The philodendron rescue that took 9 months, not 2 weeks

I thought root rot was a quick fix, so I trimmed, repotted, and waited. Turns out the fungus gnats had set up camp in the new soil and it took 9 months of sticky traps and sand topping to clear them out. Has anyone else gotten blindsided by a second infestation after the first one seemed handled?

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rivera.hannah9d ago

Did you ever check if your original pot had drainage holes that were actually clear, or did you just assume the new soil was the problem? I found out the hard way that fungus gnats love sitting in the saucer water underneath, and I never thought to clean that out. So even after I fixed the top layer, they kept breeding from below. Sand on top only stops the adults from laying eggs there, but it doesn't touch the larvae that are already in the soil or any that hatch from eggs laid in the tray. That extra moisture source kept the cycle going for months until I finally started watering from the bottom and wiping the saucer dry every few days. It might not be your exact issue, but it's a sneaky spot that most people ignore.