The little black flies that are hanging
around your indoor plants are called
Fungus Gnats and now while the adults
are just plain annoying it's actually
the larvae that live in the potting mix
that can be doing your plant some
serious damage! The adult flies lay
their eggs into the potting mix and the
teeny tiny larvae hatch out and feed on
organic matter including plant roots and
soft tender stems
this can cause wilting and slow the
growth rate of your plants right down.
But there are three simple ways that you
can get rid of fungus gnat problems... #1 Don't over water your plants - fungus
gnats love a wet potting mix and
outbreaks most often occur when the soil
isn't allowed to dry out between
waterings. The eggs and larvae need
continuous moisture to survive so
allowing the soil to dry out before you
water can help to break the lifecycle.
#2 You can kill off the larvae
in the potting mix by simply using a
soil drench of eco-neem just mix this up
in a large bucket and you're ready to go.
Then take each of your plants and allow
them to soak in the mix until the air
bubbles have stopped - then simply let
them drain outside in the shade before
bringing them back inside and you can
repeat this soil drench in seven days
time if you need to.
#3 Don't allow excess water to pool around the
roots of your plant - so tip out any water
that's left over after watering from
cover pots and saucers - if you leave
it there algae will grow and then the
fungus gnats will just feed on it.
Now that my home is a fungus gnat free zone
I can sit back and enjoy my indoor plant jungle!