Warning: My local plant swap in Austin had a major fungus gnat outbreak

I brought home a new fern and within a week my three sealed terrariums were INFESTED. I had to quarantine everything and do a full substrate change. Has anyone else had pests jump from a houseplant to a closed system?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_piper1mo ago

Ugh, that's the worst. I had fungus gnats get into my closed jar from a new pothos. The trick is to let the top layer of your terrarium soil dry out completely (which is tricky, I know) and then put a thin layer of sand or fine aquarium gravel on top. It stops the adults from laying more eggs.

wilson.emma1mo ago

My friend had that happen with a mossarium she bought. The gnats got into her other closed containers and she ended up having to start over with completely sterile soil. It was a huge mess.