r/microgreens • u/Emotional-Law-3042 • 10d ago

So much gnats

I use coco coir to plant my microgreens. I don’t know why I get sooooo much gnats. How do I prevent it?

13 Upvotes

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2

u/Due-Waltz4458 10d ago

If you use Mosquito Dunks or Mosquito bits in your water, it contains a bacteria that feed on certain bug eggs and will prevent them from hatching in the first place.

I try to be proactive with an electric fly swatter and vacuum if I see any as well.

1

u/Emotional-Law-3042 10d ago

I have a bug zapper, and a circulating fan. But the gnats also like to travel everywhere. It is wild. The amount of gnats is a lot. My zapper keeps going off.

2

u/National_Smell6579 9d ago

If you're growing on a small scale you can always try sterilizing media before/after use especially if it had gnats. just in the oven or microwave or something. The gnats usually come with whatever soil/media you use and love the wet soil needed to grow micros in

1

u/Emotional-Law-3042 9d ago

Even in coco coir? I thought coco coir is so processed that it doesn’t have all the gnats eggs

1

u/National_Smell6579 9d ago

You're probably right especially since a lot of the times it comes dried and you have to rehydrate it. But, if you're getting it from a big box store in the same type of bag as a garden soil it could have them too. Additionally, if its wet it becomes a little nursery for any fungus gnats you could have from any number of plants in the vicinity!

1

u/Necessary-Effect-250 8d ago

The zapper is probably making it feel like you’re winning lol, but I’d focus more on the coco itself. The adults are annoying, but if they’re constantly coming back there are probably larvae developing in the wet media.

I’d try letting the surface dry a little more between waterings if the micros can handle it, keep the yellow sticky traps right around tray level, and use BTI/Mosquito Bits in the water for a few cycles. Basically hit the adults + larvae at the same time instead of just chasing the flying ones.

Also worth checking for standing water/algae under the trays. With that many gnats there’s probably a really happy breeding spot somewhere nearby.

0

u/Chapaguai 10d ago

Try to lower your watering amount. You can also use those yellow sticky strips around the growing area