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Likkle flies
So what have I got in my (unheated) greenhouse? Quite a few little flies, about the size of ants, but with little silvery wings. I shall remove the hardening tomatoes and fly-spray the little beggars fifthwith. -- ®óñ© © ²°¹°-°² |
#2
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Likkle flies
®óñ© © ²°¹°-°² writes
So what have I got in my (unheated) greenhouse? Quite a few little flies, about the size of ants, but with little silvery wings. I shall remove the hardening tomatoes and fly-spray the little beggars fifthwith. Why? Wouldn't be best to find out whether they're harmful first? -- Kay |
#3
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Likkle flies
On Thu, 3 Apr 2008 20:20:54 +0100, K wrote
and included this (or some of this): ®óñ© © ²°¹°-°² writes So what have I got in my (unheated) greenhouse? Quite a few little flies, about the size of ants, but with little silvery wings. I shall remove the hardening tomatoes and fly-spray the little beggars fifthwith. Why? Wouldn't be best to find out whether they're harmful first? I've not had them before (and never missed them, either) I certainly don't need the little critters and I don't need extra pollinators. They don't look big enough to eat greenfly or slugs, so they're toast. -- ®óñ© © ²°¹°-°² |
#4
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Likkle flies
On Thu, 3 Apr 2008 23:01:26 +0100, Anne Jackson
wrote and included this (or some of this): The message from ®óñ© © ²°¹°-°² contains these words: On Thu, 3 Apr 2008 20:20:54 +0100, K wrote and included this (or some of this): I shall remove the hardening tomatoes and fly-spray the little beggars fifthwith. Why? Wouldn't be best to find out whether they're harmful first? I've not had them before (and never missed them, either) I certainly don't need the little critters and I don't need extra pollinators. They don't look big enough to eat greenfly or slugs, so they're toast. If you're about to kill every insect you don't recognise, or can't be bothered to identify, perhaps gardening isn't the ideal hobby for you? What a counsel of perfection. Perhaps I should seriously blunt the edge of my spade in case I harm something in the soil whilst digging. -- ®óñ© © ²°¹°-°² |
#6
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Likkle flies
"®óñ© © ²°¹°-°²" wrote in message ... On Thu, 3 Apr 2008 23:01:26 +0100, Anne Jackson wrote and included this (or some of this): The message from ®óñ© © ²°¹°-°² contains these words: On Thu, 3 Apr 2008 20:20:54 +0100, K wrote and included this (or some of this): I shall remove the hardening tomatoes and fly-spray the little beggars fifthwith. Why? Wouldn't be best to find out whether they're harmful first? I've not had them before (and never missed them, either) I certainly don't need the little critters and I don't need extra pollinators. They don't look big enough to eat greenfly or slugs, so they're toast. If you're about to kill every insect you don't recognise, or can't be bothered to identify, perhaps gardening isn't the ideal hobby for you? What a counsel of perfection. Perhaps I should seriously blunt the edge of my spade in case I harm something in the soil whilst digging. That would be accidental - unless you can't bear worms so slice every one you see. I support Kay and Anne and I would expect most on this group would too. Mary |
#7
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Likkle flies
On Apr 3, 6:31 pm, ®óñ© © ²°¹°-°² wrote:
So what have I got in my (unheated) greenhouse? Quite a few little flies, about the size of ants, but with little silvery wings. I shall remove the hardening tomatoes and fly-spray the little beggars fifthwith. -- ®óñ© © ²°¹°-°² It sounds like flying ants but I wouldn't spray with anything until you find out what they are, they could actually be beneficial. I have a good RHS book which identifies insects on plants, unfortunately it is in a packing case otherwise I would look it up. Judith |
#8
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Quote:
If they are literally "flies", ie diptera (members of the family containing houseflies, bluebottles, hoverflies, mosquitoes, gnats), then most of them are harmless and some are beneficial. On the whole, if they don't look like aphids, I'd probably leave them alone. Just because they don't look big enough to eat something else, doesn't mean they don't. The parasitic wasps which "eat" various nasty things are in some cases so small you don't even see them. They do the eating by laying their eggs inside them, and then their larvae eat them from the inside. We won't have much clue unless you can get your macro lens out and take a piccy. |
#9
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Likkle flies
On Apr 3, 6:31*pm, ®óñ© © ²°¹°-°² wrote:
So what have I got in my (unheated) greenhouse? Quite a few little flies, about the size of ants, but with little silvery wings. I shall remove the hardening tomatoes and fly-spray the little beggars fifthwith. -- ®óñ© *© *²°¹°-°² Be careful. Those could be Wart Gnats. They are insecticide resistant and have been spreading across northern Europe over the past 10 years. They need high temperatures to complete their life cycle and spend 3/4 of their lives parisitising sawflies which they eat from the insides out. In England, they have been cropping up in greenhouses and there are now records from as far north as Rochdale. They are largely harmless but in extreme cases, they cause warts to break out in sweaty parts of the body. Vinegar works to keep them at bay (soak tee shirts and underwear every 3 days) as does Nam Pla Fish Sauce. To clear them, from the greenhouse, you may have to fumigate with burning elder twigs. The small size and silvery wings are a dead giveaway. |
#10
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Likkle flies
