I've lost a thread on fruit flies
8 years ago
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- 8 years ago
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Fruit Flies in My Potted Strawberry Plants
Comments (11)I think I am having this problem too. I bought some strawberry plants at the farmer's market about a month ago. I've been watering them about once a week. One was a little brown around the edges of a leaf, then it started to look brown around the base of the plant. Then I noticed a couple little flies buzzing around yesterday - tiny, gnat-sized flies. I also noticed the little flowers that were on one of the plants have darkened and withered. Today there are two-three times as many flies. I want to get rid of them! I am such a novice ... I do not understand all the things you guys have said here - mosquito dunk? gnatrol? I was planning to repot these guys this weekend, but now I am afraid all is lost (although the leaves still look mostly decent, like the picture above). I don't even know where to start! Is Palmolive an acceptable dish soap to spray them with? How much would I put into how much water? I am a very capable person, but I have never successfully maintained a plant for longer than a few months and I am intimidated - but determined to figure it out! Thanks, ~KJ...See Moreeliminating fruit flies indoors on hab plant poss?
Comments (11)I know exactly how you feel, I've dealt with fungus gnats several times. Many people will tell you that you can only control them, but never erradicate them-- I say not so. If you are content with just controlling them, get some of the yellow sticky traps that you skewer on bamboo skewers and stick into the soil, but plan on replacing them frequently. If you want to erradicate them, I've been successful using the following method: Let the soil dry out completely, and I mean until you can't stand it. Then wait another day. Next, get a package of 'mosquito dunks'from you local hardware store and fill a tub or bucket or some vessel large enough to hold water and your potted pepper, and add the 'dunk' and dissolve it well. Now soak your pepper in it for at least 20-minutes. Repeat if needed. Don't forget that these little buggers will have infested probably EVERY potted plant in your house, so be ready to deal with them too. This product is designed to kill the larvae or maggot that represents the early life stage of these types of insects. Good Luck!!! There are several entries on GardenWeb regarding this topic, the Search function is your friend....See MoreHouse Flys - Help, I've searched
Comments (18)This post gets spurts of activity. I guess it is a semi common problem. First off, my original intent was to find alternatives to the sticky traps, tapes etc. Second, as I mentioned in my secondary response/follow up, I realized the root of my problem, and that was the fly's laying eggs in the litter box, prior to being added to the bin. Solved that problem, smaller box, empty more often. But that did not entirely elminate the problem. Although I HAVE elminated the problem, no more flies for me and no sticky tape. Here are the steps that it took to elminate the flys, house fly or fruit fly. 1) Empty rabbit box more often 2) Freeze food scraps prior to adding to bin (But I had been doing this all along, which had already elminated the fruit flies) 3) Feed less, I was, as alot of us do in the begining, was over feeding my system, which was inviting unwanted mouths to the feast. Less is more, all feed should be eaten in a matter of days or you are asking for problems. 4) Less moisture, my system was too wet. 5) Create a "dry" layer on the very top. This, I think, is one of the biggest deterents for house flies. They want to lay their eggs in the moist goodness of your worm material, not a dry layer, and they can not "dig" to get to the moist layer. I use a piece of cardboard or a burlap sack. It has in no way been effected my bin by having this layer on the top. In fact it has help keep it from drying out. Since the bin that I use inside is almost entirely fed with rabbit manure it wasn't getting the moisture that most get from their organic material breaking down, so I would have to add water more frequently then most systems would, the layer on top helped conserve the moisture I barely have to water at all now. 6) Beneficial Nematodes. Now we get into a grey area, some will accept these, others will not. Prior to treating my bin with these I had the problem "under control" but in no way eliminated. I think this is what made the final difference. That said I am not sure I would do this on a regular basis. Due mostly to the cost. Ideally I would like my worm bins to be a free of charge addition to my garden game plan, so dislike the idea of purchasing these. However, I will be getting more this spring to treat my front lawn, so would treat the bins at the same time. I just don't know if I would purchase for the sole purpose of treating the bins. They do not ship the nematodes in winter, so in the end it would not be a year round solution anyway. Since I have my bins out side in the spring/summer and will on bring it back inside for winter, this option looses viability. So for what it's worth, that has been the solution to my fly problem. Good luck. Kat...See MoreHave I lost my entire tomato crop?!?!
Comments (9)Thanks for the responses! Based upon your collective input I decided to just remove the affected fruit, continue trying to eradicate the whiteflies and hope I can still get a fall crop. I tried doing the homemade soap spray and I kept burning my plants (even steering clear of antibacterial) so right now I'm using a combo of neem oil and safer insecticidal soap spray and it seems to be working - yay!!! It's more expensive in the short term but if it works I can start experimenting with different soaps again to make it more cost effective. In reading through earlier whitefly/host plant posts I determined that they seem to be drawn to my bush beans. When the spring crop was done I pulled them out but the infestation was already so bad that it wasn't going to be enough. Since it didn't appear as though it would make a difference I went ahead and planted my fall crop of bush beans and sure enough the whiteflies loved them. What can I do? They are my best crop! I'm spraying nightly now b/c with or without the beans there were just too many whiteflies..... I can't figure out what this means for future bean crops, they aren't usually named as a host plant for these darned little buggers. Anyone have a similar experience with them? Thank you all for talking me off the ledge! Fingers crossed, the plants will pull through and I can get a few maters before the season is over. There isn't a lot of info out there on crop survival for this particular problem - I really appreciate being able to come here and ask for/receive advice from all of you young AND old pro's. Here is a link that might be useful: Desert Dame's Blog...See More- 8 years ago
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