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#359977 Sep 4th, 2012 at 03:36 PM
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So for a few years now my plants and my mother's plants have had pests. Despite everything I've learned in all the agricultural classes I've had I can't figure out the type of pest. They're black flies, tiny and similar to fruit flies or gnats. You can see maybe 3-5 of them flying around the plants when you disturb them for watering. However, if you look in the soil there are teeny tiny silver things crawling about. When I first saw them many years ago I tried to drown them. They just kind of hop/fly/float on/over the water. Useless. I did a lot of research and couldn't figure out what they are and let them be because zero signs of harm were showing up and all of the plants thrived as usual. My mom and I repotted almost all of our plants at the beginning of summer. I paid more attention to the plants, especially the ones with a lot of the silver bugs and noticed that they seemed to have smaller roots than they should. Maybe these bugs are eating the roots? I had brought a gentle pesticide that is good for a wide variety of pests and safe for a wide verity of plants- good for household use, safe for pets to be around. We sprayed the soil of all of the plants and a few days after I only saw 1-2 flying bugs and the silver ones (I'm thinking these are larvae to the flying bugs) in only a handful of the pots. I also found that spraying the soil and then watering it (so that the spray gets dispersed throughout the soil) helps but they still haven't been 100% eliminated. Any idea what these bugs are or how to get rid of them?


Ive loved houseplants ever since I was a kid, my grandmother taught me. Majored in Floriculture in High School.
ShinyDragonfly #359990 Sep 5th, 2012 at 09:33 PM
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I hate using pesticides..when I get infestations in my plants I usually buy those sticky bug trap sheets(dollar store)..tie them to the plants then tie the plant in a double bag, trying to get most of the air out then tie it air tight and leave it for a week. Usually they suffocate.

Most times you have to repeat it...those eggs will continue to hatch. You might have to do several sprays.


~~Tam~ You can bury all your troubles by digging in the dirt.
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Sunflowers #359996 Sep 6th, 2012 at 01:32 AM
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I think I've done 3 sprays over the course of the summer, one at the very beginning and 2 sprays 1 week apart before I left for college. I'm didn't want it to be out of hand by the time I go back to the house.

Good idea on the bagging. I don't know how well that will work for me, some of our plants/pots are very large but I could try it with the smaller ones when I'm on school vacation.

The bagging doesn't harm the plants at all? The plants don't create enough Oxygen for the bugs to live?

I wish I could figure out what kind of bugs they are and figure out how long it takes the eggs to hatch.


Ive loved houseplants ever since I was a kid, my grandmother taught me. Majored in Floriculture in High School.
ShinyDragonfly #360011 Sep 6th, 2012 at 08:23 PM
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BTW..don't use black bags or put your plant in the heat when you do this...

Can you take a pic of the bugs to show?


~~Tam~ You can bury all your troubles by digging in the dirt.
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Sunflowers #360016 Sep 7th, 2012 at 12:43 AM
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I'll try to get a picture the next time I'm at my house.


Ive loved houseplants ever since I was a kid, my grandmother taught me. Majored in Floriculture in High School.
ShinyDragonfly #360882 Oct 14th, 2012 at 02:28 PM
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I'm guessing I have "soil pests" as shown on this webpage: http://www.thegardenhelper.com/bugs.html


Ive loved houseplants ever since I was a kid, my grandmother taught me. Majored in Floriculture in High School.
ShinyDragonfly #360906 Oct 15th, 2012 at 09:40 PM
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..they're so hard to get rid of also.


~~Tam~ You can bury all your troubles by digging in the dirt.
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ShinyDragonfly #360970 Oct 18th, 2012 at 12:53 AM
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They definitely decline with the spray I have and repotting had helped... but now that I haven't been home they've gotten worse. There's a lot of the adult things flying around. I'll have to bring my spray home this weekend and try some damage control. Putting out little dishes of dish/hand soap and water catches quite a few of the adults


Ive loved houseplants ever since I was a kid, my grandmother taught me. Majored in Floriculture in High School.

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