Miracle-Gro Sticky Gnat Trap 10 Pack

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Those little dark flies drifting up out of a houseplant when you water it are fungus gnats, and they are one of the most common indoor plant nuisances there is. These stakes are the simple half of dealing with them: a yellow card on a stake pushed into the pot, coated in adhesive. Yellow attracts the adults, the glue holds them, and within a few days you have a visible count of what is flying in that pot. Their real value is twofold. They cut down the adults circling your kitchen, and they show you which pots the problem is actually in — which is often not the one you assumed. Ten stakes is enough to put one in every plant and find the source. Understand what they do not do. The adults you are catching are the tail end of the life cycle; the larvae are in the top few centimetres of potting mix, feeding on algae and organic matter in soil that stays wet. Sticky stakes catch adults and never touch the larvae, so trapping alone will not clear an infestation. The fix is water management: let the top of the soil dry properly between waterings, empty the saucer instead of letting the pot sit in water, and stop watering on a schedule. Fungus gnats cannot complete their cycle in soil that dries out. Push the stake into the mix near the stem, replace it when the surface is covered, and expect to run them for several weeks alongside the drying-out regimen. They are non-toxic and contain no insecticide, so they are fine in a kitchen or a child's room — just keep the adhesive off your fingers and away from curtains.