Fruit Flies.

Discussion in 'Garden Pest Management and Identification' started by honoryourlife, Jun 28, 2008.

  1. honoryourlife

    honoryourlife Member

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    Location:
    Manitoba, Canada
    I've been noticing some fruit flies hanging aroung my young pepper plants and wondering where they may be coming from. There's nothing rotting in my house that I am aware of. However I use trimmed/fallen leaves as ground cover for my plants.

    However, I keep my windows open to allow fresh air to enter. Could that be where they are coming from?

    So far I just notice them hanging around the pepper plants and not any of the other plants I keep. Can these bugs kill my pepper plants? And how do I get rid of them? I'd preferably not to use any chemicals what so ever.

    Thank you very much.

    -Ryan (Still wandering),
     
  2. MamaMac

    MamaMac Active Member

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    Are you sure that they are fruit flies? If you are over watering at all, they are more likely to be fungus gnats. Either way, you can use the yellow sticky traps to catch the adults. If they are fruit flies, they like to lay their eggs down the drains in sinks. The best control I have found is to pour boiling water down the drains. If they are fungus gnats, drench the soil with insecticidal soap to get rid of eggs. You can tell which is which when you catch one on the sticky traps. fungus gnats are very small and all black. Fruit flies are slightly larger and have red eyes.
     
  3. honoryourlife

    honoryourlife Member

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    Location:
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    What are grey, tiny (nearly microscopic bugs) that only hang out on and maybe in the soil? Are they destructive to my plants?

    They seem to be just crawling around eating leaf litter I place there from the occasional leaf.

    I would take pictures but apparently I lost my digital after leaving it on my truck and driving away and forgetting about it until half way to my destination.

    Thanks,

    -Ryan (Still wandering),
     
  4. Bugged2death

    Bugged2death Member

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    If they are fungas gnats, I have had the same pesky problem and received a great, easy solution which has worked! First I tried the apple cider vinegar in yellow dishes, then the sticky traps, then emptying the top layer of dirt. None of these worked for me. It was the PEPPERMINT TEA that worked amazing. I steeped a peppermint tea bag overnight in approx 3 cups of water. Then, used this to water my plants (mine are indoor, but I'm sure this will work anywherere). I have not seen any since. I will do this periodically (maybe twice a year) to keep them at bay. My plants are healthy as ever too! The tea did not do any damage. [/COLOR][/FONT]
     

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