Bugs in wheatgrass. How to get rid of them?

[Lucas 7D]

Hi Everyone

I planted wheatgrass using organic soil mix in 3 containers. I grow the grass in my bedroom and noticed little bugs flying around the wheatgrass. Now I see these little bugs flying around the whole apartment and its starting to drive me crazy. What can I do to get rid of them?

[DebB]

Yes, I've had these too. I call them fruit flies as they're the same bugs that fly around my fruit as well.

The only way I've found to get rid of them is to keep the air moving on my wheat grass - they do not like that. So, I bought a $10 little fan at Walmart and keep that blowing on my WG and the flies are a thing of the past.

I'm interested what others do for this pesky problem! *Ü*

[bumbleberry]

Those are called fungus gnats. They look alot like fruit flies, but they appear when the soil is too wet, and they'll disappear if you let it dry out completely between waterings. That's what I've read, and it worked for me with two of my houseplants. I had to let them get really dry though (maybe cuz they'd sometimes been really wet), which I don't imagine your little wheatgrass could tolerate. But, as a general rule, don't water again until the surface of the soil is completely dry. For your next batch of wheatgrass, check if the soil mix you're using drains well. Too much peat moss will keep it too wet (not good for the wheatgrass either, as the roots need oxygen as well as water). Perlite and vermiculite are good in the mix for aeration.

[DebB]

Ahhh, fungus gnats! That makes sense. I have a difficult time not overwatering my WG. I get mold as well. (Sounds appetizing now, doesn't it? - ha -)

Do you grow WG bumbleberry? You might like to join us on the other WG thread, "watching my WG grow" (C'mon over even if you don't grow your own ~ you too, Lucas7D!). *Ü*

[bumbleberry]

No, Deb, I'm not growing WG yet cuz I don't know if i can tolerate it (I thew it up the one time i tried the juice years ago, but that was during a fast and probably not the best time to try it). I plan to buy a bit of the juice again first to see if my body wants it (I do wish it would!).

Thanks for the invite. I'll check that thread out. :)

[spicyfull]

No, Deb, I'm not growing WG yet cuz I don't know if i can tolerate it (I thew it up the one time i tried the juice years ago, but that was during a fast and probably not the best time to try it). I plan to buy a bit of the juice again first to see if my body wants it (I do wish it would!).

Thanks for the invite. I'll check that thread out. :)

Did you sip it? Temper your System with it by sipping and drinking small amounts until your Body becomes use to it. It can be an aquaried taste.

[rawrawks]

Yes it is important to start off slowly. Chlorophyll is a heavy hitter and WG is powerful stuff. It is like an I.V. of chlorophyll.

[streetsurfer]

Yellow sticky traps will take care of the flying adults. You can find them online. Well stocked nurseries or brew and grow stores should have some. Just set them out around your trays.

For the eggs that have been laid in any houseplants by now, something with Bti is what you want. Gnatrol is one brand name. It is Bacillus thurengiensis israelensis, a bacteria that disrupts their feeding after they hatch into larvae and are moving through the soil feeding on your roots. That takes three or four weekly waterings to knock out all the stages of growth. By then you should begin to see a big decline in the number of ones being caught on the sticky traps. I would treat your houseplants and try to grow the wheat grass in a different media than peat moss. Peat is a prime source of the eggs.

You could sterilize your soil by heating it but you should research it first. You don't want to scorch it. You can also add some diatomaceous earth to your soil and that should allow some control. I am not sure if the short time frame of a wheatgrass grow would be worth watering the Bti into the wheatgrass soil. I see the D/E as a good option there if you don't choose mats. I've not done wheatgrass for human consumption (only kitty), so I don't know if you intend to reuse the soil for consecutive grows. If so, then it may be an option.

[bumbleberry]

Did you sip it? Temper your System with it by sipping and drinking small amounts until your Body becomes use to it. It can be an aquaried taste.

Yes it is important to start off slowly. Chlorophyll is a heavy hitter and WG is powerful stuff. It is like an I.V. of chlorophyll.

Thanks for the info, you two. Yes, I know now that it should be taken in small amounts at first, but didn't know that when i tried it 15 years ago on impulse. Good that the memory has now faded alot so I can start fresh. :)

[Tirza]

The juice bars I've been at offer a small "chaser" of either orange or pineapple juice. That can help. That way you can "shoot" the WG juice instead of sipping. Sometimes sipping just prolongs the agony. The point is to get it into you. You don't have to like it. So...

The other way is to include it in a green smoothie. That camouflages the taste.

[DebB]

A lady that had just come from the HHI in FL the week before, told me not to chug my wheatgrass. She said you have to leave it in your mouth and really chew it.

Well, I understand what she's saying, but I admit to getting that bad boy down (with a plugged nose) as quickly as possible! I'm just now getting used to the taste and only hold my nose half the time - ha!

Maybe in the future I'll work up to what HHI recommends... (fingers crossed) *Ü*

[Tirza]

Okay, that's good to know. Thanks. I can still hide it in a green smoothie though, can't I?

Actually I LOVE wheatgrass juice. It tastes SO FRESH and almost licorice. But one fine day, when I was just joyfully anticipating it, all of a sudden, totally out of the blue, I really gagged! No preconceived attitude - just BANG! I felt sick and light-headed all morning. It was from the same package that I had been using for 3 or 4 days with no unwanted effects. It had stayed refrigerated. A puzzle. So I am just kind of a little nervous, but willing to try other ways to make sure I get it.

[MochaMike]

I researched this a lot - like I'm sure that you all did...but I found this really good suggestion - simple not as messy - on YouTubeyou may need to copy and paste the link)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vISEOVYZsmQ

And I added a comment there:
This is a great idea...not as messy as the paper cone/jar idea...I went to my local deli and asked if I could buy some of those containers and they GAVE me 6! One litle tip: I got the real shallow ones(about 1 1/2" high) and I used the end of a corkscrew to make the holes...you actually want a clean/smooth hole going IN, but it is smaller/rougher for them to find trying to get out!

Set up these "traps" about 15 minutes ago and they've alreday collected a bunch. I used the pulp from my fruit juicing as bait, in lieu of over ripe fruit.

Hope that helps...growing the wheatgrass without the bugs...that's my next challenge...up in Vancouver, Canada.

[DebB]

I researched this a lot - like I'm sure that you all did...but I found this really good suggestion - simple not as messy - on YouTubeyou may need to copy and paste the link)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vISEOVYZsmQ

And I added a comment there:
This is a great idea...not as messy as the paper cone/jar idea...I went to my local deli and asked if I could buy some of those containers and they GAVE me 6! One litle tip: I got the real shallow ones(about 1 1/2" high) and I used the end of a corkscrew to make the holes...you actually want a clean/smooth hole going IN, but it is smaller/rougher for them to find trying to get out!

Set up these "traps" about 15 minutes ago and they've alreday collected a bunch. I used the pulp from my fruit juicing as bait, in lieu of over ripe fruit.

Hope that helps...growing the wheatgrass without the bugs...that's my next challenge...up in Vancouver, Canada.

Thanks for posting this MochaMike ~ I'll definitely keep this in mind. I sure could have used this last week as I had an infestation of fruit flies, never had them that bad. It took several days to get rid of them.

Thanks for sharing! *Ü*