Fungus gnats?

[Warped54321]

Ok a little while back in my spathulata I noticed some little gnat looking bugs crawling around in the soil of my plants, and the same thing happened to my Saracenia's.  Were those lil' bugars the things that killed it?

 If so How do I prevent/stop them.

                                  Thanx-Warped

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

If they were fungus gnats it is possible that they may have attacked your plants roots. Fungus gnats are just one of the many opportunistic lifeforms that can affect your plants.

The gnats feed on fungus, and the fungus live on algae. The process begins with using a medium that contains trace amounts of nutrients. It is important to be sure your mix is very clean. This is done by rinsing the sand until the water runs crystal clear before use.

I also use peat that has been leached by rains over a season or two (I store it where it gets rained on).

When micronutrients are present in the planting medium, they support the growth of cyanobacteria and blue-green algae. These have the ability to further fix atmospheric nitrogen into the mix, providing a continuing source of nutrients and starting an unhealthy cycle that will in time result in plant loss.

The best cure is prevention along with "good housekeeping": regular changing of the tray water, use of pure water, occasional top waterings to leach out any accumulated salts.

 

[Warped54321]

Ok...what if you allready have them

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

It depends on what has them....Sarracenia can be submerged to that all the medium is beneath the surface, for a week or so. If it is a Drosera species, I would repot in clean medium after rinsing all the former mix from the roots.

 

[LOs Angels Traphole]

Tamlin you're too smart some should give you a metal, award or something for the most helpful and knowledgeable member.
You have answered every question that I have come up with
no matter how dunmb it is. Thank You Tamlin For Sharing Your Wisdom!

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Lol, well being a "know it all" is my job here, but really, I don't know it all by a long shot. I've just been at it for a good part of my life, and you pick up things, y'know?

Keep the questions coming, and please remember, there are no DUMB questions. By the same reckoning, there are no "ultimate" answers: it all depends on who and where you are.

 

[larry]

Ok, I got a question about leaching of peat. Can I use regular water to leach away most of the nutrients and bad stuff, then a final leaching with RO water? If that works, I can save a lot of RO water

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Larry, I have been wondering that also. I have been waiting until I had a couple of spare plants to sacrifice before trying it. I have a 5 gal pail to let the water set in for a few days to get rid of the chlorine then I was going to use RO for a final rinse. I think that this is something people will have to check out individually. It may not work for me. I live in the mountains and the towns water supply comes from streams and springs. That indicates to me that the water is likely to have a lot of disolved minerals in it. Your water may be softer and you will be able to use it for leaching. Time will tell.