Everything is going great.
What are you supposed to do now?
How do you get rid of them?
In this article
What are Fungus Gnats?
These pests appear seasonally or every few months.
Theyre like fruit flies in terms of habits and looks.
Fruit fliesare mostly after rotting fruit.
These gnats love soaked soil.
They hang out around succulents with plant boxes or pots that dont have well-draining soil most of the time.
Where do Fungus Gnats come from?
An infestation of fungus gnats can occur from anywhere but not necessarily out of nowhere.
Rotting leaves that arent cleaned out immediately can also lead to an infestation.
The plant itself could have eggs or an unknown infestation as well.
Related:How to water succulents properly
How to identify Fungus Gnats on succulents?
If its severely infested, considerable portions of the plant might wilt away and die altogether.
Remember to let the soil dry out completely before the next watering or use soil with better drainage.
5 natural ways to get rid of Fungus Gnats on succulents
#1.
You should not water your soil until its dry.
Egg-laying females are less likely to lay their eggs on dry soil as well.
Over-watering the plant, meanwhile, is your best bet in keeping your succulent infested.
Fungus gnats develop like fungi in moistness.
#2.
Do this daily until the insects dont show up on your succulents anymore.
However, soap water is toxic to insects and will hurt them more than help them.
#3.
Put in Cinnamon
Cinnamon isnt only good for making bread amazingly delicious.
Its also an all-natural method of getting rid of pests and dealing with all sorts of garden issues.
Its like a panacea or cure-all when it comes to dealing with succulent protection.
At the very least, its moderately effective pest control.
Dampen the cinnamon as well to keep the wind from blowing it all away.
#4.
Dust with Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous earth (DE) is a substance made up of diatoms.
Diatoms, in turn, come in various shapes a la snowflakes.
These shapes also include loads of sharp angles.
In other words, theyre shards that can do loads of damage if they appear in the wrong place.
They can shred up many a fungus gnat to oblivion.
These diatoms are so fine and small theyre capable of puncturing things at the cellular level.
This is handy when dealing with bugs, since theyre so small.
DE is lethal to bugs because it gets between their exoskeleton joints, thus shredding them up from within.
#5.
Introduce Nematodes
You cant get more natural at controlling pest populations than using nematodes.
Nematodes are microscopic roundworms capable of invading fungus gnat larvae in order for them to survive.
Theyre also good at getting rid of various soil-borne pests like fleas, garden grubs, and so forth.
Theyre also safe on you, your family, your pets, and other plants.
Nematodes release bacteria that consume pests like fungus flies from within.
Gnats related to the fungus gnats are drain flies or sink flies and fruit flies.
Fruit flies appear whenever you have rotting fruit on your table or your garden.
Drain flies happen when your drains have issues flushing the sewer water out.
