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By goldfinch4 | A great way to get rid of gnats on your houseplants is to mix 32 ounces of water with one squirt of Windex. Water your plants by making sure the entire soil surface is wet. It's not necessary to saturate the soil.
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Name: Jean Hot Springs Vlg, AR, DeLand, F      rocklady May 20, 2012 6:13 PM CST |
| Thanks so much for this useful tip. I'm off to mix up a batch! Any day you wake up on the sunny side of the grass is a good day. "The moving hand writes and having writ moves on. Neither all thy piety nor all thy wit can lure it back to cancel half a line nor all thy tears wash out a word of it." The Rubiyat by Omar Khayyam |
Name: Lynn Dallas, OR (Zone 8b)            valleylynn May 21, 2012 8:33 AM CST |
| I never thought about using it for knats. I have used it on ants, and it really does work. Now I wonder if it would work on scale? Off to experiment with a plant that has this problem.  |
Name: tarev San Joaquin County, CA (Zone 9b) Always count your blessings in life              tarev May 21, 2012 9:42 AM CST |
| Oh I like this tip! Next time I will try it...although vinegar mixture works for me, my hubby hates the vinegar smell. Thanks for the tip! |
Name: Jean Hot Springs Vlg, AR, DeLand, F rocklady May 21, 2012 11:14 AM CST |
| Lynn, let us know how your scale experiment turns out. I have a plant with a problem, too! Any day you wake up on the sunny side of the grass is a good day. "The moving hand writes and having writ moves on. Neither all thy piety nor all thy wit can lure it back to cancel half a line nor all thy tears wash out a word of it." The Rubiyat by Omar Khayyam |
Name: Chris Ripon, Wisconsin        goldfinch4 May 21, 2012 11:16 AM CST |
| I was skeptical, but very happy when it worked with gnats! Cubits Store: The Sempervivum Patch - plants, containers, accessories! Also stop by Timber Treasures and Garden Buddies on Cubits |
Name: Lynn Dallas, OR (Zone 8b) valleylynn May 21, 2012 1:15 PM CST |
Okay, sprayed the entire plant with the solution. There are ants on it also, must be harvesting nectar from the scale? Now to see if it works. Where is the Cross The Fingers emoticon? |
Name: Renée Northern KY     KyWoods May 21, 2012 5:55 PM CST |
| Yikes, Lynn, that's a scary picture! Windex--whoulda thunk it? Thanks for sharing that, Chris! |
Name: Allison NJ (Zone 6a)     Onewish1 May 21, 2012 7:34 PM CST |
| I had no idea... thanks for the tip!! |
Name: tarev San Joaquin County, CA (Zone 9b) Always count your blessings in life tarev May 21, 2012 7:58 PM CST |
valleylynn said:Okay, sprayed the entire plant with the solution. There are ants on it also, must be harvesting nectar from the scale? Now to see if it works. Where is the Cross The Fingers emoticon? Oh my..looks like a plant with measles! I hope the solution worked on it! |
Name: Lynn Dallas, OR (Zone 8b) valleylynn May 21, 2012 8:24 PM CST |
| If not, rubbing alcohol works using a cotton ball or q-tip. Would be much quicker and easier if the Windex spray works. I received a beautiful abutilon that had scale. I didn't know it since I had never seen it before. Thank heavens it has only infested this tropical hibiscus and one other abutilon I had. I isolated them from all other plants. The abutilon have all been cured, now to clear this plant up and hopefully that will be the end of it. |
Name: Chris Ripon, Wisconsin goldfinch4 May 22, 2012 12:13 AM CST |
| It's always nice to find something inexpensive that works. Cubits Store: The Sempervivum Patch - plants, containers, accessories! Also stop by Timber Treasures and Garden Buddies on Cubits |
Name: Lynn Dallas, OR (Zone 8b) valleylynn May 22, 2012 11:07 AM CST |
I think I will spray it every day for about a week. I really want this to work.  |
Name: Chris Ripon, Wisconsin goldfinch4 May 22, 2012 1:31 PM CST |
 Will be anxiously waiting for the results.Cubits Store: The Sempervivum Patch - plants, containers, accessories! Also stop by Timber Treasures and Garden Buddies on Cubits |
Name: Joanne Calgary, AB Canada (Zone 3a)        Joannabanana Jan 12, 2013 3:59 PM CST |
I wouldn't really recommend this, but in a pinch it did the job. We had forgot mosquito repellent one trip to our farm. That particular time, the mosquitos were awful. I had Windex in the house, so we sprayed our clothes and it WORKED!! The kid was only about 5 years old at the time and now several years later, I have caught her going for the Windex to use as mosquito repellent.  |
Name: Lynn Dallas, OR (Zone 8b) valleylynn Jan 12, 2013 4:22 PM CST |
| The experiment of using windex on plant scale was not successful. Didn't seem to faze them. And I was diligent about spraying. Back to the alcohol. I know it works. It was successful on knats. I think because they are soft bodied as opposed the the very tough/hard shell of the scale |
Name: Renée Northern KY KyWoods Jan 12, 2013 5:42 PM CST |
But I'll bet they're nice and shiny now!  Good to know it worked on the gnats, thanks! |
Name: Lynn Dallas, OR (Zone 8b) valleylynn Jan 12, 2013 5:48 PM CST |
Yes, they are very clean and shiny scales now.  They also look pretty healthy. |
Name: Chris Ripon, Wisconsin goldfinch4 Jan 13, 2013 3:45 AM CST |
| Cubits Store: The Sempervivum Patch - plants, containers, accessories! Also stop by Timber Treasures and Garden Buddies on Cubits |
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