How to Identify These Annoying Little Gnats
By Ava Green
Do you have tiny flies buzzing around your home and have no idea where they came from? Before you can get rid of them, you need to know what you're dealing with. Most people assume they're fruit flies, but there's a good chance they're not.
There are three common culprits:
- Drain flies breed in moist drains. Keep drains closed when not in use.
- Fruit flies hover around overripe produce.
- Fungus gnats, the most commonly misidentified of the three, love the damp soil in your houseplants, and they're the ones most likely buzzing around the house.
Fungus Gnats are Probably Already in Your Home
Every time you bring a plant indoors, whether it's brand new or returning after a summer outside, there's a very good chance it's carrying fungus gnat eggs in its soil. When you purchase bagged soil, it will often contain fungus gnat eggs as well. They're small, they're sneaky, and here's the most important thing to know: they multiply fast. Left unmanaged, a handful of gnats can turn into hundreds within weeks.
What Makes Fungus Gnats Thrive?
Fungus gnats love warm, moist conditions and organic material, like your potting soil. Adult gnats lay eggs in damp soil, which gives their larvae everything they need to develop.
The good news? Once you understand what they need to survive, stopping them is very easy and straightforward.
7 Proven Ways to Get Rid of Fungus Gnats
1. Quarantine any new or returning plants for 4 weeks. This single step prevents gnats from spreading to your other houseplants while you treat the soil.
2. Use yellow sticky traps. These inexpensive traps attract and catch adult gnats before they can lay more eggs. Place one directly into the soil near your plant. Putting a sticky trap in a planter, whether it’s a new plant or one you’ve had a while, is also a good way to monitor whether or not you have pests in your plants.
3. Let the top inch of soil dry out completely between waterings. Fungus gnats need moist soil to lay their eggs. Deny them that, and you deny them a future. To test whether the soil has dried out, poke one of your fingers in it about an inch to check for moisture.
4. Cover the soil surface with coarse sand or vermiculite. A layer of sharp, gritty material on top of the soil is uninviting to egg-laying adult gnats. Make sure to use coarse sand, fine sand won't do the trick.
5. Switch to bottom watering. This is the best watering method for a number of reasons, including discouraging fungus gnats. Fill a tub or sink one-quarter full and set your pot in it for about 30 minutes allowing water to be absorbed into the soil via the drainage hole in the pot. When the soil and roots absorb water from below, it keeps the top layer of soil, where gnats want to lay their eggs, dry and uninviting. Make sure the water level covers no more than one-third of the pot, not the entire pot.
6. Try Mosquito Dunks (the secret weapon most gardeners don't know about). These contain BTI, a naturally occurring bacterium that is harmless to humans, pets, and plants, but lethal to fungus gnat larvae. Simply follow the package instructions and water your plants as normal. Water activates mosquito dunks.
7. Water with diluted hydrogen peroxide once a week. Mix one part 3% hydrogen peroxide with four parts water (so ¼ cup peroxide to 1 cup water). Apply this solution once a week for three weeks, and let the soil surface dry out between each application. It kills larvae on contact. Don't overdo it though. Too much, too often can damage roots.
Don’t Forget Your Fruit Bowl: Try This Banana Trick
Fungus gnats aren't just plant pests, they're also drawn to fruit, especially bananas. The stem end of a bunch of bananas is a prime spot for gnat eggs. The fix is simple: as soon as you get home from the grocery store, rinse your bananas under lukewarm running water and give the stem a gentle scrub with a soft brush. It takes about a minute and can prevent a whole new infestation before it starts.
The Bottom Line
Fungus gnats feel impossible to eliminate because most people only address the adults they can see and not the larvae multiplying in damp soil. Use these tips in combination for the best results, and remember: even a fresh bag of potting soil can carry eggs, so treat new soil with BTI or a hydrogen peroxide solution before use.
Stick with it for a few weeks and your home and your plants will be gnat-free.
How to Keep Your Hanging Basket as Gorgeous as the Day You Brought it Home, All Summer Long!
By Dave Zeldon and Ely Schweyer
Remember your Mother's Day hanging basket with its variety of colours, textures, and plant combinations? Maybe there was Verbena cascading elegantly with their colourful star like blossoms, double Begonias for the porch in spectacular shades of reds, pinks, and burgundies, and of course the vigorously growing Petunias and Geraniums, to name just a few. But as the Summer goes on, they just don’t seem to have that same stamina.
To keep your hanging baskets in great shape and avoid the dry, wilted, bald spotted, leggy look that occurs to containers every August, one should follow these easy tips.
Watering
Plastic, fibre, and especially moss lined baskets dry out quickly. They should be checked twice daily and watered every day. Be sure to wet the moss sides as well.
Try to maintain uniform soil moisture. When watering, fill the top of the container with pooling water until it ‘pees,’ and allow it to drip out of the bottom of the basket every time you apply water. Frequent severe wilting will impact upon the quality of the basket.
At this time of year, one could take the basket down and soak it in a tub of water for 20 minutes to hydrate the entire root ball, once every week.
