Tobacco juice for controlling gnats/fungus gnats/white flies?

[NTXGardenGuy]

I have two self-watering window pots for growing greens. The soil seems to stay quite moist since it's self-watering, so I am letting it dry out for a few days. Anyway, these little buggers are still all up in the soil, coming out whenever I disturb the pot. I have some fly strips hanging which are not very pleasing to the eye and don't seem to do their job very well, at least they catch the flying ones who come into contact.

But I remember reading something about tobacco juice and how it helps to kill off the larvae while not harming seedlings, roots, or beneficial fungi/bacteria.

Would making a tea from copenhagen work?

[nedwina]

Originally Posted by NTXGardenGuy

I have two self-watering window pots for growing greens. The soil seems to stay quite moist since it's self-watering, so I am letting it dry out for a few days. Anyway, these little buggers are still all up in the soil, coming out whenever I disturb the pot. I have some fly strips hanging which are not very pleasing to the eye and don't seem to do their job very well, at least they catch the flying ones who come into contact.

But I remember reading something about tobacco juice and how it helps to kill off the larvae while not harming seedlings, roots, or beneficial fungi/bacteria.

Would making a tea from copenhagen work?

It might. But there is such a thing as Tobacco Mosaic Virus, and people who grow tomatoes, brugmansias, etc., are advised to wash carefully after handling or smoking tobacco.

The best method I've found, aside from paying big bucks for Gnatrol, is to make a hydrogen peroxide solution (4 oz per gallon) and use it to water every time. H2O2 will not harm your plants and it will kill off the fungus gnat larva if you use it religiously.

[NTXGardenGuy]

Nedwina, I will try that. Thank you very much.

[NTXGardenGuy]

Woah, the 1oz h2o2 to 1quart h2o ratio seems to wake your plants up. I watered my spinach with the solution and it seems like they are standing up stronger than usual... Trying it on everything....

[nedwina]

Originally Posted by NTXGardenGuy

Woah, the 1oz h2o2 to 1quart h2o ratio seems to wake your plants up. I watered my spinach with the solution and it seems like they are standing up stronger than usual... Trying it on everything....

It's good stuff. Safe, cheap, and has multiple uses:

http://www.using-hydrogen-peroxide.c...de-garden.html

[blindrummer]

the vacuum works great too, just approach with the vacuum and get um before they fly away. sticky cards laid right on the surface will kill the rest as they come out of the soil

[NTXGardenGuy]

Originally Posted by blindrummer

the vacuum works great too, just approach with the vacuum and get um before they fly away. sticky cards laid right on the surface will kill the rest as they come out of the soil

I have the pull-out insect catching strips that you hang, I'm thinking about wrapping one around an index card and placing it on the soil. I've about had it with these stupid critters, they're tough to eliminate and I know they came in through one of these MG bags from home depot, which I will NEVER purchase again. (I'm doing 1/3 vermi, 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat from now on). AND I am DEFINITELY pressing a nice 1/4-1/2 inch of sand down on top of the soil before seedlings come up (in containers of course).

[pepperhead212]

Originally Posted by nedwina

It might. But there is such a thing as Tobacco Mosaic Virus, and people who grow tomatoes, brugmansias, etc., are advised to wash carefully after handling or smoking tobacco.

The best method I've found, aside from paying big bucks for Gnatrol, is to make a hydrogen peroxide solution (4 oz per gallon) and use it to water every time. H2O2 will not harm your plants and it will kill off the fungus gnat larva if you use it religiously.

The problem with using hydrogen peroxide on a regular basis is that it also destroys the beneficial microbes in the soil, much like spraying "safe" insecticides do with beneficial insects. Great for putting in soil before starting seedlings, but I prefer not to add it much after that.

The Microbe-lift I use now cost me less than $5/year. As cheap as peroxide is, it would still end up costing more than that, at 4 oz/gal with all those things I water! And unfortunately, the 35% peroxide is no longer available, except, maybe, to commercial growers.

[NTXGardenGuy]

Originally Posted by pepperhead212

The problem with using hydrogen peroxide on a regular basis is that it also destroys the beneficial microbes in the soil, much like spraying "safe" insecticides do with beneficial insects. Great for putting in soil before starting seedlings, but I prefer not to add it much after that.

The Microbe-lift I use now cost me less than $5/year. As cheap as peroxide is, it would still end up costing more than that, at 4 oz/gal with all those things I water! And unfortunately, the 35% peroxide is no longer available, except, maybe, to commercial growers.

what brand is microbe lift? look at one of my posts above, please let me know if that is what you were talking about, I need to find some of that.

Today I tried a new method. I have no apple cider vinegar, only white, so I mixed about 2 oz white vinegar with a tablespoon of sugar, dissolved the sugar in and added a few drops of dish soap, mixed it all up, and set it in a long shallow dish out there. I've caught about 20 of them! I'm leaving it out overnight with a sticky strip next to it which has caught many as well. I'm learning to control these suckers so I can prevent them in later growing seasons.

[CountryRed]

Ok, so I was going to try the peroxide solution but you are saying it destroys the microbes or the beneficial things in your soil? Didn't think about that. Sometimes I use compost I make with worms so would that kill any of the worms that may be in the soil?