I tried it once, and my worms did not respond well.

I used the Hypoapsis mites. Pricey though. But then, this is a recurring thing and I just DO NOT want to keep buying these mites. They somehow do not hang out in my bins. Some lucky people have these mites as part of their bin population.
JerilynnC: I am very interested in your followup report. I'm not sure how safe BTI is for worms and their offsprings.

I eradicated the fungus gnats from my bin using parasitic nematodes.

BTI is harmless to earthworms.

My worms did not do well with BTI. I would not use it again. The worms did not mind the beneficial nematodes, but the nematodes did not solve the problem. I finally got a no-pest strip and sprayed with bug spray to get rid of them.

Shaul has obviously been affected by reading one too many of my posts. "I finally got a no-pest strip and sprayed with bug spray to get rid of them." You beast. A highly effective beast. It is nice to know there is some version of events where they all die. Fungus gnat. I have never had them in my vermicompost. Oppps, needed to run out for more incense and chant a few times. I have seen drain fly gnats in public places near the floor drain and I hate them and want them all to die, die, die. So I can relate. Fruit flies I can relate to much better and have no issue with reaching into the $$$ glass of wine with a finger tip to "save" a swimmer. All I can say on the subject is sometimes you are in an all out war. The quicker you realize it and set or defuse the bomb the better. The other approach is to let them have their way, way past the time to do something about it. Eventually, hopefully, we are told, nature will balance itself and something that eats the enemy will appear. This takes more time than the average human is willing to wait. I had something in my bins. I do not know what. Springtails? Then a new but different creature arrived and no more springtails? Then even the number of that new bug declined tons. Just like nature fills a vacuum, nature also does not seem too thrilled with an overabundance AKA infestation. It is all in who can wait it out the longest. Or in who has nukes.

You have to use the nematode species which is specific for fungus gnats. The vendor I bought from had a couple of different nematode species and you had to choose which one you needed.

After the gnat infestations kept reoccurring in my RM bin I finally enclosed it in a bag of netting made from curtain sheers. I keep a couple of sticky traps inside the netting. The holder stops bedding or netting from becoming stuck on the trap.

At least this way the gnats are contained in the bin.

Here is a link that might be useful: BorealWormer

Boreal Wormer, I enjoyed the first pass through your web page and I will return to study your designs and discussion closely. Awesome, thanks for the link!

Man-o-Man

I am at my wits with the fungus gnat.

Fruit fly? Fine.

Regular gnats? No problemo

But these fungus gnats? Houston-to-the-bin, we have a problem.

Help!

I had to put my bin outside for the first time in 3 years. I'm presently exposing myself to harmful chemicals to rid the determined fungus gnats in the house. It's working. Hey!~ There's one on my screen. *splat

My problem is: 50 lbs of vermicompost sitting in the bin that probably contains numerous fungus gnat "things" that will over-winter.

I cannot have that. De wormies must come back inside, eventually.

What the flip am I going to do with all that vermicompost????

It's pretty much worthless if I dump it and let it dry out!!!

But that's the only thing i can do... get the worms out and start a fresh clean bed.

RIGHT?

Any ideas? I have clay soil. I do not need castings as an amendment. I perform soil drenches. Woops! There goes my spring fertilizer. UGH

**duplicate**

One lady washed her worms.

You have probably read up on where the fungus gnats hide. Even people without bins suffer them. Running dryer will maybe make them disappear.

Even partially complete vermicompost given time outside should end up beautiful material.

How about putting a couple of spiders under the cover? I have some living in the worm inn.

Obviously gnats can get in most anywhere and of course you drill holes in your bin[mine is inside]. At first I had a good amount of gnats so I got some of that sticky cards online put them in pots of moist peat beside the bins and put some systemic insect control in the pots. So the gnats that layed eggs in the pots were killed and the eggs also didnt hatch. Plus I caught a lot of gnats on the sticky cards. At present there is not a single solitary gnat around in my house. The reason I know this is gnats will come to tv light or pc light every time when all other lights are off. The systemic I used is called bonide systemic insect control. I also use this in inside potted cuttings and flatts It comes in all different sizes. So for anyone interested here it is. It also comes in a small 8oz size depending on your need.

HOW do you know what kind of gnat it is ?
The weather got cold and suddenly my living space is full of gnats.
I've moved the food prep to the garage;;
I'm more careful about the garage door:
(it needs a screen)
I cover all the food in the kitchen;
I have sticky fly strips over a glass of wine on the stove
with the hood light on all the time;
I have a fly strip over the bins and over the garbage
(which , theoretically, has NO food in it).
I'm catching a lot of gnats, but I don't know whether
they will ever be gone.

Do You ?

After researching online and comparing the little evil buggers in my home, I realized I have BOTH. That is present tense, for a reason, but my back went out and I slacked up on control.... traps of all kinds, plugging the drains, finding their breeding source which, for the most part, was plant pots.

You hafta keep at it for a few weeks as the existing larvae (which cannot be found!) hatch and take flight.

I ended up harvesting all the castings and setting them on the porch in 5 gallon buckets. Afterward, I found they were just coming in through the screens. We've had an unusually wet year.

I still have no gnats , I had some in my inside bin laying eggs but once I started using the bonide granuals along with sticky cards problem solved. I would not put any of the bonide inside the bin though. Put in moist peat outside the bin .

Also if you any inside plants , cuttings , or flats I would put bonide in those just follow directions. Believe me it works. I was a skeptic before I tried it now Im a full believer.