Gnats in Houseplants

Gnats can be the most annoying of pests, even though they may be harmless. Also called fruit flies, they buzz and hover around plants, not to mention over our heads, and are attracted to rotten eatables. That's the reason why they can be found around trash cans and drains. Gnat infestation is a common problem effecting houseplants and they appear as a small black dot on the plants. Initially only a few of them affect the plants, but over time, they increase in numbers and create a nuisance for the plants.

A single gnat has the capacity to lay about 200 to 300 eggs, which in turn, aggravate the problem of gnats. Even though gnats are not fatal for the plants, they can seriously inhibit the growth of the plant. It is during winters and early springs that the problem of gnats in houseplants is most common.

Home Remedies for Gnats in Houseplants

Applying Fungicide
While thinking of home remedies for gnat infestation, the most important thing you should remember is to remove the source of food, i.e. fungus, of these little creatures. Many a time it so happens that after applying different chemicals, the gnats may have gone away, but then they again return in a day or two. One of the best ways of getting rid of gnats is applying fungicide over the top soil and both sides of the leaves. Make sure that you spray the fungicide on the leaves in such a way that it drips down the stem of the plant. This would work instantly as the source of food of these pests is killed. Moreover, make sure that you spray it in the sink drains, litter boxes and trash cans.

Using Potato Slices
Getting rid of adult gnats only would not solve the problem. Gnats typically lays eggs on the cracks of the soil, and the larvae should also be got rid off. An excellent natural home remedy which you can use is to slice pieces of potatoes and place them over the soil all around the plant. Instead of laying eggs on the soil, the gnats would lay eggs on slices of potatoes. After about two to three days throw away the slices of potatoes in a far of place so that they don't reappear in your garden. Repeat this step a few times till you find that gnats have reduced to a considerable extent.

Change of Soil
Besides houseplants, gnats can also be found in lawns and gardens. It's very likely that your houseplants may be reinfected by gnats found outdoors. To prevent this you need to make sure that there is no decaying plant material around the plant. Moreover, the soil needs to be dry enough so that fungus growth is prevented. An important step to ensure that the moisture content of the soil is reduced to manageable levels is to let the soil dry out completely before you water the plant again. In addition to that you can also repot the plants. You just need to remove the plants from the pot, remove the soil and place the plant back, with new soil in the pot.

Using Sticky Cards
You can opt to use sticky cards in combination with the above mentioned methods to naturally get rid of gnats in houseplants. However, on the downside, you would only be able to get rid of a few gnats at a time. So you would need to use this method multiple times to get rid of this problem completely. Moreover, even after they are killed, gnats may have laid several hundreds of eggs, so only killing the adults won't work. You may use this method in combination with potato slices (mentioned above) to get rid of gnats.

You can, of course, opt to use chemicals, be it fungicide or insecticide to get rid of this problem. If you use chemicals, make sure that you don't allow children and pets near the plant as these chemicals may affect their health.