Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i changed the top layer of soil im my plants and started being more careful when i mist, taking care to keep the soil as dry as possible at all times. well they were gone for about 2 weeks and now they are back in full force, i cleaned about 100 dead gnats off the cage floor today. ive sprinkled sage all over the top layer of soil but that hasnt seemed to help. im going to dry a marigold based repellant on my next day off, when i have a minute to go pick some up. does anyone else have any ideas? anyone else have this same consistent problem?

Sevin dust 5% kills (some) bugs dead. 'Tis a big risk though. Just throwing that out there, though not implying I myself would try it.

It will be a little work but should clear up the problem. Remove the plant from its pot, hose off soil, repot in sterile potting soil (no perlite), water well to settle roots back in (if this is not done air pockets will form around roots and with no moisture will die). Here are some tips for re-potting:

***Moisten new soil before using. It is much easier to work with and to water moistened soil

***mix soil with peat (which should be moistened before hand as well). peat helps keep a more sterile environment and retains water so you will not have to water as much. Peat is a non-renewable resource so not one I recommend or use much but sometimes it is called for.

***put small stones, gravel, broken pieces of clay pots or styro peanuts in the bottom of the pot for drainage. This is a MUST for plants in high humidity/soggy environments. the styro peanuts are used only if you are using a large heavy pot to make it lighter. the others are better drainage.

***regardless of pot size do not fill with drainage material more than about 1/4. the plant roots need plenty of soil to grow.

After you have repotted your plant I would leave it out of the cage for a few days, let the top inch or so dry and then put in cage.

hope this helps! Sorry that it may seem like a pain, but it is that or fungus gnats!

lele

p.s. about those peanuts...make sure you don't use the type that are made from cornstarch as they will dissolve. LOL!

Here is a fact sheet on fungus gnats
fungus gnats

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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (both MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog (for summer)
0.5 Mad. Hissers (for summer - all girls, no little ones, whew!)

Perhaps you could use the bt solution rather then go through all that trouble of repotting. bt is organic in nature and harmless to higher organisms. You could also take the plant out and treat it with the organic pesticide "Neem" (derived from the East African Neem tree.) this product is also somewhat fungicidal in nature and may help eliminate the root cause of the gnats. I've never really worried about this problem personally if I did I'd go insane trying to sterilize everthing.

Bt is not harmless. It has some serious impact on beneficial insects including lepidoptera. I know you said higher organisms, and I will take that as not including other insects, but just because something is natural does not necessarily mean it is always safe. There are 4 (I believe, maybe 5) different "types" of Bt crystals and are host specific. The insect has to eat it in order to die and in the case of fungus gnats all it would take is a gravid female (gnat) who "misses" the spores and continues to carry one her species.

I realize that under the circumstances of this particular post there is little chance of it harming other insects but I also think it might be overkill (no pun intended) in a single pot.

The safest way to get rid of these annoying minibeasts is to let the soil dry out in the top couple inches (b/c that is where the eggs are laid) and then not let the soil become saturated again. Also, by completely cleaning the roots and beginning with new, sterile soil there will be no gnats to begin with.

I don't mean for this to be a "lecture" or judgement in any way, just wanted to make a point. Being one who rears native Saturnid lepidoptera I am all too well aware of the decline in many of our species often to bio-control.

OK, I am stepping down off my soap box, now
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (both MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog (for summer)
0.5 Mad. Hissers (for summer - all girls, no little ones, whew!)

I didn't take your post as lecture. I was merely point out that on the link you posted they mention a type of bt that works on the gnats and that just might be a little easier than replanting the whole plant and that bt generally has little effects on higher animals such as reptiles(yes if you were a moth you would probably in trouble) the neem idea might also work as it is insecticidal in nature as well as to some extent fungicidal and being organic in nature of limited impact to the sorrounding enviroment(teh cage in this case) As some one who uses a lot of wild bugs for food (I have started my lawnmower once in three years and then only to clear a small patch of grass for a cage. My lawn is a bug farm.)I understand that even organic methods have impacts on beneficial insects and in fact often choose to deal with insect problems the same way Paul James does, by doing nothing. I find that most pest problems will usually take care of themselves and that mechanical removal of many pests is sufficient. The only exception I make for this rule of course is fire ants but they are a whole different ball game considering their potential threat to your reptiles and livestock. As said before I just wouldn't worry about the gnats myself Just trying to offer an easier solution to replanting the plant which if done too many times could end up stressing and killing the plant. If you don't grow your own that could get expensive after a while.