Are there any visible negative symptoms exhibited by the plants? What are they and what are these container plants? Can you post pictures of the plants and critters?

Is this a potting mix from the bag or own mix? What are the ingredients or the composition makeup?

If your plants are not affected negatively, you may not need to spray or have to do anything to get rid off these critters. They may be beneficial ones.

Well, initially it sounds like fungus knats which are attracted to soils with organic matter whether it be bark, peat, compost or what have you. They prefer it damp and they lay eggs which become larvae so sprays don't necessarily do much for the eggs/larvae in the soil.

At the same time if the plants are outside and doing fine there may be no reason to control them and it's entirely possible they aren't fungus knats at all. There are lots of tiny little fly looking thingies in this world.

The primary problem you may encounter if they are fungus knats is the larvae eat plant roots. With an otherwise healthy outdoor plant their population may never build to levels where plant health is visibly affected.

Anyway, the solution is to leave the soil dry on the top inch or two and sometimes it's easier to accomplish this with a dry mulch on the surface. If the knats can't get into the soil or the larvae can't get out, the problem goes away.

Yup, I read a light dressing of compost keeps bugs out, too.

They do sound like fungus gnats to me, as well. The next time you water, examine the surface of your potting medium carefully. Fungus gnat larvae can be seen quite easily at that time. They look like tiny, white-ish wormy critters.

If they are, in fact, fungus gnats, I'd suggest that you avoid a compost or organic layer on top of the medium, but use coarse sand instead. If the problem is a bad one, you may have to resort to Gnatrol or the dunks that are used to control mosquito larvae. The biological agent in both of those is Bacillus thuringiensis-Israelis. It will get rid of the larvae.

Allowing your plants to dry out a bit more can help. The next time you repot your plants, I'd suggest adding a large portion of perlite to your mix to aid in porosity and improved water drainage.

I don't intend to disagree with anyone's suggestions or recommendations or if fungus gnat infestation is what your plants are experiencing other than that I use both homemade compost and coffee grounds as mulch in several of my containers and have not witnessed pesty problems and don't actually know what fugus gnat infestations are and their potential harm.

Just as a suggestion with the information given... if your plants do not show symptoms with the presence of these creatures, it seems more sensible not to spray or fix anything or risk disturbing the balance of the current and the neighboring ecology. You can always repot your plants when it's time to bring the planters indoors.

In order of priority, I would identify what they are and if they pose harm first. Once the threats are identified and there is a need, then proceed with known possible biological and IPM products. Best wishes.

I do appreciate that I got some responses to my questions. But now I'm not confused than ever. lol I haven't noticed tiny whitish worm like larva. Yesterday, when I watered my baby EE, I noticed 2 blackish, very tiny worm like things crawling up over the edge of the pot trying to get out. This young EE isn't doing well, but I don't know if it is from this infestation or not. In the past, my container grown EE's have always grown very quickly and gottne huge, for container EE's. This one has only two leaves left and they have some irregular coloring...turning yellowish in spots. Again, the leaves are free from pests. Now, I've never grown this EE before. It is 'supposed' to be a Borneo Giant. BUT I got it from someone on ebay, so I don't know if it truly is that species of EE or not. Perhaps they are supposed to be extremely slow growing. All of my plants are in an excellent commercial potting medium. I'm not sure if we are allowed to mention specific brands of items on this board or not. But it is the one that is advertised all the time on TV...very well known. Ok..the other plants are a mixture of succulents and..umm let's see a few young ponytail palms...a very young butterfly bush...and a few typical houseplants. I have seen these crawling things in all of them, but not all the time. And the 'gnats' fly around all of the plants, but right now it is not as heavy as it had been, but there are still there. When I water the plants, they are definitely there...flying off of the plants or the dirt or wherever. This frustrating. The teenie tiny little critters on the dirt are not the same as the two little black worm like things I mentioned above. These are tiny tiny little dark grayish..blackish bugs that move fairly quickly. Well, don't know if any of this information can help any of you identify what is the problem, but I hope so. soooooooooo frustrating.

Heck, we all mention brand names around here! Good, bad, or indifferent....it's a good way of adding some real personal experiences to the advertising claims!

ahhh ok. some forums don't allow any brand names at all...or web sites where to find the items. I just don't know what's going on out on my porch this year with these bugs. I hope someone has some ideas.

From your comments I have the impression you are using a well advertised potting mix, loaded with fertilizer, but having very marginal draining characteristics. It sounds like you are addressing your problem with additional water which only makes it worse. Your best course now is to follow rhizo's advice. The next time you pot, select a mix with better drainage, that will allow you to water as often as you like, without becoming saturated and encouraging soil borne pests. Al

Thanks for your comments also, Al. However, I wasn't addressing the problem with additional water, on the contrary, I was letting the plants dry out more between waterings. I was only talking about what happens when I do water them.......that's all.
Thanks to everyone for your help and comments.
Linda

Brand names do not equate with premium or quality. I used Miracle Grow potting mix without any soil amendments (namely perlite), and it proved unsuitable and disasterously for my growing conditions in my first year of planting - too wet. On the other hand, first year sterile potting mix should be bug free.

