Annoying little flies

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frigid75 Reno, NV(Zone 6a) Nov 24, 2003

Some little fruit-fly bugs are taking over my plants. I don't know if they arrived as eggs in my potting soil or have come inside recently, but they're annoying and I think they could have a bad effect on my houseplants. Any suggestions on how to rid myself of them, without killing my plants?

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poppysue Westbrook, ME(Zone 5a) Nov 24, 2003

They are fungus gnats. The larvae are teenie, weenie transparent wormy things feeding on organic matter in the potting soil. If you do a search for fungus gnats it will prolly bring up several threads on the subject.

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PanamonCreel Celaya, Mexico(Zone 10a) Nov 24, 2003

Yeah sounds like fungus gnats, a common annoyance especially if you have plants which require constantly moist soil.
Place some Yellow sticky traps around your plants to catch some of the adult flies (can't catch them all though LOL).
The tricky part is killing the larvea in the soil.
Malathion sprayed on the soil surface or as a soil trench can be used as chemical control. Treatment has to be repeated at least twice approx. 4 days apart. Bad news is that the spraying should be done outdoors and that it may negatively effect sensitive plants.
Better option is Biological controls which include:
Predatory mites - Hypoaspis aculeifer
Beneficial nemathodes - Steinernema feltiae
Bacterial insecticide - TB strain

Prevention of reinfection will be important once you have them under control. Potting soil and things like Jiffy Peat pellets may contain the eggs and it's recommended to pasturize these mediums before use to avoid reinfection.
Also note that they are not limited to soil, they also will thrive in moist areas in the house where their main food (fungus) can grow.

Hope that helps,

Milan

Post #716826
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frigid75 Reno, NV(Zone 6a) Nov 25, 2003

Thank you both. I'll look into those options.

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careplus Milwaukee, WI(Zone 5a) Jan 12, 2004

YUP!! Sounds like fungus gnats to me too. Not much you can do about current adult infestation...even the sticky paper will be of minimal effect. Good news though...the adults will die. Control/kill the eggs with beneficial nematodes. Relatively inexpensive....$10 - $15 +/-. Works like a charm. I have done this twice already...matter of fact just did a couple of weeks ago. Good luck...Steve

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