What to Do With the Little Flies in Office Plants?
If you see bugs resembling fruit flies in your office, what you're experiencing is probably an infestation of fungus gnats, which thrive on indoor plants that are kept in homes and offices. These bugs aren't harmful to people, but they're a nuisance that can kill your plants and therefore need to be removed from the plants as soon as possible. Does this Spark an idea?
Soil
Fungus gnats do best in damp environments in which fungus thrives (hence their name). The first step in controlling and getting rid of them is making sure that you aren't overwatering the plant. Horticulturist Willi Evans Galloway of Organic Gardening recommends letting the soil dry out a bit. Galloway explains that doing this discourages the laying of eggs and growth of larvae, in addition to controlling fungus. Make sure that your plant has adequate drainage; if it doesn't, repot it in a better pot and include some pea gravel in the dirt.
Monitoring
In order to control fungus gnats, you need to know how bad the problem is. Both Galloway and entomologist Bastiaan M. Drees (Texas Agricultural Extension Service) claim that yellow sticky traps should be placed horizontally on the surface of the soil to track the infestation. You should see the numbers on the tapes decrease over time if your treatments are effective. This method not only tracks the infestation, but also helps trap some of the adult flies and larvae. Drees suggests also placing some traps along other potential breeding areas like vents and near doorways. He points out that potato slices are another effective monitoring method, but potato slices won't do anything to trap the flies or larvae the way the traps will.
Nematodes
Some kinds of nematodes (worms) such as Steinemema feltiae feed on the fungus gnat larvae, according to Galloway. Since repotting your plant to get rid of drainage and fungus growth problems is recommended anyway, try tossing in a few worms with the new soil. Not only will the worms feast on your pests, but they'll also help aerate the soil, which will prevent fungus growth in the future and keep the plant healthy. However, remember that nematodes are sensitive to chemicals. You may need to change the way you fertilize your plant if you add worms, and the soil will need to have organic matter.
Chemicals
Adult fungus gnats, unlike the eggs and larvae, are much more mobile and can be present on any part of the plant not buried. You therefore have to focus on more than just the soil in order to get rid of the gnats completely. Horticultural oil sprays may help, and according to the freeplants.com website, applications of hydrogen peroxide also may do the trick.
Tags: fungus gnats, your plant, flies larvae, Flies Office, Flies Office Plants, fungus growth, Little Flies