Gnat Problem

[alara]

What about diatomaceous earth?

That sounds interesting! Maybe that'll help. Will it still be safe to use with my cham as long as the soil is covered?

 

[alara]

A little update. I bought food grade diatomaceous earth and I'm gonna put it on the tops of my soil today. Also got a Katchy to put outside the cage at night. I thought about getting isopods, but living in an apartment I don't like the idea of them possibly escaping the enclosure. (Ironically, being a cham owner hasn't changed the fact that bugs still creep me out ) Anyways, hoping to see results soon

Also, where I live, the temperature today and tonight is supposed to drop to freezing. Would it do any good to put the infected plants outside? Would that kill the gnats/eggs faster? Just curious

 

[MissSkittles]

A little update. I bought food grade diatomaceous earth and I'm gonna put it on the tops of my soil today. Also got a Katchy to put outside the cage at night. I thought about getting isopods, but living in an apartment I don't like the idea of them possibly escaping the enclosure. (Ironically, being a cham owner hasn't changed the fact that bugs still creep me out ) Anyways, hoping to see results soon

Also, where I live, the temperature today and tonight is supposed to drop to freezing. Would it do any good to put the infected plants outside? Would that kill the gnats/eggs faster? Just curious

Putting the plants outside when it’s freezing would probably kill your plants.

 

[alara]

Putting the plants outside when it’s freezing would probably kill your plants.

Yeah I know. But at this point my main concern was to get rid of the gnat issue even if that means sacrificing my plants Only reason being is that there's more gnats than I thought there were I have other plants to use, it was just a last resort idea. As of right now though, my plants will not be sacrificed lol freezing the gnats would be useless anyways because they'll just revive themselves again later. I didn't know that

BUT I saw something about submerging the pots in water to drown the larvae? Maybe that's an easier option? Not sure, I'm still brainstorming for the best approach.

 

[EmilioTheAnkify]

Yeah I know. But at this point my main concern was to get rid of the gnat issue even if that means sacrificing my plants Only reason being is that there's more gnats than I thought there were I have other plants to use, it was just a last resort idea. As of right now though, my plants will not be sacrificed lol freezing the gnats would be useless anyways because they'll just revive themselves again later. I didn't know that

BUT I saw something about submerging the pots in water to drown the larvae? Maybe that's an easier option? Not sure, I'm still brainstorming for the best approach.

Constantly wet soil will cause root rot….and roots that are currently rotting produce the fungi the gnats feed off of.

Putting the entire plant outside I don’t think would do anything to the gnat larvae….just slow them down until they warm back up.

If you really want to keep the plants…re-pot with new soil and cut off any rotting roots and spray them with a peroxide/water mix….

If your soil is not drying up between mistings, look up how to make an aroid soil mix, so it can have the proper drainage to it. I put reptile bark, perlite, just got some pumice in but haven’t tried adding that yet. And I’m trying to do some more research on worm castings…

 

[EmilioTheAnkify]

 

[MzLaurie11]

A little update. I bought food grade diatomaceous earth and I'm gonna put it on the tops of my soil today. Also got a Katchy to put outside the cage at night. I thought about getting isopods, but living in an apartment I don't like the idea of them possibly escaping the enclosure. (Ironically, being a cham owner hasn't changed the fact that bugs still creep me out ) Anyways, hoping to see results soon

Also, where I live, the temperature today and tonight is supposed to drop to freezing. Would it do any good to put the infected plants outside? Would that kill the gnats/eggs faster? Just curious

May freeze the plant. Remove top soil where eggs are hatching before u try the new stuff you got. I put screen over top soil and fine chiffon cloth which helps. Also vacuum up the ones that are flying around so the dont lay again. With daily diligence you should get it under control within a week or two.

 

[alara]

Constantly wet soil will cause root rot….and roots that are currently rotting produce the fungi the gnats feed off of.

Putting the entire plant outside I don’t think would do anything to the gnat larvae….just slow them down until they warm back up.

If you really want to keep the plants…re-pot with new soil and cut off any rotting roots and spray them with a peroxide/water mix….

If your soil is not drying up between mistings, look up how to make an aroid soil mix, so it can have the proper drainage to it. I put reptile bark, perlite, just got some pumice in but haven’t tried adding that yet. And I’m trying to do some more research on worm castings…

I currently use Fox Farm Ocean Forest soil. I'm thinking the excessive moisture was because of my cheap mister that I bought when I first got my cham. The plants directly under the nozzles definitely got drenched more from the mist. The nozzles also would continue to drip out even after the misting stopped I just bought a Mistking though so I'm hoping after I take care of the gnats, overwatering shouldn't be an issue anymore. But will definitely look into the aroid mix in case I need to switch!

 

[alara]

May freeze the plant. Remove top soil where eggs are hatching before u try the new stuff you got. I put screen over top soil and fine chiffon cloth which helps. Also vacuum up the ones that are flying around so the dont lay again. With daily diligence you should get it under control within a week or two.

Ok, I'll try that! Luckily I still have some screen left over from when I wrapped a piece of egg crate to put my plants on! And now that it's 60° outside (Texas weather ) I can go outside and do this so I won't make a mess lol

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

I was shopping for new plants at Lowe's yesterday and asked the "plant lady" what I could buy that would be safe for plants and animals that would kill the gnats and she showed me a can of spray called "Zevo". It states it kills flies and gnats and is safe for the plants and any animals. She said to spray it on the soil of the plant, not the plant itself, and then let it dry before putting it in the chameleon's cage. I bought it but I've been afraid to use it. Anyone ever used it or heard of it?
Sue