Hi can anyone help me at all i have a monstera all healthy but has been invaded by bugs i have already done a soil change but they have come back… I also have a gecko in my house so cannot use pesticides. Anyone got any tips on how I can get rid of them without pesticides. The flys are hard to see but tiny black with wings
The pot looks pretty large in relation to the size of that stem. A large pot will hold water longer and allow mold/mildew to grow, and those little bugs are fungus gnats. They eat the mold and lay eggs in the soil. You can use BTI (Mosquito bits) you can buy off Amazon and use that to kill the gnats. It’s pet safe. Just soak the bits in warm water and water the plant. You may want to repot it in a smaller pot too to prevent water from sitting in the soil for too long. You can use neem oil but you have to be diligent and spray the soil but be sure to do it a few times about 7 days apart. The eggs in the soil will continue to hatch so you have to go back and treat multiple times.
2 likesThank you I will try all at this point . the stem looks small but the plant is over 4 ft high should I still change down to a smaller pot ?
0 likes If you can check the root ball without disturbing it too much you can look and see how much the roots have filled in the pot. It may just be the way the pic was taken that’s making me think the pot is huge. If your only problem at this point is fungus gnats you can probably leave it in that pot.
0 likesIf you want to try without any chemicals/liquids (though the ACV is awesome), they also sell little yellow sticky papers that you lay on top of the soil. I bought mine on Amazon. Essentially when the gnats grow out of their egg things, you catch and kill them on contact. You can cut them up to whatever size you need. As long as you keep your gecko out of the pots, it shouldn’t affect it. Edit: I also bought a Zevo for the outlet nearest my plants, that thing was NASTY the first two refills but now I hardly have a problem at all. Between the light and waiting till the soil is dry, my plants have very very few fungus gnats now.
0 likesThank you I am willing to try anything at the momant what are the papers called?? But they are going crazy for the vinegar traps at the momant but long term the sticky papers might be a good idea
0 likesI just searched on Amazon for “yellow sticky plant traps” and you will get tonnnns of results. I think they’re all the same. I chose the ones you lay flat rather than stick in so that I could truly nab em right away, but it’s all preference. It was around $8 for 20 sheets. I used 1 sheet for like 3 pots, so it was more than I needed.
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I haven’t had this problem but I read you can pour a hydrogen peroxide solution to help (Google it to see ratios) and/or some diatamecous earth sprinkled on top along with placing yellow sticky trap flat on top of soil to collect and kill as well. Bottom water so the top layer doesn’t get as wet and the diatomaceous isn’t washed out.
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