How to combat fungus gnats?

[swords]

Hey folks, I'm wondering what you guys have done to fight fungus gnats? I've got them hopping out of several plants like crazy in my lowland chamber (a big Hedychium ginger and my Alocasia robusta) those little strips of flypaper they sell (sticky stakes) are not helping much.

I bought "fungicide 3" which is supposed to wipe out fungus, molds and insects but be safe for ornamentals (and edibles) but really it just insulted the gnats for a while when I hosed down the terrarium at daybreak. This afternoon they're back in there having a party yet again filing up the sticky stakes.

HELLLPPP!

 

[Dave S.]

BT, aka mosquito dunks, seems to do the trick when they are in the larva stage.

 

[swords]

What is BT?

 

[Dave S.]

Bacillus thuringiensis

B. thuringiensis (commonly known as 'Bt') is an insecticidal bacterium, marketed worldwide for control of many important plant pests - mainly caterpillars of the Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) but also mosquito larvae, and simuliid blackflies that vector river blindness in Africa. Bt products represent about 1% of the total ‘agrochemical’ market (fungicides, herbicides and insecticides) across the world. The commercial Bt products are powders containing a mixture of dried spores and toxin crystals. They are applied to leaves or other environments where the insect larvae feed. The toxin genes have also been genetically engineered into several crop plants (see Agrobacterium). The method of use, mode of action, and host range of this biocontrol agent differ markedly from those of Bacillus popilliae.

Source:
http://helios.bto.ed.ac.uk/bto/microbes/bt.htm