Pests are always an issue when gardening. I have been pretty lucky that I haven’t had many problem with pests so far. But I have dealt with fungus gnats. What started as a few little bugs soon turned into a real problem. However, I was able to get rid of the problem and now I want to share how I dealt with fungus gnats.
My Fungus Gnat Problem
When I first started gardening I noticed noticing had a few tiny bugs in my indoor seedlings. Well a few turned into a few more- and a few more. I did a little research and turned out the little bugs were fungus gnats. When spring came around and I moved the seedlings outdoors, the problem continued in my raised planter bed. Fungus gnats are annoying pests that fly at your face and can damage the roots of your plants. I knew I had to get rid of them but I didn’t know how.
I researched how to get rid of naturally. Leading me to try, well, some interesting remedies. Like sprinkling cinnamon. Did not kill the fungus gnats, but my garden smelled nice. I then tried to make my own big trap with water and dish soap. Also did not work.
Fungus gnats like moist conditions. So I tried drying out the garden. That didn’t work and was not good for my plants.
I didn’t want to spray chemicals on my garden unless I had to so I continued to look for other remedies.
Stick Traps to Remove Fungus Gnats
Next I tried sticky yellow big traps. These simple big traps worked, to my complete shock, the small yellow sticky pieces of cardboard worked. Almost immediately the yellow color attracted the bugs and a few were caught. After a day I would change the traps and after a few days, my problem was gone.
Now I put these traps out every year in the spring. I have tried larger sheets of fly traps, but prefer the small traps that stick in the ground. These traps are cheap and work! These traps are small and effective!
Here is an Amazon Link to the traps I have purchased and used.
Disclaimer: Links in this post are Amazon affiliate links, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Tips for Getting Rid of Fungus Gnats
- Put out the traps as soon as you think you may have a problem
- Change the traps after a heavy rain storm. As the traps may lose their stickiness from a lot of rain.
- Don’t be afraid to put a several traps in an area. When my fungus gnat problem first started, I put out at least 6 in the badly infested area.
Additional Recommended Reading on Levenshire Chronicles
First time gardener? Read about my tips for beginners here and my garden fails so you can learn from my mistakes here.
Disclaimer: Links in this post are Amazon affiliate links, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
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