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Would a venus fly trap help deal with house gnats? (beehaw.org)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/greenspace@beehaw.org
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I've got several small houseplants in my home office, and I really like having them around. I'm still pretty new to taking care of them altogether, though, and we've gotten dozens of tiny house gnats now. I've put up sticky traps and tried to use some pest control in the potted soil. But would a small venus fly trap be able to help here?

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[–] 5 points 3 years ago (4 children)

You mentioned pest control in the soil - have you tried mosquito bits? I ended up mixing some in with the soil for a Monstera and I also put a layer over the top and it does seem to make a difference. I do have to combine it with those unsightly yellow sticky traps, though. Between plants and the inverts I keep, my house is full of containers of damp dirt.

In case anyone is thinking about getting a katchy, you can read the reviews, but I give it a thumbs-down. I used it only a few times before fall and it worked okay, but when I pulled it out again in the spring I just get orange error lights and no response when I reached out to them.

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  • [–] [S] 3 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    I actually just worked some mosquito bits into my soil this week! Very hopeful to see how it helps

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  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    We have had good luck with our Katchy for over a year now; 1 year 8 days. It has worked great in the kitchen and in the office. Just recently a large number of small moths got into the office through a window, they were all over the ceiling. Placed the Katchy in there overnight which caught all of the moths; had to replace the sticky pad because it was so covered.

    No clue on how long the device will last. We mainly use it on the 3rd speed setting (out of 5) and most often have it set to auto which turns the device on when light is low enough. We've likely replaced the sticky pad 4-5 times during the year we have had it.

    This is the model we have: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08TKG5M4S

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  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago (1 child)

    I’m glad you’ve had better luck with Katchy than I did. I bought it because of a personal recommendation, but it didn’t really work long enough for me to determine if it was better than sticky traps.

    Plus I’m the weirdo with a soft spot for moths, so I just generally leave them to fight it out with the spiders :). I cannot handle the fungus gnats flying up my nose, though. It doesn’t seem to matter if there is one fungus gnat or fifty - they all think there’s a party in my nostrils.

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