had restricted use in Canada … 
In Canada, the PMRA has classified nearly all Bti products used to control mosquito and black fly larvae as “Restricted” , since they must be applied only in the water where the larvae exist. … As well, in some provinces, Bti use may also require a permit issued by the provincial pesticide regulatory authority
2 Likes