Deadheading
Remove spent flowers on a weekly basis (this is called deadheading) to prevent plants from going to seed. This will encourage more flower production. Part of the beauty of the mixed basket is its prolonged display, just like in your garden.
Check for Pests!
During your weekly deadheading, keep a watchful eye out for aphids, whiteflies, and caterpillars. If you see any, try a quick spray of insecticidal soap to keep them from becoming an infestation.
🖱️ If you're noticing fungus gnats in your hanging baskets, find more on eradicating them here!
Pruning
Not every plant in the basket will be at its peak all season.
Cutting plants back after a flush of bloom will tidy them up and prepare them for a fresh crop of flowers. Meanwhile, other varieties will begin putting on a show. This is especially true for Petunias.
A good cut back of long, lanky branches will reap benefits.
Fertilizing
Daily watering means nutrients can leach out of the soil before the plants can absorb them. The baskets should have both slow release granular added to the growing media and a weekly feeding of 15-30-15 soluble fertilizer. Use a solution containing micronutrients, as plants like Petunias need extra iron.
Sheltering
It has been suggested, if possible, that during stretches of extreme heat, give your baskets a break and move them to a cooler, shaded spot to de-stress for a couple of days. This is also suggested when heading on vacation. Your flowers will rebound to their former beautiful selves!
We hope this long term hanging basket care guide helps you enjoy your purchase all summer long! For more information - and beautiful plants – visit Eising Greenhouse and Garden Centre! 🌸
By Dave Zeldon and Ely Schweyer
This is the time of year that most garden centres will have on display their wide variety of Amaryllis bulbs, including the evermore popular waxed dipped. These enormous bulbs that are appearing now will be ready to burst into bloom within 4-8 weeks after planting.
Non-Wax Dipped: Planting
All Amaryllis need is a bit of commercial potting soil that should not cover the shoulders of the bulb (try leaving about 1/3rd of the bulb showing above the soil line), with the nose (or narrow end) of the bulb peeping well over the top of the pot. Make sure that you use a well-drained container that is 3-4” bigger in diameter than the bulb itself.
☝️A heavy clay pot will prevent this top-heavy plant from toppling over. To achieve continuous bloom, plant at intervals of two weeks for stunning colour in your home.
Non-Wax Dipped: Care
Once leaves emerge, fertilize once a month with a 20-20-20 water soluble fertilizer for houseplants. Water sparingly and wait for the miracle in a warm sunny room. Sub-irrigation or watering from the bottom of the drip tray will keep the surface soil dry, thus keeping and bulb rot organisms and those pesky fungus gnats at bay.
Non-Wax Dipped: It's Not Done Yet!
When blooming is over, remove the scape (or flower stock) and place the plant in a sunny spot and continue to water. This is to allow the leaves to regenerate the bulb. In springtime, when all danger of frost has passed, bring the bulb outdoors and let it spend its holidays in a shady spot. In some varieties the leaves will die back in September to give the plant a rest for a couple months. Stop watering and store the bulb on its side in a cool place for about eight weeks, when the leaves will once again begin to emerge.
Amaryllis can go 3-4 years without repotting as they don’t mind a little crowding. Try growing a couple of bulbs in larger pots to see if you can get a clump of flowers from the offshoots or babies that will develop after a couple of years.
Or, Try One of These Wax Dipped Bulbs!
Now growing more popular are the care-free waxed-bulb Amaryllis!
Experienced growers and beginners alike love that these waxed bulbs do not need to be planted or watered! Each of these robust bulbs are carefully prepared in festive-coloured wax, allowing you the freedom to place them among your holiday decorations.
Simply keep the bulbs at an ambient room temperature of at least 16C (70F) for beautiful blooms in five to six weeks.
These novelty items are low commitment! Their only fault is their lack of longevity - gardeners don’t get to enjoy them after year as these waxed bulbs were designed to be a one-use throwaway item!
BUT with a little luck and perseverance you may be able to save the bulb for next season after blooming. All you have to do is to carefully remove the wax layer, remove the flower stalk and place the bulb and with its remaining leaves into a pot of good growing media, allowing the leaves to regenerate the food stores in the expired bulb.
If you’re looking for more information – or perhaps, Amaryllis – visit Eising Greenhouse and Garden Centre! Happy Holidays! ✨
Figures.
By Dave Zeldon and Ely Schweyer
Now that we’ve brought our plants inside the house to over-winter, we begin to notice those slender, dark gray flies (0.2- 0.4 cm long) flitting about atop the pot soil. Yuck!
These insects are known as fungus gnats (Bradysia sp.). Whereas they are considered only to be a minor nuisance in house plants, due to their sheer numbers hovering around an attractive plant, they can certainly take away from its appeal. Below is a bit about these pests and some basic control measures.
How Do Fungus Gnats Affect Your Plant?
Other than their swarming presence, fungus gnats are not a direct threat to your plant, but an indirect threat. As their name implies, they are concerned with snacking on the fungi mycelium living in your plants’ soil. (Yes, it’s there and it’s a good thing!) However, these little flies can transfer disease between plants, making them nuisance pests.
A Quick Look at Their Life Cycle:
Adults may lay 300 eggs at a time, which hatch a week later into tiny, threadlike larvae. The larvae feed upon organic matter in the potting soil. After two weeks, they pupate into winged adults, that have no trouble annoying you to no end.
