It’s hard to stand having a lot of gnats in your house. You might get one or two and think the bugs are gone, only to find them flying around your face again. Cinnamon, on the other hand, can help get rid of gnats that live on your plants by killing bacteria.
Fungus gnats often come from plants in your window. They like places with plants that are moist and have a lot of light, like a windowsill, where plants are often placed. When it gets cold outside and you bring plants inside to keep them from dying, you may also see fungus gnats in your home.
These gnats love the mold that can grow in pots. Their caterpillars eat plant roots and fungus to stay alive. Fusus gnats like it when there is a lot of water around, so make sure your plants don’t get too much water. They like it when the ground is damp, so dry soil can stop them from laying their eggs. So, it’s best to leave the top few inches of dirt dry and only water your plants when they need it.
How Cinnamon Works in The Fight Against Fungus Gnats
As a surprise, cinnamon may be useful around the house because it is thought to have antifungal qualities that can help stop the growth of fungus on plant roots. Cannabis is thought to have antifungal qualities because it contains cinnamaldehyde, a compound that gives the spice its unique taste and smell. Researchers have found that cinnamonaldehyde stops the growth of fungal spores by making them less stable and messing up the cell wall’s structure.
While there is some scientific evidence that cinnamon can kill fungi, it is important to keep in mind that it has not been widely studied as a natural way to get rid of fungus gnats. Many plant experts think that cinnamon can be a good natural way to get rid of fungus gnats because it can mess up their life cycle by killing the fungus that the larvae eat. However, more research needs to be done.
How To Use Cinnamon In Your Home To Ward Off Fungus Gnats
Mix a few drops of cinnamon essential oil with water to get rid of fungus gnats that come from potted plants that you keep inside. You can put the solution on the dirt or potting mix directly, or you can use a spray bottle to treat the leaves of plants that are sick. Add a little water to cinnamon powder to make a paste if you only have that on hand. Then mix it into the soil or potting mix. Plus, you can just sprinkle it on the ground.
Keep in mind that cinnamon can help get rid of fungus gnats that come from indoor plants, but it might not get rid of the problem totally if you also have fruit flies or drain flies. Use vinegar, bleach, or a drain cleaner to get rid of those kinds of gnats for good. Getting rid of their food sources, like rotten or overripe food, is also important. Keep your kitchen clean and dry.
The Life Cycle Of Gnats: Know Your Enemy’s Timeline
It’s important to know how these tiny pests live in order to really learn how to get rid of them. If you know the stages of growth and how long each stage lasts, you can plan when to intervene so that they have the most impact.
Gnats go through four steps in their life: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Let’s look at each stage in more detail to learn more about how they grow and behave.
- Egg Stage: Female gnats lay their eggs in groups, usually in wet dirt or other damp places near dead plants and animals. Number of eggs laid by gnats varies by species, but it can be anywhere from a dozen to a few hundred. The eggs are usually clear or white, and based on the temperature and humidity, they hatch in four days on average.
- Larva Stage: When gnat eggs hatch, they turn into tiny white worms that don’t have legs. They eat dead plants, fungi, and organic waste. They do best when it’s damp, and they’re most active at this time, which is terrible for your plants. The juvenile stage usually lasts between 7 and 14 days, but this depends on the conditions.
- Pupa Stage: Once the gnat larvae have grown, they change into adults in the pupal stage. This process takes place in the dirt or other safe places inside a structure that looks like a cocoon. The pupal stage usually lasts between 3 and 7 days, but this depends on the surroundings.
- Adult Stage: Once fully grown, adult gnats come out of their pupal cases and fly away. Adult gnats only live for about a week before they mate and lay eggs, ending their life cycle. Most of the time, adult gnats stay close to plants or other sources of wetness and organic matter because they can’t fly well.
- You can plan your actions more effectively if you know how gnats live and reproduce.
For example, use of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti) or hydrogen peroxide on the soil works best when the gnats are larvae, when they are most easily hurt. Also, yellow sticky traps or vinegar traps can help lower the number of adults by stopping them from mating and laying eggs.
Natural Ways To Get Rid Of Fungus Gnats
If you find fungus gnats in your plants, keep the affected pots away from other plants so the problem doesn’t get worse or spread. Start with the dirt because that’s where the fungus gnats live and do most of their damage.
Let The Soil Dry
For starters, it’s best to let the dirt dry out for a few days before adding water again. In dry earth, both the eggs and the larvae will die off in the end. Also, empty the runoff saucers of any water that is still there.
Clean potting mix is another easy tip. There is less organic matter for the young plants to eat in clean potting mix.
Hydrogen Peroxide As Larvacide
Half hydrogen peroxide and four parts water should be mixed together. To water your plants, use this mix. The gnat larvae will die from hydrogen peroxide, but it won’t hurt your plant. Apply it again every week until you see that the gnats are gone.
