A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 pothos plant

Does anyone know what the little flies on my plant are? It's not bothering the plant i think but it is bothering me!! How do i get rid of them?

Sounds like it might be fungus gnats maybe.....

fungus gnats 1

fungus gnats 2

Well, they arn't black bugs. They look more like friut flies!

Definitely sounds like fungus gnats. They only live for a few days. If you let the plant dry out as much as possible (without causing damage to the plant), the larvae might dry out and die.

You can also set it outside for a few days. I have had good luck with that. Set it in a sunny spot and don't water for about 3 days.

I will try to not water for this week and see if they die. I tried setting in outside before and my plant got burnt..not trying that again!

If drying it out doesn't work, Will Creed once suggested to me that I sprinkle a thin layer of builder's sand on top of the soil to cut the larvae up. I ended up not having to do it. I let my plant dry out for about 10 days or so and that worked out fine for me.
Another thing he advised was to put some potato slices on top of the soil. After a few days the larvae get into the potato and you can then throw it away. Since the gnats I had went away with drying I didn't have to do that either, but he's very knowledeable so I'm sure it works.

Good luck.
Amanda

The potato slices worked!! No more annoying flies! thxs everyone