I'm not sure what you have (fungus gnats I've had were all too willing to fly) but I'm pretty sure of what you don't have... fleas. Fleas don't have wings, and I see no reason why they'd want to hang around houseplants instead of you. Also, the original poster said that he could easily catch and kill them. Fleas in my experience have extremely hard exoskeletons. When my sister brought a stowaway back with her from her trip, I was able to pin it down, but couldn't crush it until I found a really tough tool of some sort, hammer maybe? Point being, I had to crush it with something metal against something metal, in this case being the top of a dryer. Try those sticky yellow cards to see if you can catch any, and then maybe you can ID them. Or you can make your own using a yellow post-it note covered in vaseline. If they look like little flies (kinda like fruit flies, but frailer) then you probably have fungus gnats. They're not super hard to get rid of, just try to limit your watering. Wait until the first inch or so of soil on top is dry before watering again. I seem to recall the larva can only live in that top inch, which has to stay moist. Using mosquito dunks is another way to get rid of them. Good luck.

Malcolm Manners, thank you for pointing out the distinction between the two names. I checked the internet and apparently "biological index" is the general term and the two subterms are herbaceous index and woody index. Davis in their 2004 web article "The Rose Clean Stock Program" use the term "biological index". I am interested in any literature comparing the 2 subterms for rose virus testing. I did find the following for Rubus: "Transmission to herbaceous indicators CRLV, ApMV, BRLV (and indeed TSV in general) can be transmitted by inoculation of sap to herbaceous test plants and can usually be detected in this way. Grind rapidly growing leaves from Rubus plants to be tested in a small volume of 2%, nicotine solution with a little celite as abrasive. Gently rub this sap extract on leaves of young, soft, rapidly growing plants of Chenopodium quinoa and/or Cucumis sativus. Keep test plants in aphid-proof glasshouses at about 20°C and observe for symptoms over about 3 weeks, Symptoms caused by these viruses in inoculated leaves should be apparent in 4-10 days. BRLV and ApMV are probably best detected in very young cucumber cotyledons, but all viruses should induce symptoms in C. quinoa. All four viruses should become systemic in C. quinoa, but some strains of tobacco streak virus (BRLV is a strain of TSV) are not systemic in this host. Woody indicators While the nepoviruses and ilarviruses could be detected by grafting Rubus to woody indicators, there is no purpose in doing so for the alternative methods are much superior. In the case of RLCV, however, this is the only method of detection. Graft scions of test Rubus plants to Rubus phoenicolasius (wineberry) which develops particularly severe symptoms. In general, R. idaeus can also be used. Symptoms may take 2-12 months to appear after graft inoculation. The two strains of RLCV (alpha and beta) are both detected." http://74.125.93.132/custom?q=cache:IolSYfkHYSoJ:archives.eppo.org/EPPOStandards/PM3_PROCEDURES/pm3-31-e.doc+rubus&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=google-coop ------------------------ "Rubus is a large genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae" from ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubus ). Here is a link that might be useful: link for rubus indexing

Please, do NOT let ANYONE go near that area of your property until you have determined exactly what is swarming out there...especially with the quantities you described. ***Multiple yellow jacket stings can be FATAL*** If it is yellow jackets, they can - and will - attack if someone just innocently steps on or near the entrance to their nest/hive....the problem being that you don't see it until it is too late. (I know of two people who have died from such stings....each receiving 80-120 stings). If you don't feel comfortable trying to catch a specimen (I wouldn't) and you're not sure who to call about it, try calling your local Health Department, the closest University, your local Agriculture department or even a pest control company, who could at least identify what you are dealing with. Even if they turn out to be totally harmless, because of their large numbers they are of great concern to your neighbors (and to you, obviously)...and they are rendering your property unusable. So even if they turn out to be "beneficial pollinators"...whatever they are...even if they don't sting...you might consider having them caught and relocated elsewhere. A skilled Beekeeper (or team of them) will have the right equipment to get this accomplished. There are Beekeeping Clubs and Associations in every state...a Google search will reveal your closest one. Best of luck to you with this challenging, yet interesting, situation. Let us know how it goes!

The common yellow oxalis we have here has tiny "bulbules" (sp?), which lurk 12 -18 inches under the ground. You can easily pull up the plants, of course, but those tiny bulb things stay under the soil, and up it comes again. I once had a gardener who decided to eradicate it from a flower bed which is about 12 feet long and 6 feet wide. He actually dug up the top 2 feet of soil, and sifted it by hand to get all of the tiny bulbs out. That worked for the first year, but by 2-3 years after he did that, back the oxalis came. So, being lazy, what I do is just admire it in the Spring, except where it is trying to smother other plants. Then just pull it out around those plants. By late Spring here it has died down, and I pretend it is gone. Of course, it comes up again the next Spring. It is one of our first blooming plants to bloom (starts Jan/Feb), so I just regard it as such and let it be mostly. One of my cats likes to eat it (we used to eat it as children - we called it "sour grass"). Jackie