European Gardening: Sciarid flies, 1 by Patbarr

Patbarr wrote:
I have noticed quite a lot of these little pests in my propagator this week and have tried an experiment to get rid of them.

I have put three drops of Manuka and three drops of Lemongrass essential oils on a cotton wool pad and wiped it on the edges of the pots and then left it in the propagator and closed the lid. When I opened it up again a few hours later two sciarid flies flew out and there was no sign of any left inside. I tapped the pots to see if any were hiding but couldn't see any.

It will be interesting to see if any have come back tomorrow, or how long it keeps them away.

Both these essential oils are insect repellant, so they would probably work on their own.

I also have some insectivorous plants on the greenhouse staging, butterworts are the best for catching sciarid flies, there are also two kinds of sundew and a saracena (pitcher plant).