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Fungus Gnat Biological Warfare - BTI Skeeter Dunk Spray FTW!!
    #12092007 -

Ok, so I have been fighting a nasty fungus gnat infestation in my monotub. I tried the bleach dunk and thought I had beat them but alas, no. A few days later and there they are again.  I then tried fly paper. Great for putting a dent in their population, but their numbers were still rising... Well, this week their numbers EXPLODED. I'm talking pestilence level! So here is what I did:

1. Went to Home Depot and got a pack of Skeeter Dunks. These are little donut shaped items that float in water, release BTI into the water and kill mosquito larvae.

2. Took a pint jar and filled it almost to the top with water. Placed one "donut" inside and placed lid on jar. Shook gently a few times, then let sit about 24 hours.

3. Today I poured about a third of the now bacterially colonized water into my misting bottle. Opened the top of the tub and misted heavily.

Results:
Instant death for most of the gnats! I was not expecting the adults to really be affected much if at all, this stuff is usually to cut the life cycle by killing larvae. The substrate should be carrying the bacteria now, hopefully terminating the larvae as well.

Any comments on this?


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"Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business."
— Tom Robbins

“The true value of a human being can be found in the degree to which he has attained liberation from the self"
-- Albert Einstein

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Re: Fungus Gnat Biological Warfare - BTI Skeeter Dunk Spray FTW!! [Re: Shaggy Shaman]
    #12094654 -

Sounds cool, those things are a pain in the ass. They will make a home out of anything growing in your house.


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Re: Fungus Gnat Biological Warfare - BTI Skeeter Dunk Spray FTW!! [Re: KillaFoRilla]
    #12113206 -

man Im kinda having the same problem! Im doing a pf tek an this morning when I went to go mist my cake I saw one gnat on my cake Im hoping it hasnt laid eggs. now Im looking for a way to get rid of that little bitch!!! Im just wondering if your shrooms will still be eatable after misting with that stuff???

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Re: Fungus Gnat Biological Warfare - BTI Skeeter Dunk Spray FTW!! [Re: rippinthawaves]
    #12120336 -

I have started using BTI to get rid of gnats and it has worked very well so far.

Shrooms will be fine to consume if you have sprayed BTI on them.


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One of these days all the answers will be revealed until then we learn from each other!

www.mushrush.co.za

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Re: Fungus Gnat Biological Warfare - BTI Skeeter Dunk Spray FTW!! [Re: rippinthawaves]
    #12125975 -

Yeah, the bacteria doesn't affect fungi or people apparently. I had a really bad infestation, so I have still been misting some with it. The little fraggers have been coming out of pupae in increments so I have to kill the adults along and along. I'm hoping enough BTI is getting into the sub to kill the larvae, so my expectation is that soon I won't see any more adults. Only saw a handful this morning :smile:


--------------------
"Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business."
— Tom Robbins

“The true value of a human being can be found in the degree to which he has attained liberation from the self"
-- Albert Einstein

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Re: Fungus Gnat Biological Warfare - BTI Skeeter Dunk Spray FTW!! [Re: Shaggy Shaman]
    #12126094 -

I've got to get some of that. I've attempted to spray the little bastards with bleach water, a mixture of dish soap and water, peroxide, etc. They then colonized my house plants. I had to get some permethrin in a product called bonide eight. It killed most of the bugs on my plants but I would never spray it on any mushrooms. Thanks for the advice, I'm gonna wage war on their little asses now!

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Re: Fungus Gnat Biological Warfare - BTI Skeeter Dunk Spray FTW!! [Re: FNFAL]
    #12126188 -

Unless you have an uncolonized substrate that was made way too wet, they won't be breeding in your substrate.  They prefer houseplant soil.  I'm sure they're just attracted to the fungi for a snack.

Gardensalive.com has a BT specifically for fungus gnats.  Use it in your houseplants to knock them out where they're breeding.  A glass or two of stale red wine near your growing trays will attract them and they'll drown in it.
RR


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"I've never had a failed experiment.  I've only discovered 10,000 methods which do not work."
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Re: Fungus Gnat Biological Warfare - BTI Skeeter Dunk Spray FTW!! [Re: RogerRabbit]
    #12134978 -

RogerRabbit said:
Unless you have an uncolonized substrate that was made way too wet, they won't be breeding in your substrate.  They prefer houseplant soil.  I'm sure they're just attracted to the fungi for a snack.

RR


I'm not so sure RR. The gnats in my tub were definitely breeding in the tub. Every time I did a bleach soak, I could see the larvae crawling up the tub trying to get out. Plus after each dunk there were no more adults. Then poof! Plus, I can see the little exploded pupae cases in the surface of the sub. Should I take some pics for you?

