I'm a beginnier...help! :) (fungus mites?)

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Ellianor Springfield, MO(Zone 6b) Jul 15, 2006

Hi! I'm new with houseplants so want to make sure I'm doing the right thing. Little teensy bugs have been flying around my house and I've been told they are fungus mites. Any suggestions what to do? Someone told me they were in the soil, but all the products I found said to spray the leaves.... will spraying the leaves treat the soil also, or is there more I need to do? Thanks so much for your help!

Ellianor :)

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Allison_FL Dunedin, FL(Zone 10b) Jul 16, 2006

I fount those yellow sticky stripes help get rid of them along with keeping soil on the dry side and fan good air circulation.

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tammynn Davenport, IA Jul 16, 2006

I'm new as well. I had what I thought were gnats in the soil of my calla lily. I moved it outside, sprayed the leaves as well as the soil with Garden Safe fungiside. I then watered it with peroxide and water. Now, I have sand around it in the pot. I checked it yesterday and it looked ok. I just tapped the pot and nothing came out of the sand. I know how frustrating it is to have those bugs flying around the house.

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Nan SW, WI(Zone 4b) Jul 17, 2006

I think you're referring to fungus *gnats*.....there are a few threads on here that address them....a lot of us have had trouble with them in the not so distant past!

I use the yellow sticky traps, too.....they catch a large number of these pests.

If you can find the previous threads about them....someone referred to using Mosquito Dunks to mix in to her watering can.(and she'd even included a photo of the package).....I've seen these recently at hardware stores around here...and they were no where to be found in the past.

Good luck!

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Ellianor Springfield, MO(Zone 6b) Jul 17, 2006

Thanks for your help!

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PanamonCreel Celaya, Mexico(Zone 10a) Jul 17, 2006

You can use a soil drench with Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub Insecticide mixed 1oz / Gallon of Water. This should prevent those annoying gnats appearing for close to a Year and will also take care of any mealy bugs, scales ....etc. if present.

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Ellianor Springfield, MO(Zone 6b) Jul 24, 2006

Thanks! I received sooo much advice from all of you and other people and I decided to try the easiest and chemical-free method first and it worked. A week later, no bugs! I simply disturbed the top layer of soil (just moved it around with my fingers) and let it dry out completely for a couple days. That was it! The gnats that are alive only live a couple days and if there isn't a moist place to lay eggs, they won't lay them. And the eggs that had already been laid died after drying out. Probably wouldn't have been so easy if I had a bigger problem with it... I'll keep the soil drench idea ready in case I need it sometime ...and also the sticky tape. Thanks again!

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