Basic Control Measures:
- The fastest and easiest method of control is to catch the flying adults with yellow sticky cards. The large cards can be cut into little strips and mounted onto little wooden splints (popsicle sticks) then placed around the base of the plant out of the line of sight.
- Water your potted plant from the bottom (sub-irrigation) by adding water to the saucer it is sitting in. This will keep the soil surface dry, making it uninhabitable for the hatching insect larvae. If the surface soil is already very wet, try placing a few potato discs or slices on the surface of the soil. This will attract the larvae as they migrate to the potato to feed. Simply replace the discs every three to four days with fresh slices to eliminate the next generation of adults.
- If you have a large number of plants afflicted as in a greenhouse situation, an application of predatory nematodes (Steinernema feltiae) as a soil drench is suggested. Nematodes will attack the fungus gnat larvae in the soil which will in turn lead to more nematodes being produced.
Good Bugs Are Working at Eising Greenhouse and Garden Centre!
Here at Eising’s Greenhouse and Garden Centre, we practice what as known as I.P.M. or Integrated Pest Management. Since we try to create a perfect environment for our plants, we also, unintentionally create perfect conditions for their related pests. To keep the pests at bay, we institute series of steps:
1 - Cultural Controls: We select only the healthiest of plant material to sell and keep them healthy through proper fertilization and growing conditions. We’ve learned that insects are attracted to stressed-out plants!
2 - Physical Controls: We are constantly walking through our plant aisles checking for insect and disease presence and removing the affected plants. Also a clean growing area means there is less chance of pest populations building up on alternate host plants such as weeds.
3 - Biological Controls: At the beginning of the growing season, even before there is any evidence of pest problems, we introduce naturally occurring predators into the growing areas. This is to be at the ready for when the pests do arrive!
In our arsenal we have a series of tiny parasitic wasps, microscopic wire-worms called nematodes, predatory mites as well as bacterial inoculants. So therefore, we cannot spray any chemical insecticides as they will hurt our very valuable biological cache!
Did you ever imagine all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into your plant purchases from Eising's to make them the best value around?
For more information – and bug products - visit Eising Greenhouse and Garden Centre soon! 🪰
By: Dave Zeldon and Ely Schweyer
Most experts agree that we shouldn't bother bringing in our favourite summer potted plants for the winter and that we should buy new again the next season. But this seems to go against our sensibilities after paying good money earlier in the season. Why not try to save that bay tree, those Rosemary, and French Tarragon containers, as well as expensive Phormium, Mandeville, Passionflower, and Jasmine plants?
The secret to indoor survival for summer plants is to slow down their growth during the winter, so they’re ready to be put outside again once all the danger of frost has passed. How? A few weeks before fall frosts are expected, gradually introduce plants to life indoors by moving them inside (to a quarantined spot*) for half a day, working up to a full day over a week or so. Don't wait until nighttime temperatures are only slightly above freezing as the plants may go into shock and drop leaves!
How to Keep These Guys Comfy During the Winter Months?
- It is suggested that you should prune back excessive growth and re-pot with new lighter growing media.
- Place them in the sunniest location you have and then water sparingly but regularly over the Winter.
- Raising humidity by using a humidifier helps too.
- Resist the urge to fertilize these plants until just before you reintroduce them to outdoor living.
- Perhaps just for fun, you could repot them into the appropriate seasonal pots and planters!
It Seems They Brought Others in With Them - And They're Not Nice House Guests
*Before long, you may notice some unwanted guests, such as thrips and spider mites, on and around your precious plants as their natural predators are no longer present to keep their populations at bay. In many cases, it may be too late, and your plants may have to be discarded before the Holidays, but that’s not always the case!
Common problems that make themselves apparent indoors would be the brown soft scale insect, whiteflies, mealybugs, aphids, spider mites and most often, fungus gnats (those pesky little black flies).
Fungus gnats are considered to be the most common nuisance in houseplants. Sometimes their sheer numbers just hovering around an attractive plant take away from its appeal.
Basic Fungus Gnat Control Measures:
The fastest and easiest method of control is to catch the flying adults with yellow sticky cards. The large cards can be cut into little strips and mounted onto little wooden splints (popsicle sticks) then placed around the base of the plant out of the line of sight.
The chances are that the adults have already deposited eggs in the growing media (soil) of the plant as it is rich in organic matter, so we can disrupt its life cycle by:
- Subirrigation - water your potted plant from the bottom by adding water to the saucer it is sitting in. This will dry out the soil surface making it uninhabitable for the hatching larvae.
- Trapping larvae - If the surface soil it already very wet, try placing a few potato discs or slices on the surface of the soil. This will attract the larvae as they migrate to the potato to feed. Simply replace the discs every five days or so with fresh slices to eliminate the next generation of adults.
- Inoculating the soil with beneficial nematodes. Most garden centres will carry the Guardian line of beneficial nematode products.
We hope this helps your plants enjoy your winter abode as much as you do this season, for more information - and plants – visit Eising Greenhouse and Garden Centre!