How to get rid of gnats for GOOD: Why this unlikely pantry staple is the key to banishing pesky black flies from your indoor plants
- A plant enthusiast has revealed how cinnamon helps remove gnats from plants
- Brad Canning sprinkled a generous amount of the spice over the dirt
- The cinnamon is said to effectively kill the fungus on which the larvae feeds on
- He also suggested placing a potted plant directly into a bowl of water
- The plants absorb the exact amount of water it needs without drenching its soil
- Method is called ‘bottom watering’ where plants are watered from bottom up
A plant enthusiast has revealed why sprinkling cinnamon around your indoor houseplants can get rid of pesky fungus gnats.
Graphic designer Brad Canning, 29, from Melbourne, shared a TikTok video showing how he sprinkled a small amount of the spice over the dirt.
The cinnamon is said to effectively kill the fungus on which the larvae feeds on.
A plant enthusiast shared a TikTok video showing how he sprinkled a small amount of cinnamon over the dirt
Graphic designer Brad Canning (pictured) has revealed one of the secrets to getting rid of pesky fungus gnats on indoor houseplants is cinnamon
‘You might be watering your plants all wrong. And here’s why. So fungus gnats are those tiny little flies flying around your plant. They are attracted to damp soil,’ Brad explained in the video.
‘So the first solution is to let your plants dry out more. But sometimes it isn’t always the option. So to break the cycle, another option is to use cinnamon. So basically this just kills the fungus which is what fungus gnats want to eat.
‘Sprinkle it around the top of your plant and that’s it. It’s safe, it smells good and it works.’
Brad said if you don’t remove the gnats, the flies can keep laying eggs under the soil.
‘You need to stop the cycle or they lay thousands of eggs. They are attracted to damp soil,’ he explained.
If the cinnamon trick doesn’t work, he suggested another simple way to combat fungus gnats and their larvae is to cover the soil in stones.
Brad said another trick is to water your plants from the bottom up instead of the top.
The simple method is called ‘bottom watering’ which is said to water plants more evenly, and making roots stronger as they grow down towards the moisture.
The cinnamon is said to effectively kill the fungus on which the larvae feeds on
Brad said another trick is to water your plants from the bottom up instead of the top. The plants absorb the exact amount of water it needs without drenching its soil, with many suggesting the method helps prevents pesky gnats and over-watering
The plants absorb the exact amount of water it needs without drenching its soil, with many suggesting the method helps prevents pesky gnats and over-watering.
‘Bottom watering. Have you ever heard of it? It’s when you take your plants, submerge into water and you water them from the bottom,’ Brad said in the video.
‘Yes it sounds weird but it’s actually a thing. It’s pretty simple – you just grab a bowl of water and you just sit your plant in it. Just make sure it’s not high enough so that it goes over into the top of the plant.
‘So there’s a few different reasons as to why you would do this. Some plants don’t actually like water on the leaves. Bottom watering the plants actually takes in only what it needs and all the water soaks up and gets into the nooks and crannies.’
He suggested leaving the plant in a bowl of water for about 10 minutes.
‘You generally want to be able to feel the water at the top of the soil so sometimes it can take a little longer but start at 10 minutes,’ he said.
‘They’ll get root rot if over-watered so only sit them in water until you feel the water near the top of the soil.’
Brad – who has 60 plants throughout his home – said he doesn’t water all of his greenery from the bottom because it’s quite time consuming.
‘I don’t normally do this as it takes a little while to get through all my plants,’ he said.