Gnats?

11 years ago

Pretty excited about gardening this year. Two cages built. Working on the other two soon because of a hungry squirrel. I like the squirrel as much as I like the thought of fresh vegetables so I thought up this as a means to enjoy both. This is my first serious attempt at trying to grow my own food. Radishes are coming along nicely. Swiss Chard and Kale are also starting to take off. Summer Squash just broke ground. Snap Peas are also popping up as well. Just put seed down for a few squares of Lettuce and Carrots. I have a few plants staged for transplanting this weekend as well. But many of the plants have little tiny holes in the leaves. All I can see that might be the cause are these little tiny gnats. They are everywhere. Are these the cause? How do I get rid of them without chemicals. I am determined to stay completely organic.

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Comments (3)

Vireo
11 years ago
The gnats are probably from the moist soil--google "fungus gnats."
UC Davis Fungus Gnats IPM
But they aren't likely the cause of the holes in the leaves--are the holes mostly on the kale?

I LOVE your "squirrel cages" :) I am the same way with the deer--I like having the doe and her family around so I have to build cages around edible plants. She still sometimes finds a way in, but I try to look at those events as her winning a round in the annual "game" we play.
lgteacher
11 years ago
Check the underside of the leaves and you may find the culprits - little caterpillars. There's an IPM for that, too. Caterpillars

If there's only a few, you can squish them.
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maxjohnson
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
I have a bit of fungus gnats myself, but they've never gone out of control for me. It's the larvae in the soil that you have to kill, you can use bt spray, or beneficial nematodes. Let the soil surface dry out since they need moisture to live. I also use those yellow sticker fly traps which are effective in reducing the adults population, but stopped since lizards get stuck on the traps as well.

Some other methods I haven't tried, but seen other suggests: predatory mites. Putting sand on the surface so they can't lay eggs (seems like the most affordable option). They also don't like cold.

Also fungus gnats generally come in MiracleGro soil bags. Save money on soil and get free fungus gnats at the sametime!