Again, the most important and basic factor in judging whether an action is required would be based upon whether your plants exhibit any adverse signs in the presence of these flying creatures and worm-like bugs, and how are these observable changes caused by the bugs. What are the symptoms, different symptoms with the same bugs, or how? If differnt plants of yours do not show adverse symptoms or unusual changes and appear healthy (which they seem to be since you've not noticed or spoke about them but the bugs), then you would not have to do anything about the worms or the bugs. They could be beneficial or symbiotic and not harmful to your plants. There is no way to fairly identify what you are seeing or if they pose threats to your plants without photos or relevant descriptive information.

What does EE stand for?

Quoting Linda: "... two leaves left and they have some irregular coloring...turning yellowish in spots."

These symptoms could also be cuased by the soap and herbicide sprays you used. As alaways, a gardener must weigh the risks and benefits of killing living bugs vs a healthy plant and usually as a last resort. The best way to find the best solution or alternative is first identify if the bugs are pests and if they post a threat and what kind.

If the bugs bother you more than the plants and you don't want to spend the time identifying them, here is a simple resolution. You can always run water over the affected plants and rinse out the roots really well and repot them in new sterile well drained potting mix. Then, pour hot boiling water and sterilize the old potting mix a few times and then compost the old potting mix.

I would do that over continuing with the soap and insecticide sprays if your plants need to be saved.

Hello Shenue,
The most common gnat problems I'm aware of are soil gnats (some call them fungus gnats). By either name, the treatment is the same. Cut down on the frequency of watering so that the soil surface dries out between waterings. This was mentioned by previous posters but I felt it was important to reiterate it. Changing your watering habits "will not" stop the larva that are already in the soil from hatching, so you will still see adult gnats for a while. Once the cycle has been broken and suitable conditions are no longer present, you'll see a noticable decline in adult gnat numbers until they've finally just disappeared. Your plant should also start to show some vigor too... as typically the same conditions that are beneficial to gnats are detrimental to plants. I wouldn't recommend fertilizing for a while until your plant has grown some new roots and shown outward signs of new growth and I definately wouldn't recommend putting it through the shock of transplanting it while it's in a weakened state. If the gnats bother you such that you can't wait for the new watering schedule to fix the situation, about the only thing you can do is spray the soil surface and the flying insects with an appropriate spray. No point in spraying the plant itself as the gnats are interested in the soil.

Regards,
Dan

sorry EE = Elephant Ears ... which like quite moist conditions. Kinda works against the drying out thing. *sigh* But I'm letting them all dry out.
Pictures are out of the question, because the bugs are soil colored and so tiny. They'd never show up on pics. All I can say is the ones on the soil are very very tiny, dark and quite fast moving. The plants seem to be ok, other than the Elephant Ear which seems to be under stress.

I thank all of you for your comments and suggestions!!!

Shenue,Go to Lowes and buy you some mulch one that protects against insects (cedar).A huge bag only costs $5 and you won't have to water your pots as much either.I did this about a month ago to all of mine on the balcony including the baskets and I haven't seen those knats since. I also haven't had any aphid problems or fungal diseases this year.And if you decide to mulch go ahead and get a moisture meter as well.

rixblonde.....
Do you know if cedar mulch is safe for all kinds of plants? As I had said, I have a variety. I do like the idea of cedar mulch though. I wonder if it comes in tiny bits or shredded. Of course the large nuggets would be too big for my house plants.

I also have ordered some Gnatrol. I hope that helps. I am hesitant a little, about using it. I don't want to do anything that is going to hurt the plants.

I've noticed these gnats inside now too, around my plants and generally flying around and being pests.

You can also use a layer of sand or aquarium gravel to the same effect as a cedar mulch.

I have read that cedar can inhibit plant growth in some cases, no idea if that would apply here.

The Gnatrol is fine to use and won't hurt plants. It's just a bacteria that eats the larvae, it's the same thing as what's in mosquito dunks.

If the problem is in fact fungus gnats I would like to add that the yellow sticky cards work great for the adults. I made two lasagne raised beds this year and had a major infestation of fungus gnats. Like you, I tried insecticidal soaps etc to no avail. My seedlings were totally stunted, turned yellow and died off. Also, petunias from transplants turned yellow. I was too impatient to order Gnatrol so used mosquito dunks in water and hung some yellow sticky cards about 5 inches above the soil (they got covered in the gnats). It took several weeks and finally, I think things are under control. I've since been able to reseed without the gnats becoming a problem with the moisture. Good luck.

Mosquito dunks are Bacillus thuringiensis, otherwise known as BT.

As for the cedar mulch, it can have growth inhibiting effects on a lot of non-woody types of plants, especially in containers. As for it's anti-insect and anti-fungal properties, they're limited. Nothing is a cure-all unfortunately.

Regards & good luck,
Dan