About a month ago, I noticed these little gnats around my plants. They were outdoor plants (brought them in beginning of October). Beginning of November is when I noticed them. I have done lavender soap spray, Teema, and I have the Zevo lights which are collecting a ton of those buggers. How do I rid my plants of these annoying little things? Do I need to repot them? Thank you.
It is hard to tell for sure without seeing them, but it sounds like fungus gnats. I’m not sure how to confirm that for you. They look very similar to fruit flies (but have longer life spans), are attracted to the color yellow and are somewhat inept at flying, preferring to congregate on plants and their soil and only flying short distances when disturbed. They are also a huge pain in the neck to get rid of once established. And from what I’ve seen on here, what works for one person seems to be useless against them when used by someone else. The main thing to think about is that they feed on fungus that grows in wet soil, lay their eggs in that same soil and their larva have a relatively long incubation time before hatching. Letting all the soil in your plants dry out before watering works for some people. Others swear by watering with a half and half mixture of water and 3% hydrogen peroxide solution. While both of those helped, I wasn’t able to get rid of them until I used a product called “Mosquito Bits” that uses GM BT bacteria that are specifically deadly to fungus gnat larva. So you may need to try a few things. One thing I can definitely say to stay away from is diatomaceous earth. While it’s incredibly effective at killing the adult gnats, it does nothing to the larva and turns into a disgusting mess the first time you water after using it. Good luck!
Thank you
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