Dangerous Beans Posted February 14, 2004 Share Posted February 14, 2004 (edited) I checked my plants this morning and noticed a little black fly on the lower stem. On closer inspection i discoverd that the compost is crawling with em. They have wings and if they suddenly decide to use them my room will be full of em. Has anyone else had this? Edit: I just had another look and they appear similar to the midges that seem to swarm near fir trees in summer. Edited February 14, 2004 by Buster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bish Posted February 14, 2004 Share Posted February 14, 2004 What compost you using Buster? At a guess i'd say you had a fungus gnat infestation from your medium Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullockmush Posted February 14, 2004 Share Posted February 14, 2004 It's not B&Q brand by any chance is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dangerous Beans Posted February 14, 2004 Author Share Posted February 14, 2004 Its westland garden health, organic multi purpose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizard Posted February 14, 2004 Share Posted February 14, 2004 I tried some organic compost last year and it was infested with the little buggers aswell , I'm personally gonna avoid organic compost in the future , too much danger of introducing nastie beasties . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serj Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 It's not B&Q brand by any chance is it? Hey, BM, I had 'em in my B&Q compost. They didn't seem to harm the plant in anyway but I found the little twats stuck all over my buds and leaves when they started to get really sticky - which was more of an annoyance than a problem. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfer8 Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 Hi Sounds like fungus gnats. There's a recent thread here somewhere that refered to their life cycle. Basically if I remember, the gnats themsleves do no harm but when adult, they lay 1000's of eggs in the top of the compost. The eggs develop into small silver/grey/white 'worm like' bugs which burrow under the soil and live off the fine feeder roots close to the surface. The damage to the root system isn't particulary bad for a large and healthy plant. For a weaker/smaller plant it can be more serious. As long as your not into flowering, you should be able to use organic (buzz-off, neemo) deterents or a chemical pesticide to get rid of them. I'm no expert, but I think the above info is valid. Cheers Surfer8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullockmush Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 I had problems with them on my last grow, the B&Q compost was riddled with them. Tried neem oil, and other organic pesticides but nothing seemed to touch them. Even resorted to putting spiders in at one point . The only thing that seemed to work was putting a layer of sharp sand on the top, think it must stop them getting out or something. Hope this helps. BM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dangerous Beans Posted February 17, 2004 Author Share Posted February 17, 2004 I'm a few weeks into flowering so i'll just finish this grow as soon as possible and totally clean out the space. Thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sittingrelaxing Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 i get fungus gnats every now and then,and the bastards do your head in more than anything...... ot helped me cut the problem down,(the buggers still come back now and then though) i cant think of the name of the stuff,but you add it to water,you then water your soil .... i also bought some yellow sticky fly pads from b&q and placed them around the top of the pots, a cheaper way instead of the sticky pads is to cut piece's of yellow card,and smoother it in vaseline,the gnats are attracted to the yellow.... i'll be back with ot's advise on what to buy,(if i can find it) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizard Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 I think I mentioned this in another thread , Sundew plants are brilliant for controlling fungus gnats aswell as other flying insects , their leaves are like natures flypaper the gnats stick to 'em then the plant feeds on the gnats , the best bit is they don't have to be replaced and are easily maintained . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sittingrelaxing Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 nice 1 lizard bud,i'v never heard of them before,cheers.... do you just grow them in the same pots lizard ???? are they easy to get in the uk ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizard Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 they do need a couple of special requirements , nutrient free soil because they are marshland plants , they also need to be watered with rain water and must never be allowed to dry out , but believe me this is no big deal . They flower profusely , I started off with one plant that was growing as a stray alonside some venus flytraps I bought , the flytraps died within a year but the sundews keep going from strength to strength . I'm not sure where you can get them from I've seen them in garden centers from time to time , if we weren't all so (justifiably) paranoid round here I'd offer to send you some seeds as I've got heaps of 'em . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 Used to get them alot.... A good 1 -2 inch layer of coarse sand, or a thicker layer of vermiculite(not so effective) over the tops of your pots wiill stop the flies being able to burrow down so easily and lay their eggs in the organic parts of the medium....,l. As peeps said, they don't do too much harm.....the guys at growell told me they prefer to feed on decaying organic matter, dead roots , rather than live fresh healthy ones.... Mono...x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalibub1 Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 (edited) If fungus twats is the problem get some of these mites , their abit expensive but u should only need to apply them once if they make a colony, and they work. i was infested with the little buggers then i applied some of the predator mites and about 4-5 days later i couldnt find any fungus twats at all . Edited February 17, 2004 by kalibub1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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