It is called diatomaceous earth but it looks more like foot powder. These microscopic organisms are in every drop of water. They are essentially made glass and when they dry up, they tend to annoy bugs like fiberglass insulation annoys builders. In other words, it give them a rash.
It only works when it is dry, which means you need to reduce the gnat population between rainy days. Luckily, it has only rained here 3 times in the last three months.
Though many on bitchute.com gave it mediocre reviews, I tried it and it does help to control how many survive to adulthood.
outside corner under the terrace light
None of our friends pictured above are moving. They are history because the diatomaceous powder takes the wax coating off of their exoskeleton and causes them to dry up. I pay three dollars per pound for the stuff. It usually comes in a shaker like foot powder.
Keeping plants too dry is not good but a balance can be maintained.
The idea is to water from the tray below your plants once per day. If the top of the soil gets damp, you are watering too much. Over watering is the main cause of gnat infestations.
Once I know how much water is enough, yet does not soak the top soil, I coat the top soil with small quartz rock - then keep the powder fresh on top of that rock layer. When any insect lands or walks around on it, they go the the happy-farm far far away.
Here I am using the "water dispenser" method to keep the soil moist well below the surface yet keeping the surface dry enough so as not to wet the diatomaceous earth. It is just a glass bottle of water with the neck face down in the soil.
Once it rains, diatomaceous earth no longer kills gnats, but rather acts as a fertilizer. It is not harmful in any way to plants or organisms. Note: is is hazardous to people and animals if inhaled in it's dry form.
Because the tree is outside, I am unable to apply powder immediately after it rains. Once the rocks are dry, I begin to shake it onto the surface once again.
He has his second flower which just opened and the first one has lost its petals after being pollinated.
High hopes for the production of seeds! Riddle me this! How can you mail a Pinguicula Morensis across the world?
If you missed any of my posts in this series, I will keep them in a list at the bottom of each for easy access.
If you have bugs in your garden, see my other posts on this topic.
Gnatsty Problem
Carnivorous Corner 馃 Pings
all pictures taken by me unless otherwise stated
