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Vegetable Gardening

Small black knats buzzing around my seedlings and plants?

13 years ago

I have small black flies buzzing around my seedlings and plants.

They don't seem to be doing any damage yet.

Does anyone have an idea what these are?

Thanks!

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Comments (9)

taz6122
13 years ago
Fungus gnats. Their larvae eat tender roots. Let the soil dry out some and they will go away.
dkippies
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for the post.
I have tried doing that.. unfortunately when I try to dry them out the seedlings start wilting and I'm afraid of killing them.
Is there anything else I can try?

Thanks!!
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okay so maybe they are fungus gnats, i really looked at them close and they look like tiny mosquitoes. and they don't really fly around too much, just along the dirt and leaves. i really do think that they bite but maybe its just something else, i know that whatever it is that bites me is also very small. but actually might be smaller. i read that the fungus gnat is not only attracted to over watered dirt, but also decomposing material. one of my plants i know for a fact has a lot of wood rot on the root structure. that plant also seems to be the most infested. also it is very very very humid here so they might be finding enough moisture just from that. i am going to continue to try and let my plants dry out as much as possible, and i am throwing away the insecticide because it doesn't effect them and it is kind of harsh on some of my softer tissued plants. i might get rid of the tree that is decomposing, its a wild cherry tree i dug up last year to try and turn into a bonsai but i think its pretty much a lost cause. as for the rest of my plants. i am not only going to try and make sure my plants dry out but i am also going to try and replant all of my plants in soil that is inorganic so that the gnats have nothing to feed on, all of the soil i have now has a lot of wood in the mix. most of it is miracle grow and i think that the dirt was infected when i bought it. so i just need to spend a little more money and get a better quality soil. and just for the record all of the miracle grow soil that i have bought i have mixed in grit so that it is better draining but i don't think that is going to be enough. hopefully i can get rid of these damn bugs!!!
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taz6122
13 years ago
Mosquito dunks in your watering can.
ditnc
13 years ago
are you using wood bark mulch? The gnats love that.
caroliniannjer
13 years ago
I like to spray tiny buzzing insects with soapy water

That often discourages them considerably
digdirt2
13 years ago
Fungus gnats are only interested in soil that is kept TOO moist so the odds are 10 to 1 that you are over-watering, keeping the soil too wet.

Plants will "wilt" just as readily from too much watering as they will from too little since it causes root rot. So let the soil dry out and if the plants begin to wilt, wait. Give them at least 12 hours before watering and you'll likely find that they have perked up all on their own. From then on use the finger stick test to determine if they really need water of if you just "think" they do. ;)

You don't indicate your zone or location in your posts - you really need to do that - so can't judge your weather demands but 90% of gardeners over-water their plants and fail to understand that plants can cope with too little water much better than they can with too much water.

Dave
dkippies
Original Author
13 years ago
taz6122 - unfortunately I don't think Im fast enough to catch them to dunk them in a watering can. Although I have attempted and my neighbor is questioning my sanity.

ditnc - No wood bark mulch - but some of the seedlings are growing in peat growing thingies - that probably doesn't help.

caroliniannjer - i may try that - wondering if cayenne pepper helps too?

digdirt - 110 degrees with high humidity... a lot of them are still in growing/seed pots which are hard to dry out without over-drying. Might just have to transplant them.
digdirt2
13 years ago
Bahrain - WOW! what could you be growing as seedlings over there this time of year? You all are almost on a southern hemisphere planting schedule. Even folks in Florida are wrapping up their growing season till fall right now and you are further south than they are.

Dave
taz6122
13 years ago

taz6122 - unfortunately I don't think Im fast enough to catch them to dunk them in a watering can. Although I have attempted and my neighbor is questioning my sanity.

Questioning your sanity might be a good thing. Put a half a mosquito dunk in your watering can and water with it. It will kill the larvae before they turn into flying adults or feed on the plants roots.

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