Hi guys, Some of you may recognize me from a "Lucky Bamboo" thread a while back. Anyway, now I also have a little Norfolk Island Pine tree in my dorm room. The pine itself is doing just fine, but I'm worried that little gnats are coming from it--rather, from the potting mixture. Lately there have been a TON of those little flies in my room, and their coming correlates directly with my bringing the little pine home. Plus, I know they're not coming from outside (my windows are shut tight, plus it's too cold out for them), and I don't have any rotting fruit--or any fruit, for that matter--nor are they coming from my garbage bin. I am eliminating all other possibilities and I'm also constructing a trap for them, but if they are coming from my pine, what do I do? I don't want to get rid of it...is there something I can put in the soil that will kill them but won't harm my plant?
Thanks for the reply. I always stick my finger in the soil to make sure the stop inch completely dry before I water it. I'll pay more attention to how deep in soil I check, just to make sure I'm not doing a half-inch or something, though I don't think I am. I'm usually pretty good about it.
They live in the top layer of soil and need moisture. Letting the soil dry more usually takes care of them. For plants that require moist soil, a layer of course sand on top of the soil can help. Sticky traps and Drosera spp. (carnivorous plants--sundews) are used for control of the buggers, especially in greenhouses.
This is not a popular remedy, but I use a Vapona pest strip available at your friendly neighbourhood big box store. Kills the flies. Dead flies don't make larvae. There's also a product called Grow 'n' Care which is a talc powder that you are expected to scratch in to the first quarter inch of the soil. Didn't find it too effective myself, and way too much work. I only leave the pest strip open 'til the flies are gone, then I seal it up again until I need it. Despite the propaganda on the package, its probably not good for you. You makes your choices and lives with them. Carl
Hey again guys... I've let the soil become completely dry and I'll let it be for a day or two...but it doesn't seem to be taking care of the bugs. :( I've constructed a temporary trapping system on the pot...I made a cover with some paper (with a hole for the plant) and lined it with duct tape and taped the edges to the pot. I figured if I could trap them in there they might get stuck to the duct tape and at least not be driving me crazy... I don't really know what else to try, but I'll be going home in two weeks, and I was thinking...If I completely re-potted the plant and changed all the soil, that would get rid of them, right? Then I could just dump the soil outside in the snow and freeze the little buggers...
