wotnwhy Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 I've been away over winter and just got home, I have a bathtub full of my own soil (plant magic base with lots of organic additives (kelp powder, gypsum, that kinda thing) and have discovered its absolutely swarming with fruit flies! Is there anything I can do to save this compost for my next grow? Or do I have to do the unthinkable and clear out, clean up, and start again? That would be devastating as it was a fresh batch that's only done 1 run! Hopefully I can sulfur bomb the room and add some neem or something to the soil to save it, but worried that as there's so many of them the chances of them coming back are high..? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woozy Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 nematodes should probably sort it out, they've always cleared up any infestations I've had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindSoup Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 (edited) That'll be fungus gnats (Sciarid Fly), a sign that your soil is waterlogged and probably a bit anaerobic. As @Woozy said get some nematodes, they'll take about two weeks to work. Don't plant any seeds in it until then as the larvae will munch them. A dusting of neem lead powder/Neal seed meal over the surface will also help to fuck them up a bit. It'll be fine to use eventually, just takes a bit of time. Edited April 20 by MindSoup 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cajafiesta Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 I've solved them by covering the top of the soil in some sort of barrier. I used pearlite. I would think clean sand ( like playground sand from the home improvement store) or diatomaceous earth woould likely accomplish the same. Anyhow, covering the soil surface completely and letting it dry back should kill them off. It worked for me, anyhow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BilgePump Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 Moler clay, its made of diatomaceous earth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iShouldCoCo Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 Get some mosquito dunks or similar BT product. Really smacks them down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wotnwhy Posted April 22 Author Share Posted April 22 Thanks for the responses everyone, grabbed myself some nematodes, lets see what happens. 8 hours ago, iShouldCoCo said: Get some mosquito dunks or similar BT product. Really smacks them down. What is BT? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iShouldCoCo Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 (edited) @wotnwhy BT is Bacillus thuringiensis - it's a bacterial larvacide that targets mosquito and more importantly fungus gnats. It's really effective. Edited April 22 by iShouldCoCo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaMelter Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 Hang / place some sticky traps near the soil surface too so you get the buggers as they emerge. Combine that with BT and the Nematodes and in 2 weeks their numbers will be way down. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now