Commonly, people tell me that the only reason they don’t purchase house plants is because they can’t stand the gnats that come with the houseplants. And I definitely do understand the desire for a gnat-free home! Fortunately, you can have your cake and eat it too. Here’s how I keep my houseplant soil gnat free. I love these gnats in houseplants home remedies!
Home Remedies For Gnats in Houseplants
Looking for easy gnats in houseplants home remedies? Look no further than right here. Most of these houseplant pest home remedies require things already found in your pantry, so you won’t need to run to the store or anything like that.
First, determine if you are dealing with fruit flies or fungus gnats. Fruit flies are the bugs flying in around your drains and your fruit bowl. If it’s fungus gnats, you’ll see them hovering around soil, around your head, and away from the drain. And though fungus plants will not kill your houseplants, their presence is enough to drive any homeowner positively insane. Fungus gnats are also drawn to damp soils. I had the hardest time with fungus gnats in the soil of my dwarf banana tree because the soil has to be kept so moist. Fortunately, there is an easy remedy.
Easy gnats in houseplants home remedies include spraying your plants down with Neem Oil or repotting the plant into fresh soil. If you don’t have either of these handy, you can combine a tablespoon of dish soap to a quart of water in a spray bottle. Spray the mixture onto the entire plant and watch as the dish soap mixture kills the fungus gnats.
You can also trap fungus gnats in a vinegar trap. Pour a few inches of apple cider vinegar into a glass cup. Add a drop of dish soap and swish to combine. Cover the top with plastic, leaving a small open for the flies to enter. Place the trap near the affected houseplant and check it for trapped flies daily. Remember, though, that this will only kill the adult flies and not the larvae living in the soil. To kill larvae in the soil, keep reading.
Also, if you have it handy food-grade diatomaceous earth is another great fungus gnat home remedy. To apply, sprinkle an inch of the mixture to the top of your potting soil. Diatomaceous Earth will kill any insect that it comes into contact with at no harm to the plant. It’s great for pest control in houseplants!
