Subject: HELP! Gnats in houseplants/soil taking over!!!!!!

From: [email-masked] (Kevin Bryant)
Date: Fri, 05 Apr 1996 06:39:38 GMT

Our houseplants are being over-run by these nasty little gnats that
are literally EVERYWHERE.  They seem to like the soil best, but one
plant even has them swarming all over the pot.

We've tried insecticide sprays (can't remember the chemical name) that
kill them on contact, but lo and behold, a few weeks later they're
back!  They don't seem to like African Violets, but are presently in
the soil of practically every other plant in the house.  Also, they
appear to like the steamy bathroom after the shower's been on, the
space around the kitchen sink, and there are at least a hundred or
more dead ones on the window sill that always gets sun.

At most, we water our plants once a week, so it's not as if they're
being overwatered.  They don't seem to be harming the plants either,
just bugging the hell out of us and any guests we have over.

Any suggestions for specific treatments (other than throwing the
plants away) will gladly be taken.  If you respond to this post,
please CC it to my e-mail address   [email-masked]

Thanks in advance and I hope we can rid ourselves of these things
soon!!!!!

Kevin Bryant
Computer Resource Specialist
UCLA Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

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From: sheila trask <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 05 Apr 1996 09:29:14 +0000

Kevin Bryant wrote:
> are literally EVERYWHERE.  

[snip]
> plants away) will gladly be taken.  

We had these nasty guys a few years ago.  Tried everything (diazinon spray, 
washing & repotting, moving, etc.)  Even when they went away briefly, they 
always came back.  But I refused to let go of the whole collection.

Then, we moved.  They've left and they have never returned.

 Moving may be a drastic measure (!) but I think these are some of the 
differences that helped:  LOTS of space between plants (better air flow), LOTS 
of indirect light (healthier plants), summertime spent outdoors for most of 
the houseplants, less frequent watering for most plants.

 Or then again, maybe it was the ladybugs that moved in with us!

Good luck!
Sheila

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From: sheila trask <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 05 Apr 1996 09:29:23 +0000

[snip]

Good luck!
Sheila

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From: [email-masked](:))
Date: 5 Apr 1996 13:56:44 GMT

In <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (Kevin Bryant)
>plant even has them swarming all over the pot.

Neem is used to kill fungus gnats as is another product called:
Gnatrol.  Used as a drench, it will kill adults and larve.  I am also
battling this problem, so I should follow my own advice and get some
Gnatrol.  Both these products are considered to be organic controls.

Victoria*

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From: [email-masked]
Date: Sat, 06 Apr 1996 00:26:28 -0800

> plant even has them swarming all over the pot.

Sounds like Fungus Gnats.  You may also spot their brown larvae in the 
soil.  I don't think they harm healthy plants.  They're just using your soil
to reproduce in.  I purchased a product called Gnatrol from Gardens Alive
but never used actually used it.  If you need their address email me.

                                                          Laura

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From: [email-masked] (Maarten van Helden)
Date: 22 Apr 1996 07:00:11 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] 
says...
>
>Israel Silva <[email-masked]> wrote:
>
>
>>Please, I would like to know something about those fungus gnats you are 
>>talking about. Are they Diptera, or something else? Tell me something 
>>about their sistematics, and other interesting things. Thanks.
>
Fungus gnats are true flies (diptera), suborder nematocera,  family of 
Mycetophylidae (fungus lovers), accoding to my guide already over 300 species 
in britain, so don't ask for the exact species. 
-- 
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|| \\// ||  Dept. of Entomology
||  \/  ||  Wageningen Agricultural University
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||      ||  Wageningen, the Netherlands
||      ||  Tel +31-317-485118 Fax +31-317-484821
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