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Hi all! New to plant caring so I’m not sure what to do here. When I… | Pests, diseases and problems | Planta community

vrod

Hi all! New to plant caring so I’m not sure what to do here. When I got this dieffenbachia back in August it was beautiful for about two months until my partner set it outside while we battled with fruit flies (from another plant) and since then it has slowly been drying out and become extremely brittle. We’ve watered it regularly to every few days to prevent it from overwatering. I’ve moved it away from the window and door in case it’s getting too cold and poked some holes in the soil in hopes it aerates a bit. Any thoughts or suggestions on bringing this back to life?

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  1. WhereIsMy🟢Thumb?

    Those aren’t fruit flies those are gnats. And they are laying eggs. You should treat the soil for at least the next two months to kill the fungus gnats totally. They WILL come back and will always need any wet environment. I loathe the sticky pads but they work….They stick to everything….You and your plants! The peroxide and Neem oil I’m afraid of bc my plants react to everything. But if they are in one plant they are in all of them.

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    • vrod

      I don’t think this is a fruit fly/gnat issue currently. With the other plant being infected with eggs, we completely changed the soil and did the peroxide treatment to both plants just in case and the problem was resolved. We haven’t seen the little buggers in since then. Unfortunately, after further research it seems like it’s been affected by the cold weather so I’ve moved it further away from the windows and doors but where it can still get sufficient sunlight

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