The sub was fully colonized in the Arizona high desert. I'm pretty sure i picked up the initial infestation in Northern California when I was travelling with my substrate :lol: It probably happened when I was collecting wild porcini on the Sonoma Coast. One of the large porcini was found to have been loaded with larvae, AFTER it had been in the back of my car for 2 days or so. But since I got to Florida and put the tub in fruiting conditions, the population of gnats has steadily grown inside the tub until I BTI'ed them. Inside the boat I live on there is not a fungus gnat habitat, and there were none in the boat when I moved onto it. I'll take some pics of the top of the sub later today so you can see what I'm talking about.


--------------------
"Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business."
— Tom Robbins

“The true value of a human being can be found in the degree to which he has attained liberation from the self"
-- Albert Einstein

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Re: Fungus Gnat Biological Warfare - BTI Skeeter Dunk Spray FTW!! [Re: Shaggy Shaman]
    #12137748 -



Ok, these are the best I can get right now... not as clear as I would like but you can blow them up and kinda see the light brown things standing up in the sub. With the human eye they look like some kind of alien escape pods on the surface another planet. There have got to be hundreds of them now. Fortunately, the third flush is starting and afterwards I'm tossing this sub. This has been my first bulk grow and I have learned a lot. I've had it for 4 MONTHS, its taking forever between flushes. I'm ready for the next one already.


--------------------
"Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business."
— Tom Robbins

“The true value of a human being can be found in the degree to which he has attained liberation from the self"
-- Albert Einstein

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Re: Fungus Gnat Biological Warfare - BTI Skeeter Dunk Spray FTW!! [Re: Shaggy Shaman]
    #12147876 -

For me it is the same. I wish I had RRs gnats...
The larvae here feed on mycelium and the adults find each tiny entrance into my greenhouses. BTI seems to work slightly for my button mushroom cultures, where I can apply it to the casing soil. Regarding substrate blocks, I have not much hope, as the maggots dig deep into the substrate, while the mycelium will probably digest the BTI bacteria.

BTW, over here you can only get heat treated, dead BTI, so I wouldn't consider any watery solution as colonized.

Recently I tried to find out about the gnats pheromones, hoping to find some way to build traps to catch all the male adults. It seems heptadecan should work for one species, Lycoriella mali. But I can't get a few drops of that stuff for testing. According to literature there are roughly 2000 species of fungus gnats, which will all use different pheromones, so I am not sure if heptadecan would work here. If somebody has access to this chemical, it might be worth a try.

Other biological ways would include nematodes (Steinernema feltiae), though those would be killed and digested by the mycelium of most mushroom species we grow. Another option might be predator mites of the genus Hypoaspis. There I fear that they would spread contams, but I think about testing them.

I guess the only way is to keep gnats out for as long as possible and have several sealed rooms for fruiting, so every second or third month, one could be cleared, cleaned and filled with clean cultures.

Carsten

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Re: Fungus Gnat Biological Warfare - BTI Skeeter Dunk Spray FTW!! [Re: Mycelio]
    #12177271 -

I had these gnats on my first grow and it killed my eight jars.  Started out with one larva i saw on the side of the jar.  I removed the jar and within two days all the other ones had larva in them.  My 600 square foot apartment looked like a plague hit it a few days later with all the gnats around.  Eventually genocide came and they lived no more, but damn did they try to grow in anything that resembled nutrients.

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Re: Fungus Gnat Biological Warfare - BTI Skeeter Dunk Spray FTW!! [Re: basic360]
    #12177401 -

I know of a commercial grower who has used Steinemaria with great success in Agaricus.  As far as I know it is sold as NemaSys-M.


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One of these days all the answers will be revealed until then we learn from each other!

www.mushrush.co.za

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Re: Fungus Gnat Biological Warfare - BTI Skeeter Dunk Spray FTW!! [Re: basic360]
    #12178294 -

My infested tub went south 2 days ago. I think it contammed as a combination of the BTI misting, the bleach dunks, and the gnats themselves. Oh well, I did get about 7 oz. dry from a Penis Envy tub. I'm hoping thats the last I will see of the gnats, as all my other project are relatively sealed up. I may put a little BTI water in the baby cactus pots just to make sure there will not be a secondary source of infestation down the road. Wish me luck!


--------------------
"Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business."
— Tom Robbins

“The true value of a human being can be found in the degree to which he has attained liberation from the self"
-- Albert Einstein

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Re: Fungus Gnat Biological Warfare - BTI Skeeter Dunk Spray FTW!! [Re: Shaggy Shaman]
    #13784861 -

Hi can anyone tellme what brand of BTi they are using. I saw the Knock Out Gnats product on gardensalive web site but i don't have time to order it now. I am in the Caribbean and need to know a brand that works and is easy to find. This sunday, my frnds are leaving from S.Carolina to visit and I want them to bring me what ever product they can easily get. Also, Do you know a US supplier for Nemasys M? thanks

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Re: Fungus Gnat Biological Warfare - BTI Skeeter Dunk Spray FTW!! [Re: rainforest]
    #13784921 -

It doesn't matter what brand you get. The skeeter dunks are just little floating things with the bacteria in them. Tell your friends to go to ace hardware or one of the big home stores.

