I recently repotted my Dracena which is about 2 feet tall. If I keep the plant outside (I am in the L.A. area) all is fine. If I bring it inside, after a day or so I see tiny bugs on the surface of the dirt. They also fly around the plant a little but mainly seem to crawl on and in the dirt. I'm afraid they're living in the dirt although I don't know why they disappear if the plant is outside. Help! I need to be able to bring it inside during the winter.
Bugs in potted Dracena when taken inside
Sounds like it could be fungus gnats. I only have problems with them when things are too wet, so I suspect if you cut back a bit on the watering you won't find them as much. Outside where it's warm the plant probably goes through water a lot quicker than it does indoors so it's not an attractive environment for them.
Thank you, ercane3. I just hope I can find the proper balance between giving the plant enough water to thrive, but not enough to attract the gnats.
The other thing you could do is keep your Dracaena outdoors year round, if you're really in zone 10 as your profile says then it shouldn't need to come in for the winter.
You could also try treating for fungus gnats. They do feed off of plant roots and sometimes spread diseases as well as spread to other plants, and reducing water doesn't elminate them. If you aren't into chemicals, see if you can find one of those treatments for mosquito larvae using Bt as the active ingredient or parasitic nematodes. I've seen those products in places like Walmart and HD (little disks you drop into water), and you can just dissolve it into your irrigation water and pour it onto the soil of the Dracaena. Wait until the plant really needs a drink so you can give a really thorough application. You can also lightly spray the surface of the soil with a household RAID product or something similar to temporarily reduce the number of flying adults.
Thanks, ercane3 and fauna4flora. According to the definition I'm pretty sure I'm in Zone 10. We are in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. It's rare to get temps below 35. Not unheard of certainly the average low is above that. (I looked that up, too, lol). It's often over 100 in the summer. I just like having the plant inside sometimes. I have a very nice stand for it...:) And I hate the thought of those bugs in the dirt and possibly spreading, as I've seen people mention.
I have no objection to chemicals and read through this forum about fungus gnats and ordered Gnatrol, as was recommended by a few people, and am anxious to see how it works.
I'm so happy to have found this forum! I have some other questions but they need a photo with them.