My Red Siam Aurora is attracting fungus gnats and insects...
Last watered 2 months ago
2
Your plant profile says it’s in a pot with no drainage. That will keep the soil damp, attracting gnats. Putting it outside keeps the gnats outside but will make your plant vulnerable to many, many more pests. Fungus gnats are pretty easy to deter. They live & breed in damp soil, sink and shower drains, damp sponges, basically anywhere that’s moist! You can make your plant less attractive to gnats by keeping things drier. Add sticky traps too, they’ve worked great for me! Also try bottom watering, this helps keep the top layer dry. Some people add a light layer of sand to the top which dries quickly, making it not an attractive place for them to lay eggs. There are bug sprays to get rid of them but unless it’s a big infestation, using pesticides for gnats is overkill. There are beneficial bugs that can be purchased to help get rid of fungus gnats but again unless you have dozens of plants and a bad infestation I’d recommend going with the things you can do without spending extra money. I’d recommend before you bring your plant inside that you check for any other pests that he was exposed to out there. You don’t want to introduce a new pest to the other plants. Isolate him for a couple of weeks to be sure before putting him near the others.
@MariansOasis I believe they simply haven't yet updated the plant details and that's why it says no drainage (OP, please correct me if I'm wrong!). I agree with the rest of Marian's advice! Just wanted to add on that fungus gnats are typically a good sign that your soil is staying damp too long. I know many plant guides say Aglaonemas prefer their soil be kept damp at all times, but in my experience this couldn't be further from the truth! Mine prefer to almost completely dry out between waterings. It's always better to err on the side of underwatering rather than overwatering. An underwatered plant is an easy fix, but an overwatered plant, not so much.