Can't help you on the Nemasys M. I've never used it.


--------------------
"Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business."
— Tom Robbins

“The true value of a human being can be found in the degree to which he has attained liberation from the self"
-- Albert Einstein

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Re: Fungus Gnat Biological Warfare - BTI Skeeter Dunk Spray FTW!! [Re: Shaggy Shaman]
    #13818370 -

Wow I was thinking about bumping this thread with a question but I know it was old. Now I see recent activity so I dont have to feel to bad about it :awethumb:

Hey Shaggy, have you had to use it again?

I've used it before in plants but I'm wondering how it effects subs. You said it your tub contamed but I'm sure that was from the gnats and age.

I'm curious if I could use the bti and still get 2 or three flushes in  a regular amount of time.

I'm getting some one in the states to send me some here and I'm going to culture it.

Cant get it here in the UK as far as I know. Been looking for it for a while.

Wonder if I contacted a university if they would hook me up with some.


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RR Videos. Watch these NOW, if you haven't already.    UK Supplies Thread.
My Pink Oysters. My MSG's 
Gornyhuy 's Substrate calculator. <=== Click this to calculate your bulk substrate recipe. 
AMU = Amateur Mycologists United.You've got questions, we've got answers!        My Trade List.
Mushroom Info Update Main thread! Click here to help out!

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Re: Fungus Gnat Biological Warfare - BTI Skeeter Dunk Spray FTW!! [Re: Base Icks]
    #13821420 -

That tub did contaminate, BUT I did harvest multiple flushes from it AND if I had used it much earlier I probably would have had even better results. The contamination was after the 3rd flush and this was a grow being done on a BOAT, rife with contamination potential.

Having said all that, no, I haven't had to use it again. That bulk tub was the last one I did while on the boat. I'm just now getting back into bulk since I returned from South America and hopefully I will not have the gnats in this new location. But I do still have the left-over dunks just in case.


--------------------
"Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business."
— Tom Robbins

“The true value of a human being can be found in the degree to which he has attained liberation from the self"
-- Albert Einstein

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Re: Fungus Gnat Biological Warfare - BTI Skeeter Dunk Spray FTW!! [Re: Shaggy Shaman]
    #13821539 -

I'm thinking about culturing some of the bacteria my self. They dont sell it here in the uk though. I'm not usre if its actually alive in the dunks though. I think it is but others say that it is heat treated and its only the toxins that they create left.

I'm not sure what to do. I either need some one to send me some from the states, of I need to start emailing uk universitys and see if they will hook it up with a culture.

hmmmmmm.


--------------------

RR Videos. Watch these NOW, if you haven't already.    UK Supplies Thread.
My Pink Oysters. My MSG's 
Gornyhuy 's Substrate calculator. <=== Click this to calculate your bulk substrate recipe. 
AMU = Amateur Mycologists United.You've got questions, we've got answers!        My Trade List.
Mushroom Info Update Main thread! Click here to help out!

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Re: Fungus Gnat Biological Warfare - BTI Skeeter Dunk Spray FTW!! [Re: Base Icks]
    #13826174 -

My understanding from reading the ingredients is that it is actually the bacteria. When the dunks are put in water, they float on top and the bacteria are released into the water where they revive and grow. I may be wrong, but this is my understanding right now.

Why don't you set up a trade with someone over here for some of these? Make me a decent offer and I'll get some for you.


--------------------
"Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business."
— Tom Robbins

“The true value of a human being can be found in the degree to which he has attained liberation from the self"
-- Albert Einstein

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Re: Fungus Gnat Biological Warfare - BTI Skeeter Dunk Spray FTW!! [Re: Shaggy Shaman]
    #13830423 -

Been trying to set up a trade.

No one has any already though.

I'm thinking that I should be able to keep it in some sort of an lc or something. Not sure how to clean the culture though. I have never done bacteria isolation before.

What you want for a dunk crumbled up and put in an envalope?


--------------------

RR Videos. Watch these NOW, if you haven't already.    UK Supplies Thread.
My Pink Oysters. My MSG's 
Gornyhuy 's Substrate calculator. <=== Click this to calculate your bulk substrate recipe. 
AMU = Amateur Mycologists United.You've got questions, we've got answers!        My Trade List.
Mushroom Info Update Main thread! Click here to help out!

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