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Rid Your Home Of Gnats With An Unusual Carnivorous Houseplant
By NICK POLISHCHUK
You won’t have to resort to pesticides to eliminate gnats in your garden if you start planting carnivorous yet elegant-looking pinguiculas (colloquially known as “pings”).
These plants get their nutrition from insects they catch, and gnats are their favorite meal. They will also spruce up your garden because they are visually pleasing to the eye.
Pings’ leaves are covered in tiny hairs that produce insect-attracting mucus that binds them to the leaf, which then rolls into a tube and digests the insect by releasing enzymes.
These carnivores don't need any nutrients in the soil, as their roots are not used to absorb nutrition — it all comes from the insects they digest. Soil type is not a concern.
That said, pings do love moisture and humidity, so their growing site must be consistently moist. Proper drainage is important because their roots need to breathe.
The location you choose to plant pings should also provide at least six hours of direct sunlight per day, although partial shade is acceptable, too.