problem with black fly

[dave]

hi everyone. i've a plant in work that has a considerable number of black
fly (assuming that's what they're called) that live in/on the soil. does
anybody have any idea how i can get rid of them?
the plant is similar to a swiss cheese plant and lives in a 4ft x 1ft x 1ft
trough. the flies are becoming a problem.
the flies themselves are virtually identical to green fly only coloured
black. i've tried spraying the plant and soil with soapy water but this has
made no difference.

any help or advice greatly appreciated.

cheers, dave

[Beverly Erlebacher]

In article >,
dave > wrote:
>hi everyone. i've a plant in work that has a considerable number of black
>fly (assuming that's what they're called) that live in/on the soil. does
>anybody have any idea how i can get rid of them?
>the plant is similar to a swiss cheese plant and lives in a 4ft x 1ft x 1ft
>trough. the flies are becoming a problem.
>the flies themselves are virtually identical to green fly only coloured
>black. i've tried spraying the plant and soil with soapy water but this has
>made no difference.
>
>any help or advice greatly appreciated.

You've probably got fungus gnats, which live on decaying organic matter
in the soil. You can control them by keeping the soil, especially the
surface soil, drier, or covering the soil with a cm or two of plain sand.
The flies are reluctant to lay eggs in dry or poor soils.

There are also some biological and chemical products that are listed for
fungus gnats, but to save money and avoid pesticides, try the dry surface
route first.

If you need to get the number of adults down fast, e.g. your co-workers
are complaining, fungus gnats are attracted to the yellow sticky traps
sold to control white flies even more than white flies are.

[dave]

hi beverly. thanks for the reply.

fungus gnats. makes perfect sense as the soil is a touch on the fungusy (?)
side. will try the sand method some time next week.
the yellow sticky traps you mention.....are they commonly available? fwiw, i
like in the uk.do you know of any brand names etc that i may look out for?

once again, thanks for the reply.

dave


>
> You've probably got fungus gnats, which live on decaying organic matter
> in the soil. You can control them by keeping the soil, especially the
> surface soil, drier, or covering the soil with a cm or two of plain sand.
> The flies are reluctant to lay eggs in dry or poor soils.
>
> There are also some biological and chemical products that are listed for
> fungus gnats, but to save money and avoid pesticides, try the dry surface
> route first.
>
> If you need to get the number of adults down fast, e.g. your co-workers
> are complaining, fungus gnats are attracted to the yellow sticky traps
> sold to control white flies even more than white flies are.
>

[dave]

re yellow sticky traps.....

just found out what they are!

yellow card smeared with something sticky...e.g. vaseline....so no need to
answer that one.

cheers, dave

"dave" > wrote in message
...
> hi beverly. thanks for the reply.
>
> fungus gnats. makes perfect sense as the soil is a touch on the fungusy
(?)
> side. will try the sand method some time next week.
> the yellow sticky traps you mention.....are they commonly available? fwiw,
i
> like in the uk.do you know of any brand names etc that i may look out for?
>
> once again, thanks for the reply.
>
> dave
>
>
> >
> > You've probably got fungus gnats, which live on decaying organic matter
> > in the soil. You can control them by keeping the soil, especially the
> > surface soil, drier, or covering the soil with a cm or two of plain
sand.
> > The flies are reluctant to lay eggs in dry or poor soils.
> >
> > There are also some biological and chemical products that are listed for
> > fungus gnats, but to save money and avoid pesticides, try the dry
surface
> > route first.
> >
> > If you need to get the number of adults down fast, e.g. your co-workers
> > are complaining, fungus gnats are attracted to the yellow sticky traps
> > sold to control white flies even more than white flies are.
> >
>
>