Hi, can anyone help? I have a strelitzia (bird of paradise) that is 2 years old (grown from tiny plant) which is thriving but has some form of knats laying eggs in the soil which are infesting our flat! I have tried re-potting, using bug spray and anti fungus stuff for the soil (the soil did have some fungus on it over the winter months). I'm not the most green fingered person but I really want to sort this out - my other half is threatening to throw the plant out! Can anyone help?

In article ,
beckys wrote:

Hi, can anyone help? I have a strelitzia (bird of paradise) that is 2
years old (grown from tiny plant) which is thriving but has some form
of knats laying eggs in the soil which are infesting our flat! I have
tried re-potting, using bug spray and anti fungus stuff for the soil
(the soil did have some fungus on it over the winter months). I'm not
the most green fingered person but I really want to sort this out - my
other half is threatening to throw the plant out! Can anyone help?

These gnats lay their eggs in wet soil with a lot of organic material.
You can try to keep the soil drier on the surface, or replace the top
inch or so with sand. The sand will stay drier and will not attract
the adult flies to lay their eggs in it.

To get rid of the flies you have a little faster than letting them
die off on their own, you can vacuum them up when you see them, or
put a little water, molasses and yeast in a bottle. This is used
as a fruit fly trap but also attracts fungus gnats. The flies are
attracted by the scent, go in, can't find their way out and drown.
Or maybe they are overcome by the CO2 and alcohol fumes. Putting
a funnel in the neck of the bottle may or may not improve its
effectiveness.

Another effective method is to use the yellow sticky traps usually
sold to control white flies. They work quite well for fungus gnats.

Good luck! The only really good method of control is not to provide
an ideal place for them to breed.

I've tried yellow sticky strips and they do work but only when hung within
6" of the ground. The gnats don't frequently fly around at higher levels.
But it sounds like you are definately keeping the soil too wet. The sand
trick should work but gnat larva can be found well below 1". Strelitizia is
related to the bananas and both frequently like to dry out between
waterings. Their foliage is thick and waxy; their roots are thick and
succulent. They also like to be root-bound which helps the soil dry out
fast. So I'd say that you have your plant overpotted and water it too
heavily/ frequently.
Gary

"beckys" wrote in message
...

Hi, can anyone help? I have a strelitzia (bird of paradise) that is 2
years old (grown from tiny plant) which is thriving but has some form
of knats laying eggs in the soil which are infesting our flat! I have
tried re-potting, using bug spray and anti fungus stuff for the soil
(the soil did have some fungus on it over the winter months). I'm not
the most green fingered person but I really want to sort this out - my
other half is threatening to throw the plant out! Can anyone help?


--
beckys