little black flies.

[phixion]

i just looked in on my plant and noticed some small blackflies around it.
does anybody know what they would be ?
and what would be the best way of getting rid of them.

thanks...

phixion Reviewed by phixion on 03-09-2008. little black flies. i just looked in on my plant and noticed some small blackflies around it.:mad: does anybody know what they would be ? and what would be the best way of getting rid of them. thanks... Rating: 5

[LdyMarsRN]

i just looked in on my plant and noticed some small blackflies around it.
does anybody know what they would be ?
and what would be the best way of getting rid of them.

thanks...

Probably Fungus Gnats. I use no pest strips....the yellow ones, or put a little apple cider vinegar and dish soap in a cup, in the area with your plants. The little buggers will drown themselves in it.... :yippee:

[Storm Crow]

Frankly, I don't want ANY poisons around my plants. The easiest way to get rid of those pesky fungus gnats is to add about an inch of sand to the soil! FGs lay eggs in the soil and the larvae eat (mostly) decaying plant material. The sand stops the cycle. No soil exposed= no laid eggs = no well fed larvae = no more FGs. If you use white sand, you also get more reflected light. :thumbsup:

Also, if the adults are bugging you, a couple of the sticky fly strips in your grow area will trap an amazing number of them. They run about $1 for a pack of 4 at Walmart and the Dollar store sometimes has them too. I wouldn't use the "chemical wonder" ones- there's been some controversy over their safety. - Granny:hippy:

[LdyMarsRN]

Probably Fungus Gnats. I use no pest strips....the yellow ones, or put a little apple cider vinegar and dish soap in a cup, in the area with your plants. The little buggers will drown themselves in it.... :yippee:

I meant the sticky ones.....I don't use an poisons either.

[phixion]

thanks for the info.
i will go out and get some sticky fly strips and white sand. :thumbsup:
hopefully that will get rid of those pesky flies.:gunfighter2:

[legalize_it420_4ever]

use booze lol the sweetest most sugary liqure u got i got special traps for it but u could prolly just put some in a bowl they fly in get drunk n drown over n over n over it got rid of the millions of wasps and aphids on my back porch they loved the strawberry shnaps i used in a few days they were all dead seems kinda cruel usin booze to kill little creatures lol but it works n i dont think it can harm ur plants it didnt seem to do nethin to mine

[legalize_it420_4ever]

didnt mean 2 double post srry

[phixion]

sorry didnt get back to this thread but i couldnt remember where it was.:upsidedow

but i used some sticky fly strips and some nice pear cider in a little bowl.
i have to say that the pear cider seamed to do the better job at getting these little gnats. anyway thanks for the info on how to deal with those pesky critters..:thumbsup:
thought i would throw in a couple of pics of my baby..

ps they have a little heat stress but that has been sorted (for now)

[grey1223]

I tried the sand on top once and it didn't work for me. Sticky strips, bowl of liquid etc... will take care of the adults but there's lots of larvae in the medium. I tried pretty much all the recommended solutions and found this to work:

30ml of pyrethrum concentrate per gal. of water. Used it once a week for 4 weeks. That was about 18 months ago and haven't had a gnat since. Oh, by the way, the plants never reacted to the pyrethrum. I also know 3 other folks who did the same.

[stinkyattic]

I agree with grey; pyrethrins are a pretty simple and foolproof way to deal with infestations.
Keep the gnats from returning by taking away their nice wet homes- standing water in drip trays, muck under pots- they love that. So keep your grow area nice and dry, and they won't be interested in residing there any more.