--- title: "I have this little shelf setup for some of my smaller plants and…" description: "I have this little shelf setup for some of my smaller plants and propagation pieces, and i haven’t had any problems with bugs prior to this week but now i have…" url: "https://getplanta.com/community/lKxUkhzRR_aIJD7o1QvtwQ/wD-lWUeqQRK4EMHHPeG_pA?language=ko" community: "Pests, diseases and problems" author: "Roxanne" published: "2024-05-27T23:36:55.009103Z" language: "en" image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/MMQwzCH5GfDubA-4q_Og4UA6SLKnIDYoJ-zTP0dWiWM/aPQji4rMSduAlWwM0UjwDw.webp?size=large" --- [커뮤니티](https://getplanta.com/community.md?language=ko) / [Pests, diseases and problems](https://getplanta.com/community/lKxUkhzRR_aIJD7o1QvtwQ.md?language=ko) # I have this little shelf setup for some of my smaller plants and… _Roxanne님이 2024-05-27에 게시함_ I have this little shelf setup for some of my smaller plants and propagation pieces, and i haven’t had any problems with bugs prior to this week but now i have a little colony of fruit flies, what would be the easiest way to get rid of em and keep them from coming back? (Also the light is further away than it looks in this photo) Im not sure which plant started the problem either, i saw one fruit fly 2 days ago and i checked them all and couldn’t find anything, now i can count like 7. Maybe it’s just too much moisture in a small area? I also don’t keep any food or anything around them, I’ve removed any dead leaves and made sure theres no sitting dirty water. ![1개 중 1번째 첨부 파일](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/MMQwzCH5GfDubA-4q_Og4UA6SLKnIDYoJ-zTP0dWiWM/aPQji4rMSduAlWwM0UjwDw.webp?size=large) ## 4개의 댓글 ### Kirasade님이 2024-05-27에 댓글을 남겼어요. It’s not fruit flies they’re fungus gnats. It’s not caused by the light but over watering. They lay their eggs in the top two inches of the wet soil and it’s a vicious cycle. They’re fairly harmless. But you definitely want to keep it in check. I’ve used organic insecticide like Arber and water my soil with that. I’ve also started to bottom feed so I keep that top layer of soil dryer and to stop them in adult form I use sticky traps. I hope that helps. #### Roxanne님이 2024-05-27에 답변했습니다. Yeah thank you so much! I’ll try the bottom watering technique then. ### Kate님이 2024-05-28에 댓글을 남겼어요. To keep fungus gnats under control, I add mosquito bits to my watering can and let it soak into the water. You can also get Captain Jack’s dead bug brew and mix that in with the watering as well, or spray onto the leaves and soil. I also keep some yellow/sticky fly paper around to catch the adults. I think there is also a way to control the population/ward them away by cleaning off leaves and spraying soil with an insecticidal soap. You can buy or mix at home with common ingredients like: water, rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, Castile soap (NOT dish soap), and combos of peppermint, tea tree oil, etc. I also sprinkle cinnamon on to the top of the soil as I’ve read it keeps fungus gnats and other pests away as most insects dislike cinnamon, peppermint, lemongrass/citronella type scents. Lastly, bottom watering plants can help keep fungus gnats down as they are attracted to and lay eggs in moist soil conditions. By bottom watering you are preventing them from getting into wet top soil too easily. #### Roxanne님이 2024-05-28에 답변했습니다. Cool! Thank you so much man. I sprinkled some orange zest/peppermint/cinnamon on the plants that tend to het more water and again ill start bottom watering. Ill try to update later this week --- _Planta 커뮤니티 (https://getplanta.com). 누구나 읽을 수 있습니다. 게시물을 올리고, 댓글을 달고, 좋아요를 누르려면 Planta 앱을 다운로드하세요: https://getplanta.com/download_