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Original poster

Tiny flies, not fruit flies?

27 replies

FrostyMoanyWind · 04/12/2018 08:57

Don't think they're fruit flies. Well, if they are, they're clever ones at any rate as none have yet gone into my usually successful fruit fly trap.

They're really annoying, centred around my new plant and the other side of the room by the snail tank. I can only assume they've hatched from the soil I used to line the tank and fill the plant pot. So probably nothing will change if I renew the soil, I'll just get a fresh batch of flies.

They are tiny and annoying. How to get rid?

OP posts:
growinganotherhead · 04/12/2018 12:50

Bumping this as I have the same problem since replanting an orchid!

Original poster
FrostyMoanyWind · 04/12/2018 19:18

Anyone else?

OP posts:
Original poster
FrostyMoanyWind · 04/12/2018 19:19

(As in have the same Problem and hopefully the Solution, not that I don't appreciate the reply!)

OP posts:
ThatOneHurt · 04/12/2018 19:31

I've had these bastards!!!

I thought it was just us until I mentioned it to a friend who said she had them really bad as well and so did our other friend.

Particularly bad in the summer but still get the odd one now.

Bastard things.

ATowelAndAPotato · 04/12/2018 21:55

I think we may have fruit flies... please tell me about your fruit fly trap!

Sorry I can’t help with your soil(?) flies!

BigStripeyBastard · 04/12/2018 22:09

They are soil gnats. They live in the top inch of the soil in your plant pots. They are harmless but annoying.
They lay eggs in the soil which then hatch into tiny larvae and then turn into flies. They eat the decomposing plant matter in the soil.
Cover your the tops of your plant pots with at least two inches of sand (play sand or aquarium sand is perfect) and they will magically disappear once all the flying gnats have died off. They cannot burrow through the 2 inches of sand to get to the soil beneath to feed or breed.

VelvetGreen · 04/12/2018 22:11

Could be fungus gnats if they've come from the soil? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fungus_gnat

RavenLG · 04/12/2018 22:15

Drain flies?

Ginkythefangedhellpigofdoom · 04/12/2018 22:51

I'll bet you it's Fucking fungus gnats!

Iv had an issue since summer after my neighbor gave me an infested plant and it spread to all my house plants.

Ginkythefangedhellpigofdoom · 04/12/2018 22:52

Does the sand work big?

Doghorsechicken · 04/12/2018 22:54

We’ve got the same! So annoying!

ThatOneHurt · 04/12/2018 22:56

Mine weren't fungus gnats.

My ones had light coloured butts.

madmum5811 · 04/12/2018 23:02

I had to throw out some plants in the kitchen some came in on a plant from the greenhouse, luckily was only herbs. They were all over the window. Hate them.

BoswellHasLeftTheBuilding · 04/12/2018 23:53

Let the soil dry out completely before you water.

Neem oil mixed with water should get rid of them, can also be used as a spray for mealy bugs etc.

As for sand on top - be careful it doesn't make the plants too damp or they will rot. Gravel would probably be better.

Original poster
FrostyMoanyWind · 05/12/2018 04:59

Thank you so much!

Fruit flies- vinegar. You can buy fly trap sets. Mine are a little plastic apple with a funnel, put vinegar at bottom, fly in, can't get out.

I changed the soil yesterday. I moved my plant next to one with hydroculture balls. Was that a huge mistake? I could put sand on that/let it dry out. Obviously I can't let the snails dry out though!
Where do they cone from though? Is the whole sack of soil infected? Or do the fly in, find a home and breed like crazy?

OP posts:
shiveringtimber · 05/12/2018 05:22

I use apple cider vinegar with a squirt of washing-up liquid to kill off ours. I thought they'd disappear with the coming of cold weather but the little bastards don't give up!

ThatOneHurt · 05/12/2018 08:11

I tried that Shiver but it didn't do anything.

LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD · 05/12/2018 08:13

Fun fact - fruit flies love carrots. I know food is food and carrots are sweet but it blows my mind that fruit flies love vegetables!

NanTheWiser · 05/12/2018 11:54

They are Sciara flies (aka fungus gnats) which love peat based composts. The larvae feed on rotting organisms, and can do a lot of damage to plant roots. It's quite possible they arrived in the potting mix you're using, so repotting into the same won't help, unfortunately. Allowing the plant to dry out might help, along with a top dressing of grit. Not many insecticides available these days to tackle the problem.

NoSpend19 · 05/12/2018 11:57

I've just moved a couple of plants outside because of this. You tend to get them at this time of year when the heating suddenly goes on for longer.

ChocolateStash · 05/12/2018 12:05

Thank you. I have these too recently.

Magicstar1 · 05/12/2018 12:08

I just had these too...horrible things. I got back from two weeks holidays to find they'd been flying around the cooker filter and stuck to it - dozens of bodies stuck all over - gross!

SeekingClosure · 05/12/2018 12:21

We've had fruit flies in our kitchen lately. We set a trap of cider vinegar and washing up liquid and the situation is much improved- well for us, not them Grin

Tiny flies, not fruit flies?
madmum5811 · 05/12/2018 12:23

We have a food caddy for waste under the sink, the little buggers love those, I bleach thoroughly every time I empty it.

PracticalTacticalBrilliance · 05/12/2018 14:05

We've had these recently and put a layer of glass beads on top of the plants as well as trying to let them dry out more between watering which has been helping.
We also got some mini yellow sticky fly paper which you put in the pot and catches all the flies. It's much better now!

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