It's been really rainy lately. This past weekend, it finally let up and I was on my balcony making sure the plants were o.k. Well, unfortunately, the moist soil and the warm temperatures have brought on a gnat infestation!! I spent all afternoon yesterday re-potting some of my infected plants, which were ones that were planted in Miracle Grow Organic potting soil. My radishes, lettuces and carrots- all O.K. and they were planted in a cheap Big Lots brand, called Black Magic. This morning, I go out there and the gnats are all in my pepper plant and my parsley/marigold/thyme/nasturtium mixed planter!! I hate gnats!!
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| The afflicted |
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| Vinegar and dish soap trap |
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I don't mind re-potting the peppers, but my mixed planter?!..... damnit! I even used a diluted chlorine solution to drench the soil. Apparently, the chlorine should kill the eggs. This sucks!
That happens to my indoor plants! I have to keep them outside now because the gnats fly in my face when I'm sitting on the couch. Let me know if you find a good solution. It's a pain to have to re-pot everything!
ReplyDeleteThere's supposed to be a mosquito/gnat drench that's supposed to work well, but I couldn't find it at my local Lowe's. I went back to Big Lots and bought the cheap Black Magic potting soil and re-potted my perilla, which I basically broke the stems of 3 out of 4 plants, my rosemary,and I actually just left my pepper plants alone because they were turning yellow and I figure the peppers will just eventually die at this point; they weren't doing very well since I got them anyway. :-( With my parsley/thyme mix planter and the peppers, I just used a 1:10 solution of chlorine and water and watered the plants followed by a rinse of just water. I did that for 2 days. I think the chlorine solution is supposed to kill the larvae. Apparently, once the soil dries out, the gnats are supposed to disappear. The container of vinegar with a drop of liquid dish detergent worked well as a trap for the adults, though! I don't think I'll ever use Miracle Grow potting soil again. I haven't had any problems with the Black Magic brand so far, and it was $1.50 per bag as opposed to the $9 per bag that I paid for organic MG potting soil!! I do think the diluted chlorine solution helped, so if you don't want to re-pot your plants, I would try that if you can't find the gnat/mosquito drench at your garden center. I hate gnats!
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