|
Post by millipede on Jul 23, 2009 19:04:06 GMT
i have fungus gnat larvae in my pot that i just put a whole bunch of nepenthes seeds in to sprout! i heard they will eat the seeds. what can i do? im guessing theyve been there the whole time since i leave my bale of peat moss outside under the porch....
|
|
|
Post by peterhewitt on Jul 24, 2009 19:10:37 GMT
The Fungus Gnats will almost certainly eat the young sprouts. you will have to re-pot the seeds in to a fresh batch of sterilized media. check on the ICPS "How to's" www.carnivorousplants.org/ for the best way to treat Nepenthes seeds. putting your pots or seed trays in a plastic baggie or enclosed humidity dome will exclude these pests.
|
|
|
Post by Aidan on Aug 4, 2009 20:44:10 GMT
If you can obtain a soil-drench insecticide with imidacloprid or thiacloprid as the active ingredient, it will dispose of the fungus gnats.
|
|
|
Post by peterhewitt on Aug 5, 2009 17:00:31 GMT
Aiden, is it wise to use the soil drench as a regular treatment? i have lots of gnat larvae in my Sarracenia pots but they don't seem to do any damage that i can see. they are larger established plants though. they do have a huge Ick factor so i would rather be rid of them but i am cautious with the use of insecticides
|
|
|
Post by Aidan on Aug 6, 2009 0:55:33 GMT
I doubt there is a collection in the world that doesn't have fungus gnats and under most circumstances they are harmless. I largely ignore or consider them to be plant food and growing Mexican Pinguicula is a handy way to mop up the adults.
A single treatment with imidacloprid/thiacloprid will typically keep pots clear for several months.
|
|