Vinegar For A Gnat Trap
Add a few drops of dish soap to a cup or glass of apple cider vinegar. Put tape or fabric over it, but leave enough space for the bugs to get through. The smell will draw them in, and when they try to drink the solution, they’ll drown.
Soap Acts As An Insecticide
Dish soap or Castile soap will kill any bugs with soft bodies. Both are thought to kill insects, but Castile soap, which is made from plant oils, is thought to be the best. The soap kills bugs by suffocating and drying them out, which breaks down the bug’s protected shell.
- Cinnamon and Chamomile Kill Fungal Food Sources
- Cinnamon powder and chamomile tea are both natural ways to kill fungus. Fungus gnats eat fungus, so killing it makes them leave.
- Traps for potatoes
- Pieces of raw potato can be used to catch fungus gnat larvae that are already there. Lay the potato pieces on the ground with the meat side down. Every two days, check under them. Take out any maggots that are eating the potato and put in new pieces. Don’t let the potatoes get too dry.
Sticky Traps
Even though adult gnats don’t live long, fewer of them will mean fewer eggs being laid. Use yellow sticky fly traps to get rid of adult fungus gnats. These traps are exactly what they sound like: sticky sheets of paper.
Fungus gnats are drawn to yellow, and they get caught in the traps. Throw away the trap when it’s full and set up a new one. Even though it’s not pretty, it’s an easy and safe way to get rid of a lot of adult fungus gnats. It’s also a good way to keep an eye on fungus gnats and see if their numbers have grown too big to be a problem.
In the pesticide section of your garden store, you can buy yellow sticky traps. There are also small ones that have little sticks that you can stick into the ground.
Apply Biological Controls
There are a few organic ways to get rid of fungus gnats, but they are mostly used in greenhouses to grow plants from seed. Gnats can be very bad for gardens. If the problem gets so bad that you are thinking about biological controls, you should probably get rid of the plants and start over.
If you want to use plants instead, Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelensis (Bti) is the best choice. This is the same bacteria that is used to get rid of mosquitoes in ponds. These germs keep gnats away, but they don’t hurt people or pets. Bug sprays or granules with “Bt” should be easy to find in the pest control section or near the pond supplies at a home or garden store.
It is possible to dissolve mosquito dunks in water, which is then used to water plants. You may need more than one coating, but read the label and do what it says. Granules are sprinkled on top of the dirt, and every time it rains, some bacteria are added.
FAQ
Do Worms Eat Fungus Gnats?
It is called Steinernema feltiae, and it feeds on fungus gnat eggs and kills them by spreading a bacteria. Nematodes usually have to be ordered through the mail from a company that gets rid of plant pests, which can make this option more of a hassle than other, faster ones.
Can I Spray Fungus Gnats?
Fungus gnats can be killed quickly with biological and synthetic insecticide sprays, but they are not a long-term answer and are not usually needed. Pyrethrins, permethrin, and bifenthrin are all common choices. Sprays can hurt good bugs, so be careful and smart about how you use them. Spraying the earth surface and parts of plants where adult gnats like to land is a common method.
Do Fungus Gnats Fly Around The House?
They move slowly through the air and usually stay on the soil of plants or close to plants. If you’re sitting close to a plant, they might fly out far enough to land on your face. To say it again, they are safe for people and don’t bite. They’re like fruit flies, but they hang out on plants instead of food.
How Does Cinnamon Kill Gnats In Plants?
Fungus gnats can be killed with cinnamon because it changes their life cycle. It goes after their embryos in particular. mushrooms gnats eat mushrooms as their main food source. Natural chemicals in cinnamon that kill fungi and bugs can help stop the growth of the fungus.
How Long Does It Take For Cinnamon To Kill Gnats?
There is no set amount of time that cinnamon will kill gnats; how well it works varies. Some sites say that cinnamon only works on fungus gnats after a few days to a week. Some say cinnamon works right away. The best thing to do is to watch what happens after you sprinkle cinnamon on the dirt. Your personal situation will determine how quickly cinnamon works to get rid of gnats.
What Does Cinnamon Do To Gnats?
Gnats are not killed by cinnamon. They are kept in check by it, and the young larvae’s growth is stopped. Adult gnats don’t lay eggs in the ground because cinnamon has a strong smell and a rough feel. Also, putting cinnamon on plants that gnats like can kill the larvae by blocking their airways.
Because of its unique features, cinnamon can be used effectively to keep gnats away.
How Often Should I Put Cinnamon On My Plants?
How often cinnamon should be used on plants depends on how bad the pest problem is. If you want to keep fungus gnats from laying eggs in your garden, sprinkle cinnamon on it once a week. If the infection is bad, you may need to use more often or find other ways to get rid of it.