"Mary Fisher" wrote in message t... "®óñ© © ²°¹°-°²" wrote in message ... On Thu, 3 Apr 2008 23:01:26 +0100, Anne Jackson wrote and included this (or some of this): The message from ®óñ© © ²°¹°-°² contains these words: On Thu, 3 Apr 2008 20:20:54 +0100, K wrote and included this (or some of this): I shall remove the hardening tomatoes and fly-spray the little beggars fifthwith. Why? Wouldn't be best to find out whether they're harmful first? I've not had them before (and never missed them, either) I certainly don't need the little critters and I don't need extra pollinators. They don't look big enough to eat greenfly or slugs, so they're toast. If you're about to kill every insect you don't recognise, or can't be bothered to identify, perhaps gardening isn't the ideal hobby for you? What a counsel of perfection. Perhaps I should seriously blunt the edge of my spade in case I harm something in the soil whilst digging. That would be accidental - unless you can't bear worms so slice every one you see. I support Kay and Anne and I would expect most on this group would too. Mary As long as they're not fungus gnats. Those really are a PITA and can kill small seedlings with developing root systems in no time at all when you're not vigilant. someone |
#11
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Likkle flies
"Anne Jackson" wrote in message ... The message from Des Higgins contains these words: On Apr 3, 6:31 pm, ®óñ© © ²°¹°-°² wrote: So what have I got in my (unheated) greenhouse? Quite a few little flies, about the size of ants, but with little silvery wings. I shall remove the hardening tomatoes and fly-spray the little beggars fifthwith. Be careful. Those could be Wart Gnats. They are insecticide resistant and have been spreading across northern Europe over the past 10 years. They need high temperatures to complete their life cycle and spend 3/4 of their lives parisitising sawflies which they eat from the insides out. In England, they have been cropping up in greenhouses and there are now records from as far north as Rochdale. They are largely harmless but in extreme cases, they cause warts to break out in sweaty parts of the body. Vinegar works to keep them at bay (soak tee shirts and underwear every 3 days) as does Nam Pla Fish Sauce. To clear them, from the greenhouse, you may have to fumigate with burning elder twigs. The small size and silvery wings are a dead giveaway. Des! Behave yourself!! Oh no, I enjoyed it :-) Mary -- AnneJ Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric. ~Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) |
#12
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Likkle flies
On Apr 4, 11:42 pm, Des Higgins wrote:
On Apr 3, 6:31 pm, ®óñ© © ²°¹°-°² wrote: So what have I got in my (unheated) greenhouse? Quite a few little flies, about the size of ants, but with little silvery wings. I shall remove the hardening tomatoes and fly-spray the little beggars fifthwith. -- ®óñ© © ²°¹°-°² Be careful. Those could be Wart Gnats. They are insecticide resistant and have been spreading across northern Europe over the past 10 years. They need high temperatures to complete their life cycle and spend 3/4 of their lives parisitising sawflies which they eat from the insides out. In England, they have been cropping up in greenhouses and there are now records from as far north as Rochdale. They are largely harmless but in extreme cases, they cause warts to break out in sweaty parts of the body. Vinegar works to keep them at bay (soak tee shirts and underwear every 3 days) as does Nam Pla Fish Sauce. To clear them, from the greenhouse, you may have to fumigate with burning elder twigs. The small size and silvery wings are a dead giveaway. LOL, good one Des :-) Judith |
#13
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Likkle flies
On Fri, 4 Apr 2008 15:42:09 -0700 (PDT), Des Higgins
wrote and included this (or some of this): Quite a few little flies, about the size of ants, but with little silvery wings. I shall remove the hardening tomatoes and fly-spray the little beggars fifthwith. -- ®óñ© *© *²°¹°-°² Be careful. Those could be Wart Gnats. They are insecticide resistant and have been spreading across northern Europe over the past 10 years. They need high temperatures to complete their life cycle and spend 3/4 of their lives parisitising sawflies which they eat from the insides out. In England, they have been cropping up in greenhouses and there are now records from as far north as Rochdale. They are largely harmless but in extreme cases, they cause warts to break out in sweaty parts of the body. Vinegar works to keep them at bay (soak tee shirts and underwear every 3 days) as does Nam Pla Fish Sauce. To clear them, from the greenhouse, you may have to fumigate with burning elder twigs. The small size and silvery wings are a dead giveaway. Thanks for that, but I think a pinch of salt might deal with this problem. -- ®óñ© © ²°¹°-°² |
#14
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Likkle flies
On Sat, 5 Apr 2008 00:45:31 +0100, "someone"
wrote and included this (or some of this): If you're about to kill every insect you don't recognise, or can't be bothered to identify, perhaps gardening isn't the ideal hobby for you? What a counsel of perfection. Perhaps I should seriously blunt the edge of my spade in case I harm something in the soil whilst digging. As long as they're not fungus gnats. Those really are a PITA and can kill small seedlings with developing root systems in no time at all when you're not vigilant. Wrong morphology and wing colour in this case. Anyway, they seem to have largely cleared off now without intervention. -- ®óñ© © ²°¹°-°² |
#15
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Likkle flies
On 5/4/08 09:34, in article
, "Judith in France" wrote: On Apr 4, 11:42 pm, Des Higgins wrote: On Apr 3, 6:31 pm, ®óñ© © ²°¹°-°² wrote: So what have I got in my (unheated) greenhouse? Quite a few little flies, about the size of ants, but with little silvery wings. I shall remove the hardening tomatoes and fly-spray the little beggars fifthwith. -- ®óñ© © ²°¹°-°² Be careful. Those could be Wart Gnats. They are insecticide resistant and have been spreading across northern Europe over the past 10 years. They need high temperatures to complete their life cycle and spend 3/4 of their lives parisitising sawflies which they eat from the insides out. In England, they have been cropping up in greenhouses and there are now records from as far north as Rochdale. They are largely harmless but in extreme cases, they cause warts to break out in sweaty parts of the body. Vinegar works to keep them at bay (soak tee shirts and underwear every 3 days) as does Nam Pla Fish Sauce. To clear them, from the greenhouse, you may have to fumigate with burning elder twigs. The small size and silvery wings are a dead giveaway. LOL, good one Des :-) Judith I even checked the date. ;-)) -- Sacha http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon 'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.' |
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