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Bugs & Pots!


Mohsen

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We could talk about pest/ bugs that harmful to our palms or to us here...

I am having problem of small suborn gnats in almost all my pots ( mostly in the soil)...

I am using insecticide and that seems to kill them temporary and they will come back 2 days later :(

any idea / remedy to get them away for good?

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12 hours ago, Mohsen said:

We could talk about pest/ bugs that harmful to our palms or to us here...

I am having problem of small suborn gnats in almost all my pots ( mostly in the soil)...

I am using insecticide and that seems to kill them temporary and they will come back 2 days later :(

any idea / remedy to get them away for good?

More than likely they are Fungus Gnats and usually turn up in soil that is kept too wet.. especially in an environment that doesn't have a lot of air circulation ie: a greenhouse. Allowing the soil to dry a bit should remedy the issue/ kill any larvae, thus breaking the development cycle. Hope this helps.

I'll tell ya, i'd rather deal with these then  Mealy Bugs that hang out in the roots... Quite a pain to completely eradicate:rage:

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ya, if theyre fungus gnats, try letting the potting medium dry out more between waterings.

You could also try Mosquito Bits. Theyre these granular bits of some kind of bacteria called BTI that will kill mosquito and fungus gnat larvae. It can take awhile to clear up an infestation though since it doesn't kill adult mosquitos or gnats, just the larvae.

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On 3/13/2016, 5:47:44, Pal Meir said:

Have you tried to water your palms with ±diluted second brew of coffee?

No Pal, we are not much into coffee...what is the recipe ?

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On 3/13/2016, 6:37:52, Silas_Sancona said:

More than likely they are Fungus Gnats and usually turn up in soil that is kept too wet.. especially in an environment that doesn't have a lot of air circulation ie: a greenhouse. Allowing the soil to dry a bit should remedy the issue/ kill any larvae, thus breaking the development cycle. Hope this helps.

I'll tell ya, i'd rather deal with these then  Mealy Bugs that hang out in the roots... Quite a pain to completely eradicate:rage:

agree with you ...unfortunately I am dealing with Mealy Bugs too...I don't mind these gnats but my wife do :(

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Yeah, fungus gnats are annoying. I usually notice them when I use potting soil that's been open and kept outside for an indoor palm.

I've tried fly tape before which helps a bit. One thing my wife came up with for our house plants is to cover the top of the soil with a layer of sand. Otherwise, patience and letting the soil dry out are the best solutions.

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I had problems with fungus gnats long ago.  Covered the soil of my pots with ~1" of sand and the problem started going away.  

Then I poured the coffee grounds out of my french press into my pots and the problem has completely disappeared...  

All hail Caffeine, lord of chemical stimulants!

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"Ph'nglui mglw'napalma Funkthulhu R'Lincolnea wgah'palm fhtagn"
"In his house at Lincoln, dread Funkthulhu plants palm trees."

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I literally swirl water in with grounds to liquify and then dump in pot.  Most of my pots have at least 2 or 3 "doses" of coffee in them so far with nobody showing any loss of health or vigor (quite the opposite, really).

Up to you if you like your pots are manicured to look nice, maybe bury it in the top?  I've never tried just using second run coffee water with no grounds to treat the gnats, so I have no advice/data there.

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"Ph'nglui mglw'napalma Funkthulhu R'Lincolnea wgah'palm fhtagn"
"In his house at Lincoln, dread Funkthulhu plants palm trees."

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17 hours ago, Pal Meir said:

If you spread the coffee grounds on top of your soil you will get a thick carpet of mould … :sick:

Thanks Pal, so should I boiled the coffee ground and then water pots using that water?

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Boiling isn't really going to make a difference, as the mold spores are already in your plants and in the air of your living space.

"Ph'nglui mglw'napalma Funkthulhu R'Lincolnea wgah'palm fhtagn"
"In his house at Lincoln, dread Funkthulhu plants palm trees."

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Just pour regular coffee in the pot. No milk and sugar. It doesn't have to be second brew, just coffee. As long as it's no decaf...it's the cafeïne that is the active ingredient here. When I have spider mite on a plant I spray the coffee directly on all plant parts above ground. Especially the leaves and undersides. Does the trick every time.

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Amsterdam,

The Netherlands

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22 minutes ago, Kai said:

Just pour regular coffee in the pot. No milk and sugar. It doesn't have to be second brew, just coffee. As long as it's no decaf...it's the cafeïne that is the active ingredient here. When I have spider mite on a plant I spray the coffee directly on all plant parts above ground. Especially the leaves and undersides. Does the trick every time.

The first brew I would like to drink myself:interesting: And not let the bugs drink it … :rant:

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My photos at flickr: flickr.com/photos/palmeir/albums

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Thanks all for the comments ...

I am not into coffee much so I might go for the first brew one :) I think the first brew could have more cafeïne ?

How long it should be boiled ? and how diluted it should be ?

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On 3/13/2016, 11:47:44, Pal Meir said:

Have you tried to water your palms with ±diluted second brew of coffee?

last night i spent 3 hours , boiled coffee and watered sprayed all my pots...now I checked and all tiny creatures are freely moving  ( seemed very happy :angry:) in/around pots & palms :( 

it seems they just liked the taste of my coffee ( was 1st brew :()  I need to think something else ...any other idea ?

IMG_5337.JPG

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  • 3 weeks later...

Coffee grounds didn't seem to help for me. I made a layer around the top of my three pots and it didn't seem to bother them. Fly tape is amazing though. Now I'll just refrain from watering for a while. 

IMG_5028.jpg

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I just gave up any method so used strong Insecticide chemical and that rooted them out ...now I am using coffee solution time to time to prevent them from appearing again...

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm currently fighting fungus gnats that hitch hiked into my home from a Ravenae rivularis. They've spread to all of my indoor potted plants. I can't allow the Ravenea to dry out completely because it will stress the palm. I heard peroxide could kill the larvae but they keep flying right up into my face!!! Does tea work like coffee does? I'm a tea drinker. 

Los Angeles, CA and Myrtle Beach, SC.

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