Lots of bugs are eating my plants!
I've had these coleus for a while now, however recently lots of small black bugs have appeared on most of my plants, they have been eating the leaves, and lots of my plants are dying. I did some research on how to get rid of these bugs, but nothing has worked. Does anyone know how to get rid of them and potentially save my plants?
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@SvelteKingfern These were the best I could get, they are very small and move very quickly. They look a bit like small flies.
They are fungus gnats. They love moist soil and their larvae much on fresh small roots of plants.
You need to water your plants with the solution: 1 part of 3% hydrogen peroxide (you can buy it in any pharmacy) and 4 parts of water. This solution is harmless to plants and to us humans (no nasty chemicals), but kills eggs and larvae of fungus gnats in the soil. You have to water all your plants with this solution a few times. Fungus gnats are persistent pests. You may buy in a nursery yellow sticky tapes to trap and kill flying adults of fungus gnats. It's also helpful when you put small pebbles on top of the soil. This will fool gnats that the soil is dry, and they won't lie further eggs there.
This is how I got rid of fungus gnats in my Oasis.
Good luck, and welcome to Greg ðĪððĩðŠīðŋ
You need to water your plants with the solution: 1 part of 3% hydrogen peroxide (you can buy it in any pharmacy) and 4 parts of water. This solution is harmless to plants and to us humans (no nasty chemicals), but kills eggs and larvae of fungus gnats in the soil. You have to water all your plants with this solution a few times. Fungus gnats are persistent pests. You may buy in a nursery yellow sticky tapes to trap and kill flying adults of fungus gnats. It's also helpful when you put small pebbles on top of the soil. This will fool gnats that the soil is dry, and they won't lie further eggs there.
This is how I got rid of fungus gnats in my Oasis.
Good luck, and welcome to Greg ðĪððĩðŠīðŋ
@SvelteKingfern thank you so much! I'll try get some next time I go out!
I have got a few pots with no plants yet (haven't got round to planting them) that just have very dry soil in, and lots of larvae. Will the larvae in those die naturally? Or will those pots also need to be watered with the solution?
I have got a few pots with no plants yet (haven't got round to planting them) that just have very dry soil in, and lots of larvae. Will the larvae in those die naturally? Or will those pots also need to be watered with the solution?
If you keep the soil completely dry for 10 days this will kill the eggs and larvae. You may also to put the pots with soil in the sunny spot. Hot Sun kills the eggs and larvae sooner (in hot climate).