Wannabe fruit flies? #Philodendron
Hello! My philodendron its thriving but i just watered it and noticed that when I picked it up, what looks like fruit flies started flying around… i have it placed beside my pothos plant so i have no idea from which plant they are coming from… is it harmful for my plants? What do i do to get rid of them…
4ft to light, indirect
5” pot with drainage
Last watered 2 hours ago
3
Fungus gnats, they lay eggs in the upper soil, eat your roots, and they can transmit plant diseases.
The eggs and larvae will die out without consistent moisture, but they reproduce quickly so it will take several generations to fully kill them out. Water your plants less (so they dry out quicker) and let them fully dry out for a day or few between waterings — and I mean let the whole pot get dry. You need to do this with ALL your plants because they will fly around and lay eggs everywhere, so you never know where a population explosion will come from. Sticky traps are helpful in helping identify which pots are most infected and gauging how the population is increasing/deceasing (but they don’t otherwise make a significant dent in the population). When I accidentally bring them into my home, in addition to letting them dry out whenever I water them I also spray like 2 spritzes of something called mighty mint plant protection in the top of the medium after watering it; any mild insecticidal-soap-based spray will probably work here (mighty mint is just what I’ve always had success with and it smells great), the goal is to make it less hospitable to any eggs/larvae/adults ending up in there while it’s still wet. Also make sure that areas with stagnant water (like drain trays) are clean and dry.
I am usually able to get rid of them within about 2 weeks, but if you haven’t done it before it might take you a month.
The eggs and larvae will die out without consistent moisture, but they reproduce quickly so it will take several generations to fully kill them out. Water your plants less (so they dry out quicker) and let them fully dry out for a day or few between waterings — and I mean let the whole pot get dry. You need to do this with ALL your plants because they will fly around and lay eggs everywhere, so you never know where a population explosion will come from. Sticky traps are helpful in helping identify which pots are most infected and gauging how the population is increasing/deceasing (but they don’t otherwise make a significant dent in the population). When I accidentally bring them into my home, in addition to letting them dry out whenever I water them I also spray like 2 spritzes of something called mighty mint plant protection in the top of the medium after watering it; any mild insecticidal-soap-based spray will probably work here (mighty mint is just what I’ve always had success with and it smells great), the goal is to make it less hospitable to any eggs/larvae/adults ending up in there while it’s still wet. Also make sure that areas with stagnant water (like drain trays) are clean and dry.
I am usually able to get rid of them within about 2 weeks, but if you haven’t done it before it might take you a month.
I sprinkled cinnamon in the soil, water from the bottom so the top soil stays a little dryer since they love wet soil And can only live in the top 2 inches and sticky traps that push into the soil