Fungus gnats; looks & acts like? Any relatives?

I've had two different kinds of small flying bug around my indoor plants after repotting them in a peat-less all purpose mix I got at Wally World (Main Stays).

I did bring in 'outdoor' plants but soaked them in dishsoap solution (sprayed them too) for at least 3 times so far. Those I gave a dose of Bonide's granular insecticide or inserted Bayer's fertilizer/insecticide sticks into.

The only time I've ever had a problem with fungus gnats is when I kept them too moist. I'm not doing anything different. I'm still letting them dry out somewhat between waterings.

One of the bugs flying around has a white body & acts erratic when walking around. It wants to fly into my food & up my nose! It's soft.

The other bug is hard backed, but the same size. It's dark & doesn't act any different than a fly would, just being annoying & trying to get out of the way when I come at it with a flyswatter or otherwise.

Are these both fungus gnats, but cousins, or what?

I'll be looking for some house plant spray this week that's specific in eradicating these nuisances.

I am not sure what the whitish colored pest is; perhaps a mutant of the fungus gnats created by the various ingredients you have put into the soil. Soapy water drenches are not effective in killing the gnat larvae that live in the soil. Fertilizer sticks create hot zones in the soil where the fertilizer concentrates. This is not a good time to fertilize anyway, so I suggest that you discard the sticks.

Adult fungus gnats fly around and are an annoyance, but they are not harmful to people. Each gnat lives for about 5 days. The trick is to get rid of the next generation - the gnat larvae that live in the top layer of the soil. The larvae feed on decaying organic matter. Decaying pine bark in potting mixes and decaying plants roots feed the larvae. Try to keep the soil as dry as possible. Remove all loose soil from the surface and put a light layer of coir (coconut husk) or sand or diatomaceous earth on the soil surface. These substances have sharp edges that carve up the larvae. Another safe technique is to place ½ inch slices of raw potato on the surface of the soil. After a day or so, discard the slices along with the larvae inside. Repeat this until there are no more larvae in the potato.

Detection trick: Add a little water to the soil and then look very closely for tiny fungus gnat larvae swimming in the water as it pools on the surface. You need good light and good eyes to see them. If you don't, then your plant is probably gnat free.

Prevention is often the best remedy. Use sterile potting mixes that are free of bark chips. The potting mix should have ample drainage material, such as perlite so that it drains well and allows the soil to dry out frequently. Fungus gnats can nearly always be traced back to overwatering and/or poor soil quality.

Thanks Will, I'll try to get to HD for some of that d earth or sand.