Oh dear, your plant has fungus gnats. Not harmful to people, just incredibly annoying - they're attracted to CO2, thus when you exhale, talk, etc, they like to fly around your head. They feed on the decaying organic matter in the soil. OK, biology lesson over - what can you do about the fungus gnats.

There are a number of treatments/insecticides to be used, but the simplest thing to do is to return the plant. Plant sellers shouldn't sell plants with fungus gnat infestations, and when they do, they should be held accountable. Now that you know what to look for, you should be able to make sure you don't receive another plant with gnats. If they give you a hassle, talk to a supervisor. The big box stores have a 1 year return policy, though they don't like to talk about it, and private stores also have return policies.

Fungus gnats are not that hard to get rid of. I can't remember the last time I bought a plant without them. When plants are outside, they will show up, so for that reason I probably wouldn't return a plant because of this. I can get rid of them, and if I wanted the plant badly enough to buy it, it's worth the minor effort. Plants in acceptable conditions grow fine with them in the pot, so they aren't considered a plant pest, just an annoyance that can go along with the soil of potted plants. Some stores that have the plants inside get them from growers in warmer climates where the plants are outside, so they can show up on plants for sale indoors this way.

The constant treatment it would require to keep outside potted plants for sale free of them would cause the plants to cost too much, IMHO.

Good point, Purple, I'm still thinking about it from a professional interior plantscaper viewpoint, but of course, if the plants are kept outside at the store, they can easily attract FG's. What is your basic method for controlling the little buggers anyway?

Mine is, and I think Purple will agree is by using mixes that will not harbor them in the first place, you can rid them once and for all.

If you should continue to use peaty mixes or those that decay very easily, you will always have a problem year after year. In that case, I would arm myself with all the tools you need to kill them

Hello Tiffany, I hope you are safe and warm!:-)

Mike

Hi Mike! I agree. And I think eradication methods were discussed nearly ad nauseum in the linked discussion.

But if not, in addition to all that, I'm wondering if one could finagle a covering over the pot temporarily, until the larvae have all hatched and the adults are all dead. Maybe with paper and tape? Layer of gravel? Seems like preventing the adults from accessing the soil would put an end to it, especially in an office. I don't know how long it would take the adults to just die though...

I hope you do look into the soil issue, Caitlin. In addition to being a haven for fungus gnats, having soggy, peaty soil for the roots of any plant is usually very offensive to them. Store-bought plants almost always come with this stuff in the pots, nothing you did wrong, but putting enough water to keep the gnat life cycle going could be a problem for the plant eventually. It's hard to be much more specific without a pic of it.

Since this is in an office, I would probably go with the mosquito dunk water for the fastest possible remedy. You don't want your coworkers kicking this plant out of the office (and probably not welcoming anymore plants in its' place.) Are there other plants in the building?