Fungus gnats indoors
 

On 12/5/12 11:02 AM, Good Granny wrote:
Ok, so how about the issue of fungus gnats indoors, that started in my house
plants and got into the drains too?


Fungus gnats are attracted by a combination of moisture and nutrients.

For your flower pots, do not water so often. I water my house plants
once a week. Allowing the surface of the potting mix to dry discourages
the gnats. Note that I use a home-made potting mix that allows roots to
obtain water even when the mix is becoming dry. See my
http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_potting_mix.html.

For your drains, I can advise you only if you are on a sewer system. Do
not try this if you are on a septic system or leach lines. Once a
month, pour 1 cup of household ammonia down each drain, two cups for
drains that are far from your main sewer line. Wait 20-30 minutes.
Then pour boiling water down the drains, about 2 quarts each. This
should clean your drain lines to the point where there are insufficient
nutrients to attract gnats. (Do not bother treating your toilets, which
will have plain water after each flush.)

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary