As of: February 6, 2024, 5:32 a.m
By: Anna Katharina Kuesters
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It is not uncommon for gardeners to bring fungus gnat larvae into the house via their potting soil.
Cinnamon helps against pests.
Fungus gnats in the house can not only be very annoying, their larvae can also harm your houseplants.
They bite the roots of the plants and interrupt the intact water supply.
Yellow signs help to identify a fungus gnat infestation.
There are then various ways to declare war on the pests.
One of them is to sprinkle the soil with cinnamon.
Bird sand, nematodes and neem oil
Yellow signs provide security: fungus gnats live here.
© Pond5 Images/Imago
If your plants are clearly infested with fungus gnats, it's best to act as quickly as possible.
You now have several options on how to proceed.
The best-known and most effective remedies against fungus gnats include:
Spread bird sand on the soil surface of the flower pots.
This means the larvae can no longer hatch and they cannot penetrate the sand.
Mix nematodes into the irrigation water.
Nematode powder can be purchased at a garden center or online.
Mix it with lukewarm water and water your houseplants with it.
The infestation is over after about three weeks because the nematodes of the species “Steinernema feltiae” kill the larvae in the soil.
Mix neem oil preparations into the irrigation water.
The herbal remedy kills the larvae after a few days.
If you spray the irrigation water mixed with neem oil on the leaves of the houseplant, you will also catch the adult animals.
Cinnamon, however, is less well-known as a remedy against fungus gnats.
Many people associate the spice primarily with the Christmas season, but rarely as a suitable product for plant care.
You can find even more exciting garden topics in the regular newsletter from our partner 24garten.de.
Cinnamon is not just a Christmas spice
Most people would say that cinnamon smells good and immediately makes you think of gingerbread, cinnamon stars and Advent.
But what the human nose likes, the fungus gnats dislike even more.
According to Geo.de,
they can't stand the intense cinnamon scent
.
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And you can use this to combat fungus gnats: Distribute the spice on the surface of your houseplants and wait a few days.
The fungus gnat larvae then no longer break through the soil when they hatch, but instead die in the soil.
If the infestation is very severe, it is also worth using several of the methods mentioned above in parallel.