How To Get Rid Of Gnats On Succulents

Fungus gnats are tiny mosquito-like bugs that are attracted to the moisture in the soil. They like to make plants like yours their home and lay hundreds of eggs in the soil. Rude! Read on to learn how to get rid of fungus gnats with ease!

Left unchecked, a fungus gnat infestation can damage and even kill your plants. That’s why you have to get rid of fungus gnats as soon as you notice them! 

To help you get rid of fungus gnats, we’ve written up this short post on how to stop fungus gnats in their tracks without too much effort on your part. Keep reading to learn how to kill fungus gnats and keep them from coming back in the future!

How to Stop Fungus Gnats 

Adult fungus gnats only live for about a week, but in that time, they may lay up to 300 of their eggs in your plant’s soil. Yikes… that’s a lot of eggs! 

The adult gnats themselves are generally harmless, but the larvae that hatch from all those eggs will feed on the roots of your plant and start to hurt it. As your plant’s roots become damaged, you may start seeing dropped, yellowing leaves, a slowdown in plant growth, wilting, and other signs of root damage. If the infestation continues, your succulent may even die! So the key to preventing damage to your plant is stopping the fungus gnat infestation as soon as you notice it around your garden. 

Set up a trap

To stop the gnat infestation, you should create a trap for the gnats that they can’t escape, such as an apple cider vinegar trap. To make one, grab a shallow container and fill it up with equal parts water and apple cider vinegar. Add a few drops of liquid dish soap and then stir the mixture together. Place the container either on top of the soil of your affected plant or near its pot. 

This trap works so well because the vinegar attracts the gnats to the container and then the dish soap weighs them down and traps them there. You’ll have to empty out the bugs every few days and mix up more of that apple cider vinegar mixture, so this trap requires a little bit of maintenance. But it’s definitely one of the easiest and most effective solutions for killing fungus gnats!

Another thing you can try is adding diatomaceous earth on top of your succulent soil. It’s a very effective abrasive powder that won’t hurt your plant but will stick to the fungus gnats and immobilize them. After a while of being trapped, they’ll become dehydrated and die off. Take that fungus adult gnat! 

Be sure to also check out “5 Tips on Saving Dying Succulents“ to see helpful info on saving your succulents from other dangers.

Make sure to follow Succulent City on Facebook, Pinterest & Instagram for more informative & interesting content about succulents & cacti 🙂 Happy planting, and live the moment, my friend!

Keep Fungus Gnats From Coming Back 

To keep fungus gnats from coming back in the future, make sure that you don’t overwater your succulent. Fungus gnats are attracted to moisture in the soil, so allowing your plant to dry out in between waterings will make fungus gnats less likely to congregate around it. You should also make sure that there isn’t any plant debris in your plant’s pot, such as fallen leaves. Fungus gnats like moist soil with lots of decaying leaves and plant matter, so if you keep your plant’s pot clean and dry, they’re less likely to make it their next home. 

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There you have it! That’s everything we know about fungus gnats and how to stop them. We hope this post helps you control the infestation and keep those pesky fungus gnats away for good.

Did this article help answer your succulent-care questions? We sure hope so! If not, no worries. Succulent City is devoted to aiding all succulent lovers, so we created a line of ebook guides! Check out our in-depth tips on “Essential Tools for Planting the Best Succulents“ or even “The Most Common Issues Amongst Succulent Growers“ today!  

Happy planting!

ABOUT ME

Richard Miller

Salute everyone. It's Richard, the author of this Succulent & Xeriscaping blog. I am a traveler and a nature lover looking for a connection with the wild green. In my journey, I found a love for succulents and xeriscaping. What attracts me is the long-lasting & unique beauty of every plant I have the chance to see with my own eyes. Welcome to my little blog and let's enjoy a good time together!

Contact me: richard.succulentcity@gmail.com