What Are These Little Fruit Fly Like Bugs Coming Form My House Plants?
by paco on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 | 2 Comments
I’ve noticed when watering some of my house plants one or two very small like fruit flies fly up when I do my weekly wattering. What are they and how do I get rid of them?
They are fungus gnats.
Adult fungus gnats are harmless to animals and humans and they do not feed on or damage living plant tissue. The larvae, or maggots, feed on all organic matter in the soil. This includes the feeder roots and root hairs necessary to sustain a plant. When these delicate roots are damaged, the plant may wilt, loose vigor, and have poor growth. The foliage turns yellow and the plant drops leaves. Fungus gnats can cause serious damage to African violets, cyclamen, geraniums, foliage plants, and poinsettias.
?The larvae must have constantly wet media,? he said. ?Watering houseplants less often, so that the media dries some between waterings, will serve to break the life cycle of these tiny pests. Fungus gnats usually don?t require insecticide for control.?
They probably ARE fruit flies. You probably have some old fruit laying around because, unless your plant is rotting, they cannot breed in your houseplant. Make sure you throw out all of your past-ripe fruits and take the trash out and they should be gone in a few days. Most likely they’re just chilling in your plant because there’s water there and it’s much closer to their natural habitat. With all the fruit gone, they won’t be able to breed and die very quickley.